Police corruption Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Police corruption - Assignment Example It is marked by simultaneous occurrence of mishandling of official capacity and mishandling of personal attainment. It is carried out by violation of state or federal laws or the constitutional rights of the individual. Corruption may also involve material benefit or a profit gained through abuse of public authority. Police corruption is a pervasive phenomenon, yet it is not bound by ranks. It is typified by such acts as bribery, extortion, receiving or selling stolen property and aiding or abetting or carrying out drug pedaling. Broadly, it may also include indulging in such acts as violence and brutality, fabrication or destruction of evidence, racism, or favoritism. Knapp Commission describe three basic kinds of corruption; bribery, shakedowns and mooching . Police may use subtle to extreme methods to indulge in corruption. However, no single reason can be ascribed to the existence of police corruption (Gainer and Miller, 2008). Wicershkam Commission was appointed by President Herbert Hoover in 1929. George W. Wicershkam headed the National Committee on Law Observation and Enforcement, which was popularly called the Wicershkam Commission. Wicershkam Commission was charged with investigating the causes of widespread criminal activity and finding causes of violations of national prohibition policy. It was the first of its kind national level enquiry into the causes of crime and law enforcement. The commission presented its report in 14 volumes in a study carried out from 1931 to 1932. The commission handed out a severe indictment of police thus confirming the presence of misconduct and corruption in its functioning. Apart from the use of violence and brutality it also pointed out the instances of bribery, corruption, coercion, fabrication of evidence and entrapment. Knapp Commission or the Commission to Investigate the Alleged Police Corruption was appointed under the chairmanship of Whitman