Corruption in Law Enforcement: A Paradigm of Occupational Stress and Deviancy
In the closed society of a law enforcement agency, factors such as the conspiracy of silence, authoritarian supervision, and police discretion contribute to corruption. This article describes various types of corrupt behavior by police officers, reports the incidence of corruption in law enforcement agencies, discusses psychiatric conditions that may arise from corruption and also contribute to further corruption, and reviews proposed remedies for corruption. It also suggests that an understanding of corruption in law enforcement might be helpful in understanding, correcting, and preventing corruption in other professions, including medicine
Police officers are both respected and suspected, hated and loved, feared and courted for favor, maligned and praised. They wield tremendous power and are capable of depriving others of their freedom, their reputations, and their lives.' Most of us assume, in our dealings with police officers, that they are all competent, honest, professional, and psychologically stable. This is true of the majority of officers, but there are also officers who are dishonest,