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TYPOLOGIES OF MISCONDUCT What causes public employees to commit misdeeds? In "Splitting the Difference: Compromise and Integrity in Ethics and Politics", author Martin Benjamin (1990) identifies several typologies that attempt to explain the personality types of individuals who compromise their ethics. (1)
The chameleon personality type is described as anxious to accommodate and to avoid moral controversy. This individual is quick to modify or abandon previous principles and bows to social pressure. Opportunist The opportunist personality type has values that are always changing. This type is similar to the chameleon except the primary value is self-interest. The opportunist's motto is: "Above all - get ahead'. Hypocrite The hypocrite is another personality type described by Benjamin. The hypocrite lacks integrity. The hypocrite has one set of values in public and another in private. Weak-Willed Benjamin also describes the weak willed personality type. This person has a coherent set of values but lacks the courage to act on them. Self-deceiver The self-deceiver has contradiction at the base core. Self-deceivers think of themselves as acting on a set of core principles, but in fact, they do not. To resolve conflict they deceive themselves into thinking their actions are correct. Gilmartin and Harris, (1998) describe several problematic personality types specific to law enforcement officers. (2)
Gilmartin describes the cynical officer who is distrustful of human nature and motives. Over-investment Another personality type is the over-invested officer who spends all the time thinking about the job. The over-invested type is a cop all the time, on-duty and off. Because of over-investment in the job, the officer under-invests in family, hobbies, and leisure activities. Entitlement Gilmartin describes another problem personality type as the officer who rationalizes misconduct as entitlement. This type rationalizes acts of omission or commission as a debt owed, or something to which one is entitled based on a perception of increased personal sacrifice. This officer fails to hold himself to the higher standards of law enforcement by rationalizing bad behavior. Bad behavior is rationalized by comparing it to private sector employment where such behavior, "happens all the time" and goes unpunished.
(1) Benjamin, M. (1990). Splitting the Difference: Compromise and Integrity in Ethics and Politics. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas. (2) Gilmartin, K. M., & Harris, J. (1998, January). Law Enforcement Ethics...The Continuum of Compromise. The Police Chief. Retrieved May 6, 2003 from http://www.rcmp-learning.org/docs/ecdd1222.htm
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In The Managing of Police Organizations, Whisenand and Ferguson (1996) suggest the following four factors that "tend to defeat ethical instincts", (1)
Self-protection Self-deception Self-righteousness Reference (1) Whisenand, P. M., & Ferguson, R. F. (1996). The Managing of Police Organizations (4th ed.). Upper Saddle, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 52. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
In "Doing Bad Things for Good Reasons," Ken Adcox (2000), describes an "ends over means" attitude that some law enforcement officers use to justify unethical behavior. (1) Adcox says;
unacceptable or illegal means to accomplish desired ends. Officers who engage in this type of deviant conduct view it as acceptable police practices when such actions are resorted to in the name of justice. Over time, this behavior may become habitual and once this deviant behavior has become the norm, it is no longer recognized as deviant. (ibid.) The indoctrination of police officers, from their initial decision to join law enforcement, through academy training, and on to their in-service experiences, contribute to what Adcox describes as the systematic socialization that can weaken an individuals ethics. (ibid.)
(1) Adcox, K. (2000, January). Doing bad things for good reasons. The Police Chief. 16-28. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
In 1924, New York City's first female police officer, Mary E. Hamilton, briefly alluded to the insidious typology of police corruption of the era in her book, The Policewoman, Her Service and Ideals (1924), when she wrote:
comply with the rules and regulations: they are sensible and fair. She does not, however, have to adhere to any customs that revolt against her ideals. The old time policeman uses the phrase "covering himself." In it is expressed all the fear of being brought up on charges. The minute the policewoman begins "to cover herself" she is enveloping her ideals in the meshes of the System. A woman must blaze her own trail, and while considering her colleagues of the old school, work independently of them when it comes to the point of doing the work of a woman in the police field as a woman would do it. (1) Hamilton's thoughts are interesting reflections on the policing subculture of her era and beyond. Her suggestion that a woman officer must work independently from the "old school" colleagues who might be covering misdeeds is noteworthy. This systemic attitude, to ignore misconduct and work independently from wrongdoers, rather than to report them, was not particular to woman officers of Hamilton's era. Many male officers likely held the same beliefs. Many years after Mary Hamilton, in 1971, New York City police detective Frank Serpico reflected upon the police subculture of his era when he testified about police corruption before the Knapp Commission. He said,
police officer can act without fear or ridicule or reprisal from fellow officers. We must create an atmosphere in which the dishonest officer fears the honest one and not the other way around. I hope that this investigation and any future ones will deal with corruption at all levels within the department and not limit themselves to cases involving individual patrolmen. Police corruption cannot exist unless it is at least tolerated at higher levels in the department. Therefor, the most important result that can come from these hearings is a conviction by police officers, even more than the public, that the department will change.(2) Years later, in this era, law enforcement professionals continue to work towards the kinds of changes Serpico envisioned. References (1) Hamilton, M. E. (1924). The Policewoman, Her Service and Ideals. New York: Frederick A. Stone Co. 194-195. (2) Serpico, F. (1971). Testimony before the Knapp Commission on Police Corruption. New York., Retrieved May 17, 2003 from http://www.hellskitchen.net/develop/olympics/kriegel/nyt711215b.pdf |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In his book, Fundamentals of Law Enforcement: Problems and Issues (1980), V.A. Leonard described the loyalty and cohesiveness that officers have in their relationships with one another. He describes how misguided loyalty leads to misconduct:
