Phillips Week 6
Contains unread posts
Accountability is important in any and all criminal justice organizations. To be accountable requires the organizations to be responsible for their actions and answer for them.
Being accountable is extremely important concerning the criminal justice system due to the importance of the system itself. As individuals commit crimes, the communities trust the system to work both fairly and effectively. This is to ensure not just that individuals’ rights are protected, but also that the public’s interests are protected as well. (Geraghty, S. & Velez, M., 2011)
Law enforcement is just one of the arms of the criminal justice system that must be held accountable. As officers, they are given the responsibility to act in ways they see fit as the situation dictates. If there is no proper oversight, we are providing a blank check and allowing them to behave inappropriately without any repercussions.
As an example, you can consider the recent deaths of African American deaths such as George Floyd. In his case, the officers involved were fired following the incident. Following their firing, they were charged and convicted, showing that the officers were not above the system.
Management and supervision play a role in reducing ethical violations. First and foremost, the individuals are under their command, and it is their responsibility to ensure they are acting appropriately. One method they use to reduce ethical violations is an early warning system. These systems ask that they identify problematic officers or behaviors, intervene, and correct the problem, and finally follow up and verify that the intervention has been incorporated and is working. (Alpert & Walker, 2000)
Another way that supervisors have a role is in the adage of “leading by example.” If supervisors and management display integrity in their daily dealings, fewer violations are committed by their supervisees. (Huberts et al., 2007) Conversely, those who do not hold themselves to the highest standard, see violations from their officers.
Alpert, G. and Walker, S. (2000). Police Accountability and Early Warning Systems: Developing Policies and Programs. Justice Research and Policy, 2(2), 59-72.
Geraghty, S., & Velez, M. (2011). Bringing Transparency and Accountability to Criminal Justice Institutions in the South. Stanford Law and Policy Review. https://law.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/geraghty_velez.pdf
Huberts, L., Kaptein, M., & Lasthuizen, K. (2007). Study of the Impact of Three Leadership Styles on Integrity Violations Committed by Police Officers. US Department of Justice. https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/221486NCJRS.pdf
The organizational culture of criminal justice organizations tends to have some impeding on the goals of reducing misconduct. The biggest cultural issue law enforcement agencies have is the “Blue Line.” Many officers see this as an us versus them mentality or a law enforcement versus the “criminals” mentality. By this “Blue Line” officers think that they are required to remain silent about wrongdoings. It is part of a code of silence meaning that they will not go against other officers and do not speak out about any misconduct. (Cooper, 2020)
Another cultural issue is the resistance to change. Officers for so long have been doing things the same “way” almost always. Officers are in turn weary of changing to new ways of doing things. The structure of the departments has remained the same over time and the officers remain in the past and are reluctant to change. This reluctance also creates a divide between those who are at the “top” versus those at the “bottom.” (Lingamneni, 1979) Any changes that supervisors try to bring into effect are again met with resistance and reluctance.
To change the likelihood of misconduct, the cultures within the departments need to change. The us versus them mentality needs to go away, with officers welcoming changes, and holding each other accountable.
Cooper, F. R. (2020). Cop fragility and blue lives matter. Scholarly Commons @ UNLV Boyd Law. https://scholars.law.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2377&context=facpub
Lingamneni, J. R. (1979). Resistance to Change in Police Organizations: The Diffusion Paradigm. Criminal Justice Review (Atlanta, Ga.), 4(2), 17–26. https://doi.org/10.1177/073401687900400204
Dan