Corruption Definition: Facets of Corruption:
The term corruption is a metaphor: "To spoil or destroy (flesh, fruit, or other organic matter) by physical dissolution or putrid decomposition; to turn from a sound into an unsound impure condition; to cause to ‘go bad’; to make rotten or rotting." (OED 2012).
Corruption is ‘deliberate unlawful conduct (whether by act or omission) on the part of a member of the police service, utilizing his or hers position, whether on or off duty, and the exercise of police powers in bad faith. -Corruption can be:
(South Australia Police, 2016)
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(Report of the Wood Royal Commission, 1997) |
Statistics & Examples of Police Corruption Occurrences:
Police corruption has been taking place since the first formation of the police academy in 1829. Since then, the most recent statistics have shown that between the years of 2005 and 2011, 873 police officers were convicted with violence, 914 were convicted with profit motivated crimes, 792 were convicted with sex-related crimes and 419 were convicted with drug related crimes. These are the most common examples of police corruption occurrences. (Jackman, 2015)
The Kathryn Johnson shooting “In 2006, police raided a house in a crime and drug ridden neighborhood in Atlanta. 92 year old Kathryn Johnson, who was home at the time, was startled by the forced invasion and shot once at police officers, not hitting anyone. Officers retaliated and fired 39 shots, hitting Johnson at least 5 times. After searching the home and not finding drugs, the officers planted drugs in the home and convinced a drug informant of theirs to lie to police and tell them that he had bought drugs at Johnson’s home earlier that day. It was later determined that they had the wrong address on the warrant and the police officers involved were charged with making false statements, violating oaths of public officers, false imprisonment, and conspiracy to violate rights in result of death.” (Hartley, 2016) |
Victorian Statistics. (Jackman 2015)