Corruption is defined as illegal or dishonest behaviour by a person especially who is in a powerful position such as government officials or police officer in order to gain personal advantage. Police corruption defined a form of misconduct which is committed by police officers by illegally or dishonestly misusing their powers in which they end up breaking their police contract and abuse their powers for personal gain (Tankebe, 2010). It is a major issue in countries all across the globe since the role of police is to protect people from illegal or dishonest practices, however, when they engage in these practices themselves, then it resulted in eliminating the trust of people from the police department.
According to Punch (2009), the police are meant to enforce the law and regulations them rather than abuse them which leads to a bigger question regarding why some police officers violate the law in order to become criminals. In the case of the United Kingdom, corruption of police is a major problem which has affected society in a negative manner. There are many examples which highlight this issue in the past which shows that there is a requirement solid solution to this problem. The objective of this essay is to evaluate whether British police is corrupt by discussing various examples. This essay will include the impact of police corruption on society, and its impact in the United Kingdom to understand this problem thoroughly. This essay will analyse the impact of corruption in the UK and what are the actions which can be taken by the government in order to address this problem.
In order to evaluate whether the British police is corrupt or not, it is important to understand what constitutes a ‘corruption’. Generally, there are two approaches which aim to approach the issue of corruption. The first approach looks at different forms of behaviour and attempts made by individuals with powers which distinguish such actions that might be considered as corrupt (Newburn, 2015). On the other hand, the second approach is construction of a definition which aims to separate corrupt from non-corrupt actions. However, both of these approaches are not satisfactory since the problem with corruption is that it is fundamentally an ethical issue.
This ethical problem is an inherent part of policing which makes it more complex. Ivkovic (2005) provided the definition of police corruption which is referred to an action or omission or a promise of action or omission or an attempt of action or omission which is committed by a police officer which is characterised a misuse of the official position of the police officer which is motived in significant part by the achievement of personal gain.
It shows that police corruption is related to abuse of position by the officer who engages in illegal or dishonest behaviour within objective to gain personal benefits. The definition given by Kutnjak Ivkovic leaves out the part relating to unethical conduct of a police officer. Instead, this definition focuses on the part that corruption is used by police officers in order to gain personal gains. However, it is not true as unethical behaviour is a relevant part of police corruption which affects a major part of society.
The key challenge with police corruption in the United Kingdom and many other countries is that the government and other senior officers try to take the attention of people away from this issue by saying that it is a problem of few ‘bad apples’. It is implied many times that police corruption is a problem of a few rogue members or ‘bad apples’ based on which this problem can be solved quickly (Newburn, 2015). Although it is possible that on occasions there are a small number of individuals who engage in highly unethical conduct which leads to police corruption, however, the history of policing in the UK has shown that it is not the case.
This notion also has far-reaching and damaging implications as well. For instance, this theory resulted in narrowing down the scope of attention which resulted in directing the concern away from those who are in the position of power and authority who needs scrutiny to avoid this problem (Hough et al., 2016). This concept also implies that only few police officers are bad and everything else in sound otherwise. However, this is rarely the case when it comes to the police department.
Lastly, this notion implies that there are only a few individuals who are corrupt which means that there is little requirement of investigation and punishment of those individuals which becomes a default response of senior officers, government and the public when it comes to responding to corruption scandal (Newburn, 2015). These factors are increasing the issue of police corruption of a global stage which resulted in creating challenges for the public and society as a whole.
In the case of the United Kingdom, the police have been involved in a range of corrupt activities such as bribery, the fabrication of evidence, the concealment of serious crimes, and the commission of serious crimes which include allegations for murder. In 2015, police forces across England and Wales had been ordered to review around 2,000 cases based on the allegation of corruption which provided that these cases were not investigated properly. This order was given by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) which has found that the police department has taken no actions in over two-thirds of investigations in which allegations of corruption were made (Halliday, 2015). In more than 3,000 investigations, only 900 police officers were disciplined or left the service.
In these cases, the examples of corruption include theft, bribery, unauthorised disclosure of information, drug-related offenses and sexual misconduct. There are more than 3,070 total investigation orders which were given based on alleged corruption in which no further action was taken in 1,685 cases (Halliday, 2015). This example shows that even when corruption is found in the cases relating to police misconduct, no action is taken by the department against those orders. It shows that there are not just few ‘bad apples’, instead, it is a major problem which is inherent to the police department in the United Kingdom. There are many cases involving miscarriage of justice in the UK as a result of police corruption which shows that it is a major issue in the country.
