6.7. Police Misconduct, Accountability, and Corruption 
TIFFANY MOREY 
Learning Objectives 
This section will cover police misconduct and accountability. After reading this section, students will be able to: 
• 
Discuss the different corruption types in policing 
• 
Explain the difference between a meat eater and a grass eater 
• 
List the different ways an officer engages in noble-cause corruption 
• 
Describe how a police officer uses stereotyping on the job 
• 
Discuss the importance of having a reliable internal affairs division/bureau 
• 
Explain why excessive use of force is difficult to quantify 
Critical Thinking Questions 
1. 
How are grass eaters and meat eaters different? 
2. 
What is noble cause corruption? 
3. 
Why are there misunderstandings of police accountability? 
4. 
What are the functions of an internal affairs division/bureau? 
5. 
What happens if a police department shows a pattern of excessive use of force? 
Corruption Types 
Police officers have a considerable amount of power. With one fail swoop, an officer can take a person’s 
freedom away. That is a tremendous amount of power. An officer is also given the authority to carry a gun 
and for protection of either the officer or a person, take the life of a citizen as well. These decisions are 
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