NCJ Number
170670
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 65 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1998) Pages: 25-28
Date Published
1998
Length
4 pages
Annotation
The "continuum of compromise" provides a useful framework for understanding the transition from "honest cop" to "compromised officer."
Abstract
Most officers would like to be known for their loyalty and integrity. A problem occurs, however, when a sense of victimization and over-identification with the job sets into motion the dilemma of loyalty versus integrity. Here is where an officer called in to Internal Affairs and asked questions about another officer might find himself/herself lying to the investigator, often about a minor issue. An officer who develops a significant sense of victimization and intense resentment toward supervisors and administrators for controlling his/her job-role may be confronted with another loyalty dilemma: a sense of entitlement; entitlement suggests that a police officer, both on-duty and off-duty, acts as if the law and standards of ethical behavior do not apply to him/her. In the final stage of the continuum of compromise, an officer may rationalize criminal behavior. When officers are ill-prepared to face the ethical dilemmas to which they will be exposed and are unaware of the continuum of compromise, they can gradually allow mild job frustration to develop into pathological anger and rage. Officers should be trained in the continuum of compromise and how to recognize it when it is happening. Supervisors must also recognize and proactively address potential ethical violations before major problems develop.