Patterns of Police Use of Force as a Measure of Police Integrity (original) (raw)

Police integrity is often conceived as a trait of an individual officer. This traditional conception emphasizes concrete acts that are identified in law, policy or professional standards as policy integrity. Absence of police integrity is often identified by an incident or a pattern of incidents that involve illegal, unethical, or unprofessional behavior, although it can also involve the failure to act according to professional standards to protect and to serve (Criminal Justice Commission, 1997).. In the 19 th and 20 th centuries, law enforcement officers in many large U.S. cities became associated with incompetence, corruption, and brutality. The police were believed to have routinely taken payoffs from saloon-keepers, pimps, and gamblers in return for selective nonenforcement, and from peddlers and small business owners in exchange for protection. Free meals from restaurant owners became the norm in many areas and many officers established reputations for being especially tough on immigrants and minorities (Forst, 2000). Although this notion of police integrity covers a wide range of behaviors, it emphasizes the underlying moral fiber and explicit behavior of individual officers. From this perspective, it is the individual officer's behavior that lacks integrity. The most popular theory of officer misconduct is the rotten-apple theory, which emphasizes individual moral character and behavior. Walker and Katz (2002, p. 329), however, point out that the latter explanation has several failings, including its failure to explain: (1) the long history of corruption within policing, (2) why some honest officers become corrupt, and (3) why some departments have extensive and enduring corruption while others are relatively free from these problems. Common approaches to addressing lapses in