report the misconduct of another. The loyalty to the group tends to become so important that even serious misbehavior by an officer may go unreported. Despite common knowledge of an officer’s misconduct, many police officer’s are often unwilling to break the bond of loyalty and report the offender. To do so would result in the reporting officer being labeled as a “fink” and ostracized by other officers (p. 67). According to Leonard, the loyalty also prevents officers from complaining within their own agencies:
within a department may have misgivings and complaints about the department, that information is seldom carried beyond the department itself. Although police officers frequently gripe and complain about the agency to their peers, any external complaint against the department tends to act as a unifying force. Public complaints against the department or adverse publicity often result in an increased sense of solidarity among all members of the department. Loyalty and solidarity afford protection against outside attacks on the agency. Frequently, any external threat results in the department and its members taking an “us against them” stance (p. 67). Leonard describes six personality characteristics common to police. These include: authoritarianism, suspicion of others, aggression, cynicism, masculinity, and alienated from other members of society (pp. 68- 72). Leonard describes the psychological consequences of the police culture on officers. These consequences can include frustration, willingness to use force, police delinquency, anomie (normlessness), and alcoholism. (pp. 77-79) |
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Police Delinquency
related to the method of training new police officers. Cynicism tends to reduce the police officer’s commitment to the larger social system and aids the development of a replacement commitment to an alternate set of values, beliefs, and practices. The replacement commitment is to an occupational subculture consisting of other police officers who engage in delinquent or corrupt practices. (p. 78) Policing and the Community - Police-Community Relations – A Dialogue - Why Police-Community Relations
resources. From an organizational health perspective, the fact that the public is willing to bear the financial support for police operations is a critical inducement to the police to be responsive and attentive to community relations (p. 119) The dedication of the police recruit is too often soured by the nightly street encounters. The persecution complex underlying the often heard statements, “The courts don’t back us up,” or “We’re a minority group,” is partly responsible for the isolation of the police from other segments of the community. This in turn leads to intense misunderstanding and distrust. The issue of mental health becomes extremely critical in those rare instances when the police selection process has failed to screen the police candidate who’s motivated by a desire to use the power of his or her office as an outlet for sadism or revenge. The array of mental aberrations held by the fictional officers known as the Choirboys in Joseph Wambaugh’s novel give some clues as to why police-community relations is an important issue. Viewed from the perspectives of departmental, physical, and mental health, community relations has the potential of acting as preventative medicine (p. 119). Police Corruption - The Importance of Ethics
been well developed. However, some guidance in ethics is essential if officers are to meet the wide variety of conditions which may be presented to them on any one day d still act properly an din a way that allows them to have the respect of themselves and of others (p. 339). We have mentioned the importance of administrative control and direction, of a standardized code of ethics, and of developing the necessary standards so that the work of the agency can be carried on with efficiency and rectitude. It should be recognized that all of these forces constitute a constant training activity to which each member of the force is exposed and which is most effective when it’s consistent and comprehensive in its relationship to all of the areas which pose temptation or strain (pp. 340-341). Beyond the generalized training impact, it’s also possible to develop what have been called integrity training programs, and a number of agencies have worked effectively in this area. Sometimes these offerings are called ethical awareness programs. They all involve attempts to present to the police officers, usually in a relatively informal setting, structured training which clarifies some of the ethical dilemmas involved in policing and to suggest answers to them. It’s important in all such activities that the officers actively participate in the training exercise. There is no value if the officers are just talked to or preached at. The officers must contribute their own experiences and apply the study material presented to their personal experiences. Then they must come to accept the value of the observations. Real ethical development only comes through the officer-student’s effort in trying to develop an awareness as to how he or she and other officers whom he or she can recognize as being in similar situations can meet the ethical problems which they have in common. Such workshops have often been extremely useful (p. 341). Reference Leonard, V.A. (1980). Fundamentals of law enforcement: Problems and issues. West Publishing Co. St Paul, MN.
Purchase the book: Kardasz, F. (2008). Ethics training for law enforcement: Practices and trends. Saarbrücken, Germany: VDM Verlag. ISBN: 3639001567. ISBN-13: 9783639001563. Available from http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/3639001567/ |
| TYPOLOGIES OF MISCONDUCT |
It is human nature to think wisely and act foolishly. - Anatole France (1844-1924) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Public confidence in the integrity of the Government is indispensable to faith in democracy; and when we lose faith in the system, we have lost faith in everything we fight and spend for. - Adlai E. Stevenson Jr. (1900-1965) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mine honour is my life; both grow in one; Take honour from me, and my life is done. - William Shakespeare, from King Richard II ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
Dr. Frank Kardasz P.O. Box 45048 Phoenix, AZ 85064 e-mail: kardasz@kardasz.org blog: www.kardasz.org/blog/ resume |
