Abstract The purpose of this argumentative essay is to demonstrate that police brutality and police corruption are correlated. Most discussions of police brutality link it to racism/racial bias. This argument further builds on the understanding of police brutality by demonstrating that it has a reciprocal relationship with police corruption. Specific areas of discussion include the concept of "noble cause": corruption, extortion, sexual gratification, intimidation, guns, investigative process, emboldening officers, politics and scapegoating. The paper identifies important implications for key stakeholders. Say no to plagiarism. Get Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayPolice Brutality and Police Corruption The recurrence of police brutality has attracted the attention of many stakeholders, including legislators, politicians and other key criminal justice actors. system. Such attention is warranted because police brutality is linked to many harmful outcomes, including death. Specifically, 1,147 people were killed by police in 2017 (Mapping Police Violence, 2019). This number increased to 1,164 people in 2018. These statistics demonstrate that it is essential that different stakeholders develop a deeper understanding of the phenomenon in order to respond comprehensively. There is no doubt that police brutality has been the subject of much research, but most of the research focuses on the racial dimension. Most discussions of police brutality show that black men are victims at the hands of police officers more often than members of other races. For example, although blacks make up only 13 percent of the total U.S. population, they are three times more likely to be killed by police than members of other races, implying that the racial dimension of police brutality is justified. However, the correlation between police brutality and police corruption is understudied. Thus, the purpose of this argument is to demonstrate that police brutality goes beyond racial dynamics. Police brutality is practiced by individuals who also engage in police corruption. In the context of this analysis, police brutality is defined as when a police officer illegally uses excessive force against civilians, while police corruption is defined as when police officers break protocol for personal gain. By arguing for the correlation between these two phenomena, relevant stakeholders will be better positioned to develop and implement interventions to successfully mitigate both ills. Police brutality is linked to police corruption in relation to concepts such as corruption for "noble causes", extortion, personal gain through sexual gratification, intimidation, guns, investigations , the emboldening of rogue officers, politics and scapegoating. First, police brutality is about the police. corruption because the first is qualified as “noble cause” corruption. Noble cause corruption is corruption associated with noble causes and one of those causes is public safety. In many cases, police officers who engage in brutality claim that their actions were noble because they were intended to protect members of the public. Whitehead (2018) states that police officers are expected to protect members of the public from harm, as provided by law. However, the police canabuse this provision and in turn indulge in unjustified brutalities which can be justified by a noble cause. Even in cases where victims pose no threat to members of the public, they may be brutalized as a manifestation of police corruption. Police officers may act on the assumption that individuals are dangerous or that they are brandishing weapons. In such cases, they may kill or brutalize victims without evidence of any danger to the public. In such cases, police officers can defend themselves by citing their noble acts of protecting members of the public. A related perspective is the police officers' argument regarding their own safety. Police officers may engage in brutality and claim they were protecting themselves from danger, even though that may not be the case. In this case, “noble cause” corruption is characterized by deception regarding perceived danger. Additionally, Kleinig (2002) refers to the war on drugs and notes that police brutality is often associated with the war on drugs, although this may not be the case. In some contexts, drugs are administered to individuals who are brutalized by police officers. A good example is given by Herman (2017) who presents a video of a police officer seen planting drugs and then finding them. In such a case, a police officer may engage in acts of brutality and claim that he or she was acting in a way that would protect the public or contribute to the noble fight against drugs. Clearly, police brutality is partly supported by “noble cause” corruption among police officers. A close look at corruption linked to “noble causes” reveals that some police officers may wish to be recognized as “heroes,” even in situations where there are no heroic acts to be performed. Second, police brutality and police corruption are linked to each other because the former is used to promote extortion as a form of corruption. Police brutality undoubtedly inflicts suffering on victims. In some cases, police use brutality for extortion purposes. People may be forced to give money to police officers to prevent them from using excessive force against them. This is supported by Aras (2001) who recognizes that although police officers are supposed to fight crime, they may choose to participate in various forms of crime through extortion. For example, there are cases where police officers know drug traffickers. Instead of arresting them, the police may resort to violence to carry out extortion. In such representative cases, police brutality amounts to a form of corruption intended to facilitate monetary gain. In addition to the above concepts, sexual violence is a unique form of police brutality associated with the corrupt obtaining of sexual gratification for personal use. earn. We observe that “a case