NCJ Number
207168
Journal
Criminal Justice Ethics Volume: 23 Issue: 1 Dated: Winter/Spring 2004 Pages: 33-44
Date Published
2004
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This examination of the practice of police acceptance of gratuities highlights some specific situations in which police should clearly say "No" to the gratuity offered.
Abstract
The author first reviews arguments for why the police should not accept gratuities of any type. These include the "slippery slope" to serious corruption, the tendency of officers to favor those who provide gratuities, and the public perception that police receive favors that other citizens do not receive. These arguments are followed by a summary of arguments for police acceptance of gratuities. These arguments include the building of positive social relationships between the police and citizens and avoidance of an unreasonable pressure on police to refuse all tangible symbols of citizen appreciation for police services. The author then identifies those specific types of situations in which police should always refuse a gratuity. These are occasions when gratuities are offered because the recipient is a police officer; the gratuities are offered regularly; the value of a gratuity is disproportionate to the services rendered; the gratuity is offered in order to receive certain services; and the gratuity is offered by a person not authorized to give it. In creating a gratuities policy, this paper recommends setting guidelines within which individual officers can exercise their own judgment. 42 notes