‘The Guildford four’ is a good example in which a case was instituted against Paul Hill, Gerard Conlon, Patrick Armstrong, and Carole Richardson. These four individuals spend 14 years in prison before their conviction for two IRA bomb explosions in Guildford. These bomb explosions occurred on October 5, 1974, and these parties were held guilty by the court of appeal in 1989 (McConville, Sanders and Leng, 2017). These four individuals were wrongfully convicted over the bombings made in the UK, and recently the KRW Law claimed that they newly released archive material shows that there is evidence of preventing the course of justice.
In a subsequent judicial inquiry which was held by Sir John May provided a report which led to the trial of three Survey Police Officers in 1993 in relation to conspiracy in order to prevent the course of justice. In this case, the lawyers claimed that the police officers acted ‘criminally’ and they requested to make an inquiry in this matter to the Office of Attorney General. The evidence shows that the judgement given by the Court of Appeal in 1989 was unsafe which resulted in miscarriage of justice based on police corruption. ‘The Maguire seven’ is another good example in which convictions made against the Maguire Seven were ruled unsafe in 1990 based on an inquiry which exposed disturbing holes in the police’s forensic evidence (Hickman et al., 2012).
In this case, a family was wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for two IRA bombings made in 1974. In this case, the parties were convicted wrongfully on the basis of false confessions which were extracted after physical abuse and threats by Surrey police while detained under anti-terrorism laws. The police officers made a claim that the Maguire household was a bomb factory despite the fact that no evidence of bomb-making was found in the house and it surrounding after rigorous searches (Hickman et al., 2012). The Maguire Seven were arrested and charged based on the fact that the explosive substance nitro-glycerine was found on their hands in the forensic report. Mr Conlon died while serving his prison sentence in 1980 after which he was cleared posthumously.
It was found by three appeal court judges that the traces of nitro glycerine which was found on their hands and gloves could have been a result of innocent contamination. Another good example is ‘the Birmingham Six’ case; in this case, six Irish Catholic men who were living in England wrongly convicted for the murder of 21 people in 1975. They were found guilty after a bomb exploded in the Mulberry Bush bar which was situated in Birmingham in 1974. All these six men served more than 16 years in jail (Payton, 2016).
They were found guilty based on the forensic test conducted by the police in whom they were tested positive for nitro glycerine in Greiss tests. However, it was argued by scientists that the test was unreliable because a positive range of nitrocellulose can be collected from a range of innocent products. These six people were partially convicted on forensic evidence which was later discredited by the court. The accusation made by prosecutions against the police officers who investigated the case was halted by the court in 1993 because of ‘adverse publicity’ which shows that police corruption is a major problem which is affected the judicial service system as well (Payton, 2016).
The 1981 Brixton riot or Brixton uprising in a good example to understand who police officers misuse their power and privileges to engage in immoral and illegal activities. In this case, a confrontation between the protesters in Lambeth and the Metropolitan Police occurred between 10 and 12 April 1981. In this case, a young black person was arrested outside a minicab by a police officer in plain clothes who was taken off in a van by uniformed police and missiles thrown at the vehicle resulted in breaking the window (Jefferson, 2012). It shows that unethical and immoral actions of police officers resulted in causing major incidents in which a large number of people are suffered.
The case of Hillsborough is another good example which shows the detrimental impact of police corruption on innocent people. As per the Hillsborough Independent Report (HIP), it was revealed that the South Yorkshire Police had blamed the fans for the football disaster which occurred in April 1989 (Bennett, 2017). It was reported that actual victim of this incident was blamed by the police officers in order to cover up the true facts. The police officers lied by claiming that “Drunk, violent football fans were responsible for the fatal crash which occurred in the stadium. Hillsborough police chief reported in 2018 that ‘political interference’ is responsible for enforcing the police officers to lie regarding the whole incident in which they blamed Liverpool football fans for the Hillsborough disaster (Ward and Morgan, 2018).
The police officers wanted to cover the mistake which they made by ordering to open exit gate C which resulted in increasing the number of more supporters to the already overcrowded central pens. It shows that police officers work together during corruption cases and they try to hide each other’s mistakes and illegal actions rather than exposing their corrupt actions. It also highlights the fact that the issue of police corruption is fundamentally linked with unethical conduct which makes it difficult to eliminate this issue from the United Kingdom.
