Review the prompt and source materials provided in the Final Project Guidelines and Rubric document. Then, in a short paper, address the following two prompts:
Describe the contributing factors, implicit and explicit, that may have influenced the officers involved in the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department SCORE Unit corruption case.
Analyze how this conduct impacts the officers’ personal lives.
Include at least three independent sources and cite them utilizing the APA format.
Kansas City Police
http://web.archive.org/web/20150215084524/http:/kckpd.org/Services/SCORE
https://www.kctv5.com/news/new-details-arise-about-sting-that-busted-kck-officers/article_861f3479-b3a2-5f17-a20d-ed23e1317a0d.html
https://www.kctv5.com/story/15090956/indictments-handed-down-in-kck-police-officer-misconduct-case/
http://www.kctv5.com/story/16537378/2-kck-officers-pleading-guilty
4-2 Milestone Two: Examining Contributing Factors And Consequences
Contributing Factors
The three officers of the Kansas City police department were involved in unethical practices. From the message convened during the case hearing, it is evident that the explicit and implicit contributing factors that may have influenced the officers involved in the case were organization elements such as the existence of an unethical culture, and individual and peripheral factors, respectively.
The explicit factor that may have influenced the officers involved in the SCORE unit corruption case is the existence of a culture that promotes unethical behavior. For example, during the hearing, Forrest, one of the accused officers, averred that he had been influenced by others and acted as a “follower” (“3 KCK officers”, 2012). This statement suggests that similar unethical practices inflicted the department, and the behavior of the three officers may have been representative of the existing culture in the organization.
Furthermore, peripheral and personal elements may have been implicit contributing factors that influenced the officers in the case. Literature reveals the existence of a “rotten apple” approach, which suggests that police criminality is rooted in individual characteristics such as lack of morality, integrity, values, or financial problems (“Risk factors”, n.d.). In this context, some of the highlighted individual characteristics may have influenced the officers to indulge in the theft. Furthermore, peripheral contributing risk factors, such as low wages and lack of job promotion, may have triggered the unethical behavior. Most notably, Forrest was in the department for eight years (“3 KCK officers”, 2012). Therefore, the lack of promotion may have triggered him to indulge in criminality for personal satisfaction.
Analysis of Conduct’s Impact
Police criminality can have adverse effects on an officer’s personal life. As noted by scholars, officers charged with crimes tend to experience an unraveling of their lives, and mental health problems can occur in some instances (Matthew et al., 2016). Most notably, the majority of the officers spend years building on their careers. Therefore, when they are arrested for criminality, their job and reputation are damaged. For example, Forrest spent eight years in the police department. His arrest implied that the eight years spent building his career would no longer be of use. Furthermore, as a result of the condemnation that accused officers receive from members of the public, they may experience mental health problems such as stress and subsequently adopt addictive behaviors such as substance abuse.
References
“3 KCK officers plead guilty as part of FBI sting operation” (2012, January 31). KCTV News. https://web.archive.org/web/20180217012705/http:/www.kctv5.com:80/story/16537378/2-kck-officers-pleading-guilty
“Risk factors associated with police criminality” (n.d.). UNISA. http://uir.unisa.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10500/1530/09chapters3to5.pdf
Matthew, P.S., Liederbach, J., Lab, S.P., & Brewer, S.L. (2016). Police integrity lost: A study of law enforcement officers arrested. NCJRS. https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/249850.pdf
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