SOC 3750 Chapter Notes - Chapter 9: Rotten Apples, Police Misconduct, Police Corruption

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 3750
• Professor: Michelle Dumas

Document Summary

Police are controlled by written rules found in the criminal code and. Police acts, while others are undocumented and exist in the expectations of society and police themselves i. e. ) Rules relating to demeanor and police citizen interaction are prescribed by society, which expects officers to maintain certain ethical standards. Police deviance refers to behavior that violates any of these norms. Standards of police behavior come from three perspectives 1) ethical: organizational 3) legal. Ethical standards- linked to morality and concerns individuals moral values including integrity and responsible behavior. If a police officer does not hold moral values including responsibility and integrity he or she may be prone to deviant behavior. Organizational standards- established by individual police departments, police boards and commissions, Legal standards -are outlined in substantive and procedural law. Rotten apples and rotten pockets- corruption is limited to a small number of police officers that were probably dishonest prior to their employment within law enforcement.