In most cases involving police corruption, the police officers show minimum professional standard in order to help the innocent parties ethically. The British police have established different task forces which are focused on providing recommendations in order to increase integrity in the department, however, these actions are not enough to put a stop to police corruption in the country. The introduction of section 26 in the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 shows that the government has taken the initiative towards recognising and addressing the issue of police corruption in the country.
This section provides that a police officer who exercises his/her powers and privileges improperly or knows others who exercise the powers in improper manner can be held liable under this section. The guilty officer can be imprisoned by the court for a term not exceeding 14 years or a fine or both (Legislation, 2018). The objective of this section is to ensure that police officers are not misusing their powers or privileges to gain personal advantage by causing harm to other parties. However, implementation of this section has not been effective since the number of police corruption cases has not reduced.
All these examples show that there are not just a few ‘bad apples’ in the police system of the UK, instead, there are many officers who actively engage in corrupt activities which are adversely affecting the whole society. A recent study found that from 2009 to 2011, 372 police officers were suspended for misconduct. 258 police officers have been suspended from 2009 to 2011 for offenses include neglect and assault, sexual assault and others from which 38 percent were proven, and 11 percent officers were sacked (Cafe, 2012).
The key issue with corruption cases against police officers is that the cases are delayed unnecessarily which resulted in making it difficult for innocent parties to receive justice. A report provided by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) on police corruption provided that from 2008 to 2011, 1,487 complaints were received on corruption by police officers.
It was reported that 345 of these complaints were referred to the IPCC for investigation (The Guardian, 2012). It shows that even though parties are making complaint against corruption of police officers, however, no actions are taken by the authorities to capture and hold those officials liable for violation their duties. IPCC provided that in order to hold a police officer liable for corruption, it is important that there must be clear information on what constitution as police corruption. Innocent parties find it difficult to provide relevant evidence while filing a complaint against police officers regarding their corrupt actions.
Although IPCC has provided that it is focused on completing the complaint in the quickest and most efficient way possible, however, it is difficult for it to ensure that thorough investigations are conducted in these matters to benefit the general public. It shows that even though there are many cases involving police corruption in the UK, still, there is no efficient and effective measure which has been taken by the government in order to address this issue.
The actions of police officers which are considered as “corrupt” might not be so easy to explain; police officers risk their lives during their job, and they might have to take these actions in order to survive or achieve a greater good. However, this did not justify the examples mentioned above in which the police officers were involved in causing harm to innocent public which resulted in adversely affecting a large number of people (Porter and Prenzler, 2012). Different theories are used by experts in order to understand and evaluate the issue of police corruption to determine why police officers engage in corrupt activities.
The theory of social culture provides that it is difficult for police officers to act ethically in most cases since they find it difficult to trust others. They are more likely to see others as a potential threat just like criminals saw police officers which make it difficult for them to ensure that they act ethically rather than protecting themselves (Reiner, 2010). However, this theory did not justify the illegal actions which are taken by British police officers with an objective to gain a personal benefit. They engage in those activities to cause harm to other parties or receive an unfair advantage based on which the social-cultural factors cannot be considered as a reason for police corruption.
As per the theory of delinquency, the young police officers are more likely to engage in actions which they consider as “moral” to ensure that the criminals are able to get away. In order to under causes of various forms of police misconduct, the social learning theory can be utilised. Akers’ social learning theory suggests that factors such as reinforcement, modelling, associations, and attitudes are the key predictor of delinquency and crime in general (Wolfe and Piquero, 2011). As per this theory, there are four different variants which resulted in instigating and strengthening the attitude of parties which motivates them to engage in criminal activities.
A balance between these four factors affects the fact regarding whether an individual will be prone to engage in deviant behaviour or not. Although this theory is used in experts in order to understand the reason for commitment of crimes by a person, however, it can also assist in understanding the reason for increasing number of police corruption in the UK. This theory suggests that police officers are more likely to develop a peer group in the departments in which they operate. In these peer groups, officers are constantly exposed to co-workers who might engage in illegal or immoral behaviours (Cooper, 2012). It resulted in influencing attitude of other police officers as well, and they are more likely to learn to accept deviant behaviour which enables them to engage in corrupt activities.
The “rotten apple theory” provided that police officers engage in unethical activities by themselves because they like to misuse their powers. This theory is based on individualistic explanation of police corruption. This theory provides that police officers involved in illegal activities by misusing their powers in order to gain monetary compensation for selfish ends (Gottschalk, Dean and Glomseth, 2011). They engage in corrupt activities because it is easier for them to gain unfair advantage by engaging in them without being responsible for the consequences. Although the ‘rotten apple theory’ assists in understanding the behaviour of police officers towards crimes, however,
it is inadequate in explaining the reason for frequency of police misconduct. On the other hand, the subculture theory argues that there is a degree of corruption in almost of police department which creates a culture of accepting corruption in the operations. The more experienced police officers know how to avoid legal consequences by committing corrupt actions, and they teach them to new members as well (Crank, 2014).
