Slippery Slope Research Paper
CJ: 340
Slippery Slope
9/18/2014
Slippery Slope Many individuals come victim to a specific action or favor for another for personal gain or to be ahead of the game (cheat). Unfortunately Politicians and Law Enforcement are not exempt from the list. Slippery slope is defined as a process or series of events that is hard to stop or control once it has begun and that usually leads to worse or more difficult things or outcomes (Merriam-Webster dictionary, 2014). Police work in itself, especially undercover work basically puts an officer in the position to make tough decisions. An officer may have to pretend to be connected with a drug king which entails dealing drugs and money to other drug kings and users (Police Crime News, 2014). …show more content…
It also entails the dealing of “loose” money which becomes very tempting to an officer and rides that line of a slippery slope. Police are constantly put in a situation that will most likely ride the line of the slippery slope.
For example: The movies are somewhat true in the fact that police lie to hostages and kidnappers in order to save the victims, one may say a white lie to the media in order to get some relief from the media, while interrogating or interviewing Police are trained to lie in order to get information, Police try to avoid nonsense calls like the neighbor is being loud or the dog wont stop barking etc., Police even manipulate the work system by trading and/or selling days off and even most requested work orders, Police may try to manuever oneself in a position to make an extra $5000 a year more, Police invade privacy on a regular basis with hidden cameras and recording devices to solve a case, and last but certainly not least, Police involved in a drug sting operation actually make a product and set up citizens to buy the product, then arrest the citizen; I find something morally and ethically wrong with that set-up (Police Crime News, …show more content…
2014).
Society-at-Large Hypothes Delattre society-at-large hypothesis is used to understand or find reasons why Police choose corruption. Based on this hypothesis, Delattre believes that any small gift or gratuity received by Police from society usually leads to bribes, larger gratuities, and the gift giver expecting the receiving Police Officer to place more focus on the welbeing oneself and/or his/her property or place of business (Bauza, 1972). For example: the free donut from the store clerk, free cup of coffee from the gas station, etc. Delattre believes that corruption may also be related to the structural and affiliation hypothesis in which the odds of an Officer performing corrupt behavior influenced by co-workers (Bauza, 1972).
Structural or Affiliation Hypothesis The structural or affiliation hypothesis is the belief that values are illustrated by the bosses of the department and those values are learned and performed by the lower ranks. If the leaders of the department don’t have a handle on it may be promoting corru Also, leaders who do not have a grasp or control over their departments or who are otherwise ineffective may look to be promoting corruption (Smith, 2010). Leaders such as mentioned may also be corrupt and “covering up” laws being broken on the street for personal gain. For example, if the lead detective in narcotics lets a drug dealer on block A sell drugs with no police involvement and closes down business on opposing B block in exchange for a major profit, that is the structural or Affiliation Hypothesis (Smith, 2010).
The "Rotten Apple" theory is said to have begun before the training process in becoming a police officer; it was a trait that was overlooked or missed by the screening process. In turn professionals in the field believe that in order to put a hault to the mistake is to make the psychological screening more difficult and put an end to the “rotten apples.” This article focuses on the sociopathic, or antisocial, personality manifest in many police officers (Griffin, C. Ruiz, J. 1999). Such police officers that have this trait most definitely go into the academy and eventually become an officer with the intention of abusing his/her power and lead to corruption.
Much attention should me given to the geographical location or neighborhood in which a rookie starts working (Griffin, C. Ruiz, J. 1999). I would say that its probably not the best idea to place a newby on the streets of heavy gang and drug activity or undercover on a drug or money laundering case because of the temptatios that always present themselves. Sociopaths, in my opinion, should not be hired if caught in the screening process because a sociopath may already be predisposed to antisocial behavior genetically or because of the location on the beat or the environment in which one works.
Subcultural norms, peer influence, and economic factors are the external factors that may lead an officer to believe that antisocial or deviant behavior is the most appropriate and most beneficial approach to his/her role as a police officer (Griffin, C.
Ruiz, J. 1999). There are always going to be endless temptations and offers that police, like everyone else, have to battle. It is crucial that the signs of stress, anxiety, depression, and all other negative traits are caught early in the screening process (Griffin, C. Ruiz, J. 1999). Spontaneous psychological testing should be put into practice during the duration of the time on the force because the job entails unknown events in which can deeply hurt an officer mentally, physically and the officer may even develop a case of PTSD (Griffin, C. Ruiz, J. 1999). Making sure that the people that protect us and our streets day in and day out is imparritive.
We as everyday individuals leading lives employed with companies that involve filing, scanning, making/taking phone calls, etc. need to be aware and appreciative what the police do for our communities. We also need to remember that the police are still human just like you and I and that there is going to come a time that an officer makes a mistake or makes a bad decision that could possibly place one behind
bars.
