Criminological Explanations for Police Corruption and Abuse: Policy Implications for Improved Organizational Integrity and Professionalism

• In Event: Artifacts of Police Conduct and Accountability

Abstract

Police deviance can be defined as disregarding agency policy, rules and regulations, societal expectations, and/or criminal law. Five distinct types of police deviance can be specified: 1) Police Corruption, 2) Police Criminality, 3) Excessive Use of Force, 4) Abuse of Authority and 5) Police Misconduct. Each aspect of this typology will be thoroughly defined. The different categories of police deviance as it relates to the experiences within the NYPD, the LAPD and other American metropolitan police agencies over the last 50 years will be comprehensively outlined and analyzed in an attempt to determine if an evaluation of police abusive conduct through criminological perspectives would prove to be useful in formulating practical policy recommendations to deter corruption, criminal behavior, and serious abuses, and in improving professionalism and enhancing effective leadership within police organizations.

Author

• James F Albrecht, University of New Haven