NCJ Number
146906
Date Published
1978
Length
18 pages
Annotation
Four urban police departments in California and New York were studied, each of which had experienced a major police corruption scandal, to identify policies for controlling corruption.
Abstract
The study relied on interviews, official police department records, and newspaper accounts to reconstruct changes in both police corruption and corruption control policies. Changes in corruption over time were measured by eight indicators of the organization of corruption. All four police departments had a high level of organization in police corruption prior to the scandal. Three police departments adopted policies aimed at preventing and detecting ongoing corruption, while one adopted policies aimed only at responding to allegations of past corruption. Policies aimed at ongoing corruption involved tighter administrative control, attempts to change the organizational environment, and covert internal investigations. The level of organization in corruption declined substantially in all four cities after the adoption of reform policies. Study findings show that premonitory strategies aimed at ongoing corruption can reduce the level of organization in police corruption and that postmonitory strategies aimed at past corruption do not seem to be as effective as premonitory strategies. An appendix contains data sources on organizational reform policies and the organization of police corruption. 3 tables