A case study on police misconduct in the United States of ...

[Pages:128]A CASE STUDY ON POLICE MISCONDUCT IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND AN APPLICABLE MODEL FOR THE TURKISH NATIONAL POLICE Izzet Lofca, B.A.

Thesis Prepared for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS August 2002

APPROVED: Robert W. Taylor, Major Professor Peggy Tobolowsky, Committee Member John Liederbach, Committee Member David W. Hartman, Dean of the School of

Community Services C. Neal Tate, Dean of the Robert B. Toulouse

School of Graduate Studies

Lofca, Izzet, A case study on police misconduct in the United States of America and an applicable model for the Turkish National Police. Master of Science (Criminal Justice), August 2002, 122 pp., 4 tables, references, 174 titles.

This study explores the underlying causes and deterrent control mechanisms of police misconduct in the United States. Outcomes of causes and control mechanisms constitute the basis for an applicable model for the Turkish National Police (TNP).

Why is some police behavior deviate? What are the main determinants of police misconduct? Is police misconduct a result of sociological behavior and subcultural development within police organizations or a psychological behavior as an outcome of officers' personal traits? What are the control mechanisms for police misconduct? What are their strengths and weaknesses? Do they deter or not? Is there a control mechanism that deters better than others? What is the best deterrence model for the TNP?

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This paper was a long time in coming to its conclusion, and there were a number of individuals who were instrumental in this endeavor in addition to the Turkish National Police which this study is sponsored by. I would like to thank my committee chairman, Professor Robert W. Taylor for his time of support and his willingness to stay involved with the project. His support became more than a chairman ought to do. His knowledge and insight in pointing true paths while preparing this paper worth to state. Most of the ideas and ideals of this paper I owe to Professor Peggy Tobolowsky. To me her classroom was a temple and the Constitution its scripture. Thank you for the lessons and instructions which were a basis for this paper. John Leiderbach, Ph. D., provided his honest and valuable support in shaping the main text of this paper. Thank you very much. I should mention Professor Eric Fritsch and Professor Tory J. Caeti for their support in reaching many resources during preparation of this thesis. Thanks for their support in making clear most aspects of this paper. Karen Claiborne dedicated her valuable time to correct my text in many aspects. Thank you, Karen.

ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................... ii

LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................... v

Chapter

I. INTRODUCTION...................................................................................... 1

Methodology.............................................................................................. 7

II. DEFINITIONS AND CONCEPTS............................................................. 15

The Source of Police Power ....................................................................... 15 The Problem of Police Misconduct ............................................................ 19 The Characteristics of Police Misconduct ................................................... 21 Underlying Reasons for Police Misconduct ................................................ 23 Summary.................................................................................................... 35

III. RESPONSES TO THE PROBLEM OF POLICE MISCONDUCT ............. 37

Introduction................................................................................................ 37 Internal Controls ........................................................................................ 37

Standards and Training ......................................................................... 37 Internal Review Boards ........................................................................ 45 External Controls ....................................................................................... 49 42 USC Section 1983 ........................................................................... 49 Criminal Prosecution ............................................................................ 60 The Exclusionary Rule ........................................................................ 66

Historical Evolution of the Exclusionary Rule ................................ 68 Strengths and Weaknesses of the Exclusionary Rule ...................... 75 Civilian Review Boards........................................................................ 77 Conclusion to Control Mechanisms ............................................................ 84

IV. A MODEL FOR THE TURKISH NATIONAL POLICE ........................... 87

V. DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSION.......................................................101

iii

REFERENCES ............................................................................................................ 105 CASES CITED............................................................................................................120

iv

LIST OF TABLES

Table

Page

1. Police Accountability Mechanisms ........................................................................10

2. Police Techniques of Neutralizing Deviance ..........................................................34

3. The Differences Between a Civil and a Criminal Civil Rights Violation.................65

4. Landmark Cases ....................................................................................................69

v

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION Comprehensive constitutional and philosophical values are to be addressed consistently by government and it should be largely applicable in the bureaucracy (Garofalo & Geuras, 1999). Protecting the human rights of the people is a duty required of all countries around the world under international law. In order to protect these rights, these countries must have a fair and effective criminal justice system. In particular, the police are the people most directly responsible for protecting human rights. The way the police handle their job is the crucial determinant of status of these states, whether they meet or fail to meet their most important obligation of respecting the human rights of the people in their jurisdictions. They interact with the public on a daily basis. As officers of the state, they alone have the responsibility of enforcing the law. A culture of human rights should be introduced and reinforced in every police agency for a better policing practice (Crawshaw, Devlin, & Williamson, 1998). When a nation such as the United States (US) becomes suspicious of executive power and continually limits the power of the government, it might be thought that the power of the police would be limited as well (Blecker, 1989; Shaw, 1968). However, like every other country, the US allows its police a great deal of power. In fact, they are the only agency authorized by the state to use force (Alpert & MacDonald, 2001). Unfortunately this power, like any other, can be corrupted and abused for political gain.

1

The conduct of police officers should not only be within the limits of the law, but even exemplary (Champion, 2001). How do police, then, become corrupted?

When governmental power is limited, it is usually due to a fear among the people that that power might be abused (Blecker, 1989). In an attempt to control the behavior of officers, almost all police agencies throughout the world have become highly regulated, bureaucratic, and paramilitary organizations (Weisburd, McElroy, & Hardyman, 1989; Schellenberg, 2000).

Although, misconduct of the police is mostly attributed to police organizations, police deviance is not simply a result of organizational characteristics. It is also a result of the police subculture, an occupation-specific behavioral system characterized by conservatism, cynicism, isolation from society, solidarity, code of silence, racial prejudice, and more (Kampanakis, 2002). When these characteristics become more pervasive, they become more dangerous. The police are entitled to use coercive power to enforce the law. However, a feature of that coercive power is its potential to be misused (Bittner, 1975; Eschholz & Vaughn, 2001). This power to use force in an unlawful way is an enormous disaster for a democratic society where public trust to police is unconditional and the doctrine of police is community service oriented.

Police misconduct is as pervasive in the US as it is in England, Canada, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, France, Russia, and South Africa (Champion, 2001). Despite efforts to combat it, police misconduct is incessant and there is no systematic approach to solve the problem. Allegations of police misconduct, brutality, and harassment have popped up all over the US. The problem is not only nationwide, but it

2

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download