References
Merriam-Websters Slippery Slope by Encyclopedia Britannica, 2014 retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slippery%20slope
Police Deviance and Ethics by Police Crimes News, 2004 retrieved from http://policecrimes.com/police_deviance.html
Hypothesis on Police Corruption by Nathan Smith 2010 retrieved from https://sites.google.com/a/nathanmsmith.com/nathan-micah-smith---personal-homepage/blog/hypothesisonpolicecorruption
Sociopathic Police Personality: Is It a Product of the "Rotten Apple" or the "Rotten Barrel?" by Catherine Griffin and Jim Ruiz, 1999 retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/app/publications/abstract.aspx?id=181019
Slippery Slope
9/18/2014
Slippery Slope Many individuals come victim to a specific action or favor for another for personal gain or to be ahead of the game (cheat). Unfortunately Politicians and Law Enforcement are not exempt from the list. Slippery slope is defined as a process or series of events that is hard to stop or control once it has begun and that usually leads to worse or more difficult things or outcomes (Merriam-Webster dictionary, 2014). Police work in itself, especially undercover work basically puts an officer in the position to make tough decisions. An officer may have to pretend to be connected with a drug king which entails dealing drugs and money to other drug kings and users (Police Crime News, 2014). …show more content…
It also entails the dealing of “loose” money which becomes very tempting to an officer and rides that line of a slippery slope. Police are constantly put in a situation that will most likely ride the line of the slippery slope.
For example: The movies are somewhat true in the fact that police lie to hostages and kidnappers in order to save the victims, one may say a white lie to the media in order to get some relief from the media, while interrogating or interviewing Police are trained to lie in order to get information, Police try to avoid nonsense calls like the neighbor is being loud or the dog wont stop barking etc., Police even manipulate the work system by trading and/or selling days off and even most requested work orders, Police may try to manuever oneself in a position to make an extra $5000 a year more, Police invade privacy on a regular basis with hidden cameras and recording devices to solve a case, and last but certainly not least, Police involved in a drug sting operation actually make a product and set up citizens to buy the product, then arrest the citizen; I find something morally and ethically wrong with that set-up (Police Crime News, …show more content…
2014).
Society-at-Large Hypothes Delattre society-at-large hypothesis is used to understand or find reasons why Police choose corruption. Based on this hypothesis, Delattre believes that any small gift or gratuity received by Police from society usually leads to bribes, larger gratuities, and the gift giver expecting the receiving Police Officer to place more focus on the welbeing oneself and/or his/her property or place of business (Bauza, 1972). For example: the free donut from the store clerk, free cup of coffee from the gas station, etc. Delattre believes that corruption may also be related to the structural and affiliation hypothesis in which the odds of an Officer performing corrupt behavior influenced by co-workers (Bauza, 1972).
Structural or Affiliation Hypothesis The structural or affiliation hypothesis is the belief that values are illustrated by the bosses of the department and those values are learned and performed by the lower ranks. If the leaders of the department don’t have a handle on it may be promoting corru Also, leaders who do not have a grasp or control over their departments or who are otherwise ineffective may look to be promoting corruption (Smith, 2010). Leaders such as mentioned may also be corrupt and “covering up” laws being broken on the street for personal gain. For example, if the lead detective in narcotics lets a drug dealer on block A sell drugs with no police involvement and closes down business on opposing B block in exchange for a major profit, that is the structural or Affiliation Hypothesis (Smith, 2010).
The "Rotten Apple" theory is said to have begun before the training process in becoming a police officer; it was a trait that was overlooked or missed by the screening process. In turn professionals in the field believe that in order to put a hault to the mistake is to make the psychological screening more difficult and put an end to the “rotten apples.” This article focuses on the sociopathic, or antisocial, personality manifest in many police officers (Griffin, C. Ruiz, J. 1999). Such police officers that have this trait most definitely go into the academy and eventually become an officer with the intention of abusing his/her power and lead to corruption.
Much attention should me given to the geographical location or neighborhood in which a rookie starts working (Griffin, C. Ruiz, J. 1999). I would say that its probably not the best idea to place a newby on the streets of heavy gang and drug activity or undercover on a drug or money laundering case because of the temptatios that always present themselves. Sociopaths, in my opinion, should not be hired if caught in the screening process because a sociopath may already be predisposed to antisocial behavior genetically or because of the location on the beat or the environment in which one works.
Subcultural norms, peer influence, and economic factors are the external factors that may lead an officer to believe that antisocial or deviant behavior is the most appropriate and most beneficial approach to his/her role as a police officer (Griffin, C.
Ruiz, J. 1999). There are always going to be endless temptations and offers that police, like everyone else, have to battle. It is crucial that the signs of stress, anxiety, depression, and all other negative traits are caught early in the screening process (Griffin, C. Ruiz, J. 1999). Spontaneous psychological testing should be put into practice during the duration of the time on the force because the job entails unknown events in which can deeply hurt an officer mentally, physically and the officer may even develop a case of PTSD (Griffin, C. Ruiz, J. 1999). Making sure that the people that protect us and our streets day in and day out is imparritive.
We as everyday individuals leading lives employed with companies that involve filing, scanning, making/taking phone calls, etc. need to be aware and appreciative what the police do for our communities. We also need to remember that the police are still human just like you and I and that there is going to come a time that an officer makes a mistake or makes a bad decision that could possibly place one behind
bars.
References
Merriam-Websters Slippery Slope by Encyclopedia Britannica, 2014 retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slippery%20slope
Police Deviance and Ethics by Police Crimes News, 2004 retrieved from http://policecrimes.com/police_deviance.html
Hypothesis on Police Corruption by Nathan Smith 2010 retrieved from https://sites.google.com/a/nathanmsmith.com/nathan-micah-smith---personal-homepage/blog/hypothesisonpolicecorruption
Sociopathic Police Personality: Is It a Product of the "Rotten Apple" or the "Rotten Barrel?" by Catherine Griffin and Jim Ruiz, 1999 retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/app/publications/abstract.aspx?id=181019