NCJ Number
134211
Date Published
1974
Length
36 pages
Annotation
This report, based partially on the findings of the Pennsylvania Crime Commission and the Knapp Commission in New York City, discusses the role of the police in local gambling law enforcement.
Abstract
Several questions about gambling and police corruption are identified that have not been answered or even raised by those who should be concerned with the problem. The career of a police patrol officer is traced from the training phase through probable corruption by colleagues or local gambling operators. The author indicates that corruption usually exists at all levels of law enforcement and is often supported by other, higher levels of government. He concludes that, as long as police are involved in gambling law enforcement, their corruption by gambling interests will remain widespread, difficult to control, and perhaps inevitable. Any police department that must confront entrenched, organized street gambling must have decentralized vice units. Further, since gambling is an important local business, police knowledge of its operations is essential. Such knowledge, however, increases the potential for corruption. 46 footnotes