The consequences of unethical behaviours among ranks

Jun 05, 2018 Letters

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Dear Editor
What is corruption? What are the consequences of unethical and corrupt behaviour committed by law enforcement officials? In Guyana these are good topical issues to start a conversation with or even an argument. Please permit me to join in the confabulation.
Rothlein (2000) posits, “Corruption is a corrosive element that will spread like rust if it is not contained and eliminated. Addressing unethical behaviour and corruption has become a top priority and major challenge for police administration.
The causes of corruption are complex. Many factors can contribute to corruption, including greed’ personal motivators such as ego, sex, or the exercise of power, tolerance of the behaviour by the community’ socialization from peers and/or the organization; inadequate supervision and monitoring of behaviour; lack of clear accountability of employees’ behaviour and no real threat to discipline or sanctions.”
The real elements of corrupt behaviour are that the conduct (1) is prohibited by law or rule, (2) involves misuse of position and (3) involves a reward or personal gain for the officer.
The average police recruit or beat duty cop is expected to conduct his or her private and professional life with more integrity and decorum than most other citizens, however difficult and unrealistic that may seem at times.
One area in which the police conduct may be called into question is whether or not they accept gratuities. A gratuity is defined as a favour or gift, usually in form of money, given in return for service; for example a tip given to a waiter at a restaurant.
According to Whyte (2000), “Differentiating between gratuities and corruption is not a clear concept…Department policies on gratuities vary from agencies and officers may question what exactly constitutes a gratuity. To eliminate confusion, departments should ensure that their policies clearly distinguish what is acceptable.”
Whyte explains that there are many common arguments for and against gratuities. Some for are: Gratuities help create a bond between officers and the public, thus fostering community policing goals. They present a non written form of appreciation and usually are given with no expectation of anything in return. Most gratuities are too small to be a significant motivator of action.
The practice is so deeply entrenched that efforts to root it out will be ineffective and cause unnecessary violation of rules. A complete ban will make officers appear as though they cannot distinguish between a friendly gesture and a bribe.
Those against include: Accepting gratuities violates most departments’ policies and law enforcement code of ethics. Even the smallest gifts create a sense of obligation. Even if nothing is expected in return, gratuities will create an appearance of impropriety. Although most officers can discern between friendly gestures and bribes, some may not. It is unprofessional.
Many contend that accepting gratuities is often the launching pad in officers engaging in unethical behaviour and from there plunge quickly into actual corruption.
Many persons provide ‘ freebies’ because they expect preferential treatment from the recipient officers. Experience has shown that at times when the ‘freebies’ is not forth coming officers will make demands-even demand by menace. These may include simple things like money to buy drinks for the birthday party of the boss, tickets to attend a show at the National Stadium, a Fish Fry or a Bar B Q.
Research indicates that most scandals start with one employee doing relatively small unethical acts and grow to whatever level the leadership allows. Strandberg (2000) notes,” Corruption takes on many forms, and some things seemingly insignificant can put an officer on a slippery slope, leading to major crimes.”
All is not lost. A good starting point to promote ethical behaviour and integrity is to eliminate the code of silence. The code of silence encourages ranks not to speak up when they see another officer doing something wrong. McCarthy (2000) recommends seven steps to help prevent unethical behaviour and corruption: “ (1) Recruit with great care. (2) Establish appropriate policies and put them in writing. (3) Adopt a good employee evaluation process. (4) Make sure your sergeants share management’s values and philosophies.(5) Develop operational control. (6) Perform regular anti-corruption inspections and audits. (7) Implement ethics and integrity training into every training activity.
Ethical behaviour is that which is ‘moral’ and ‘right’. Integrity refers to steadfast adherence to an ethical code. Therefore, the police must inculcate ethical, integrity and anti-corruption training for all members of the force, more so paying special attention to the subordinate officers and junior officers.
The subordinate officers will not be able to change the department but they can change their squads. The junior officers may not be able to change the department but they can change the large number of ranks under their control.
Fast forward. In time to come these corporals and sergeants; inspectors, cadet officers and assistant superintendents will be the divisional and branch commanders, the senior superintendents and assistant commissioners upwards, where they will be able to foster an environment of excellent ethical behaviour and integrity, thereby enhancing greater public confidence in the GPF.
Yours faithfully
Clinton Conway
Assistant Commissioner of Police (Retired)

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