Among the seven recurring ethical problems that Kania and Davis mentioned, I believe that the most damaging to the mission of criminal justice managers is the wrongful pursuit of personal gain. One often hears or reads news about police corruption. Just recently, one heard in the news about the arrest of ten metro officers in Atlanta for accepting thousands of dollars in pay-offs from drug dealers. Apparently, these police officers have been working with a gang for almost a year now and were involved with over 50 cocaine transactions. According to a study by the New York Mollen Commission in 1998, most drug-related police corruptions are motivated by power.
Corruption among criminal justice managers is not confined in the United States. In the United Kingdom, a report released by the Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) last year revealed that anti-corruption units all over the country are handling 245 corruption cases every month, which is a 62% increase from the previous year. In the Philippines recently, there is a manhunt for four cops who are being accused of extortion and kidnapping.
The above incidents simply show that police corruption is very rampant all over the world whether it is in America, Europe or Asia. Motives for corruption may vary such as for personal enrichment or for pleasure but whatever the motives are, criminal justice managers must realize that the wrongful pursuit of personal gain goes against the law and ethics (Kania & Davis, 2012). Being part of the criminal justice system does not put one above the law. Accepting of bribes and payoffs is a conscious decision of a criminal justice manager; however, the public cannot blame such behavior solely to the police officer because societal factors also contribute to its perpetuation.
References
Byers, B. (2002). Ethics and criminal justice: Some observations on police misconduct. Crime & Justice International.
Cox Media Group. (2013, February 13). Metro police officers arrested in federal corruption investigation. Retrieved from wsbtv.com: http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/metro-police-officers-arrested-corruption-investig/nWMcg/
Elona, J. M. (2013, April 8). Metro police hunt 4 of 6 cops accused of extortion-kidnapping. Retrieved from newsinfo.inquirer.net: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/387305/metro-police-hunt-4-of-6-cops-accused-of-extortion-kidnapping
Kania, R. E., & Davis, R. P. (2012). Chapter 12 - Future issues in criminal justice management. In R. E. Kania, & R. P. Davis, Managing criminal justice organizations (2nd ed.) (pp. 233-245). Waltham, MA: Elsevier.
Verkaik, R. (2012, December 23). Shocking 62% rise in police officers being investigated for corruption with eight out of ten accused of illegally disclosing information. Retrieved from dailymail.co.uk: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2252395/Shocking-62-rise-police-officers-investigated-corruption.html