Police officers who did not engage in these activities find it difficult to perform their work without facing a hostile working environment in which nobody got their back. The job of police is scary without proper support from the team members which makes it more likely that the other police officers will also accept and engage in corrupt activities (Hough et al., 2016). Studies have shown that police officers are more prone to accept illegal exchanges due to their subculture in which the moral commitments of individuals are not sustained by their peers.
Without proper support and assistance from the senior managerial personnel, it becomes impossible for police officers to ensure that they engage in ethical practices. The subculture has a significant impact on the attitude and behaviour of police officers based on which they are more likely to engage in practices which are illegal by misusing their powers. The ‘slippery slope’ theory of police corruption argues that accepting and letting go of small seemingly inconsequential gratuities escalates into serious unethical and immoral actions by police officers (Dean, Bell, and Lauchs, 2010). The police officers who accept minor unethical actions or illegal behaviour of peers are more likely to develop an attitude of accepting unethical practices.
These officers find it easier to accept serious bribes after accepting many small bribes for actions which are constituted as inconsequential. This theory provides police officers psychologically become more corrupt as they continue to accept more bribes for illegal activities (Wright, 2010). They also become greedier as they realise that they can get away by accepting bribes which encourage them to engage in more serious corrupt activities in order to increase their profits. Based on the evaluation of these theories, it can be determined that there are various factors which resulted in increasing corruption in the British police.
The corruption in the police department in the UK is a major issue which his proliferating due to lack of effective policies which are targeted towards addressing this issue. There are various actions which can be taken by the police department in order to reduce the number of corrupt activities in the British police. Preventing corruption completely is a difficult job; however, steps can be taken by the government in the UK which can reduce it significantly. There are a few fundamental ideas which can be implemented by the government which controls corruption based on which the government show focus on three major areas which include officer training, personal character, and incentives programs (Sikka and Lehman, 2015).
The first step focuses on hiring a police officer of good character which is difficult for many reasons. Stricter screening methods can be implemented by the police department to test the character of potential candidates for the role of police offers. Psychological factors should also be considered by the department in order to find the right candidate for the job. Since human change with time, good police officers are also likely to become corrupt as per subculture theory discussed above. However, this issue can be addressed by providing appropriate training to police members that assist them in acting ethically.
Training should include actions which police officers can take in order to report the unethical behaviour or practices of other co-workers to eliminate corruption. The incentive program should be implemented which is focused on rewarding those police officers who engage in ethical practices. Incentives should be given to those officers who report corrupt activities of other police officers which resulted in destroying the culture in the department of accepting corrupt actions. Lastly, the government should implement policies which are focused on increasing transparency in the operations of the police department. These policies should require the police officers to comply with a framework which require them to disclose relevant information regarding the actions taken by them.
The police department should send a report regarding the actions taken by the officers to ensure that they did not hide any unethical practices. The officers should report to a specific committee in which they have to disclose the reasons for the actions taken by them based on which they will be able to reduce corruption (Lindstedt and Naurin, 2010). Although these policies can make it difficult for police officers to efficiency complete their job, however, the government should take this fact into consideration while forming the policies to ensure that efficiency is maintained along with effectiveness.
In conclusion, a range of examples is evaluated in this essay in order to determine that the police department in Britain is corrupt. This is proven based on evaluation of many examples in which innocent people suffered significant loss due to the corrupt actions of police department in the UK. The corrupt actions of police officers resulted in destroying the lives of innocent people who are imprisoned or killed by police officers. Police officers engage in corrupt activities in order to gain unfair advantages, especially monetary benefits. Different theories highlight that there are both individual and cultural factors which resulted in increasing corrupt in the police departments of the UK.
It becomes difficult for police officers who are not corrupt to ensure that they did not engage in unethical practices due to peer pressure. Many officers like to misuse their powers, and they use them to gain unfair monetary advantages. This is a growing issue which is affecting the citizen in the UK; therefore, recommendations are given to address this issue. These recommendations include hiring good character officers, providing them training to deal with corruption relating issues, rewarding them for eliminating corrupt activities and promoting transparency in the operations. These recommendations will result in reducing corruption in Britain and increase the trust of the public in the police departments.
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