needs for the trials. This would ultimately deter officers from corruption and misconduct because they would not be believed just because they have a badge. The camera cannot lie. On the other side, if the officer was right in his actions the video camera will show this. One of the biggest problems that promoted these scandals was lack of managerial oversight. This is something that still needs to be improved but body cameras would be a step in the right direction. Departments like the LAPD and CPD are so big it is difficult to oversee everything they do. A body camera takes this burden off of those who police the police. It is now not just the police or word but video evidence. This should make it easier officer’s department’s for oversight to see both sides of the story rather than always favoring the police. Body cameras would have had a huge impact on how the Rampart Scandal would have played out along with the actions of the CPD. V. Discussion Yes, police corruption is a major conflict, but there are many departments and many cops that are not corrupt at all. We tend to pay attention to the bad ones because they often get more attention than the good ones. This may lead to a lack of numbers on police corruption, simply because it does not exist as much as people like believe it does. While making this point I would like to say I believe there are more good cops than bad, and all of our nation's law enforcement is not crooked or corrupt, but in fact, a good fraction of it is a just and fair structure. Nonetheless, the phenomenon of what causes police corruption is still intriguing and it is important to explore. I hypothesized that there are several leading causes of police corruption. I suspected that the hiring, and training process of new cops is not thorough enough, and that cops are not trained well enough for certain situations. One other important factor I believe that leads to police
needs for the trials. This would ultimately deter officers from corruption and misconduct because they would not be believed just because they have a badge. The camera cannot lie. On the other side, if the officer was right in his actions the video camera will show this. One of the biggest problems that promoted these scandals was lack of managerial oversight. This is something that still needs to be improved but body cameras would be a step in the right direction. Departments like the LAPD and CPD are so big it is difficult to oversee everything they do. A body camera takes this burden off of those who police the police. It is now not just the police officer’s or department’s word but video evidence. This should make it easier for oversight to see both sides of the story rather than always favoring the police. Body cameras would have had a huge impact on how the Rampart Scandal would have played out along with the actions of the CPD. V. Discussion Yes, police corruption is a major conflict, but there are many departments and many cops that are not corrupt at all. We tend to pay attention to the bad ones because they often get more attention than the good ones. This may lead to a lack of numbers on police corruption, simply because it does not exist as much as people like believe it does. While making this point I would like to say I believe there are more good cops than bad, and all of our nation's law enforcement is not crooked or corrupt, but in fact, a good fraction of it is a just and fair structure. Nonetheless, the phenomenon of what causes police corruption is still intriguing and it is important to explore. I hypothesized that there are several leading causes of police corruption. I suspected that the hiring, and training process of new cops is not thorough enough, and that cops are not trained well enough for certain situations. One other important factor I believe that leads to police
Willhelm_Police_Corruption.docx