Analytical Review of the Criminal Justice System
Law Enforcement Corruption
Gary D. Harmon
Strayer University
Introduction
I have always had a strong passion for the criminal justice system. I have been exposed to all three components of our justice system which are: law enforcement, the courts and corrections. I actually worked for the North Carolina Department of Corrections for a little while. However, my strongest area in which I have a passion for is policing. Even as a student at Angier Middle Elementary School I remember choosing police officers to use for my career day emphasis. However, my admiration for police officers has become pure disappointment since I’ve personally seen so much corruption and abuse of power. The corruption and abuse of power I’ve seen actually affected me personally and caused me to stop the direction I was taking in life towards becoming some form of law enforcement. Instead I stay on the consulting side of things helping to police against terrorism through vulnerability assessments and technology design. Although corruption within the criminal justice system has always been around, it is now more evident than ever and has become a major issue within police departments. Unfortunately more and more police officers are being lured into committing corrupt acts and abusing their power especially with the recession in affect (Schmalleger, 2009).
Policing in the United States has been around since the early nineteenth century (Schmalleger, 2009). Even in the early nineteenth century corruption within the police department was already a rising issue (Schmalleger, 2009). It is now becoming a major issue that continues to worsen. As we all know police officers are very closely involved with the citizens of our community, but I ask myself how close is too close? One way that police officers are betraying their badges is by committing the corrupt act of drug smuggling....