that occurred in New York turns out to be a perfect example of how some police officers abuse the power given to them for their own sexual gratification. Two police officers were charged last week with sexually assaulting a young girl during a traffic stop for loose pills and cannabis. This case illustrates how police corruption is used to facilitate police brutality in the form of sexual violence. Specifically, police officers are mandated to serve members of the public, but they use their position to engage in sexual violence. Interestingly, these agents further spread corruption by using the law to protect themselves from prosecution. In the case presented, thePolice denied the allegations of sexual abuse, but once deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) test results revealed that there had been sexual contact between them and the teenager, they argued that their relationship sexual activity was consensual. In another case, two police officers traveled to Seattle to question a woman who had been raped in New York, and one of the officers also attempted to rape the woman after becoming excessively drunk (Blanks, 2017). This second case also demonstrates that police officers use the authority given to them to sexually exploit women. Clearly, police corruption is a tool that can be exploited by police officers who prey on defenseless victims and sexually assault them. Additionally, police brutality is used to intimidate victims by limiting the chances of reporting police corruption. Brutality creates fear among individuals and can be used as a tool to fuel further corruption by intimidating potential witnesses. According to the United States Department of Justice (2019), police officers engage in investigative corruption. In such cases, brutality may be used to prevent victims from reporting corrupt officials. In other cases, people in police custody suffer “significant harm” from the police during the investigation. Corruption arises from police officers pretending that they are acting in their official capacity. Therefore, victims cannot report brutal police officers, for fear of being further victimized by police officers who act in their “capacity” in corrupt ways. Additionally, police officers can violate the constitution by obstructing justice through brutal force. Police officers may use guns and other weapons to prevent witnesses and victims from reporting their misconduct, to support the fabrication of information, or to cover up different forms of misconduct. Additionally, police brutality is linked to police gun corruption. In the United States, guns feature prominently in cases of police brutality. Therefore, police brutality is closely associated with corruption related to guns placed next to or on victims of police brutality. Hafner (2019) supports this idea by noting that in some situations, police officers place guns near victims of brutality and then lie about the extent of danger the victims pose or what crimes they have committed/ were about to commit. refers to a case in Baltimore where a police officer hit a man with a police vehicle. Afterwards, the officer placed a gun near the injured man's body and then asked the witnesses to lie about the events that had occurred. In this particular case, the police officer deliberately knocked down the man in question and charged him with possession of a firearm (Hafner, 2019). This case demonstrates that police corruption can be used to facilitate brutality related to gun ownership. In other situations, firearms are concealed. Situations like these illustrate the connection between police corruption and police brutality. Guns can be used to kill victims, but police can obstruct justice by failing to report incidents and simply dissociating themselves from them. It is noted that in many cases, police services are required to report voluntarily. This means that police shootings and other instances of brutality may go unreported, albeit intentionally due to corruption (Sullivan, et al., 2019). To add to the above, corruptionpolice force perpetuates police brutality by negatively affecting investigations. Police brutality is, to a large extent, a crime. The United States Department of Justice (2019) emphasizes that physical assault perpetrated by one or more police officers constitutes a crime. In the event of a physical attack, the victim may be subjected to excessive force by the police. Such assaults may be experienced by victims during detention, upon arrest, or in other contexts (U.S. Department of Justice, 2019). Another form of brutality considered a crime is sexual misconduct. Examples of such crimes have been listed earlier. The United States Department of Justice (2019) recognizes that police corruption can limit the extent to which investigations into police brutality can be conducted. Police officers can interrupt investigations or interfere with evidence. Second, police corruption increases police brutality by emboldening brutal police officers. It is stated that “Unfortunately, policies can work in favor of officers rather than citizens, even those who break the rules and allegedly harm civilians” (Blanks, 2017). This statement shows that police officers may be aware of the advantage they have in cases of brutality. Although many approaches to combating police violence have been suggested, current debates do not fully address a critical element of police violence and considerable barriers to accountability that is the use of force policies. These policies explain what can be used against civilians classified at different levels and/or types of force such as deadly force. These rules help train police, advise them on how to interact with their community, and monitor how often force is used, as well as determine whether or not it is extreme. In the quote above, Obasogie and Newman (2017) suggest that laws governing police behavior pave the way for corruption and police brutality. When police officers are trained in the use of brute force, they readily use the law to support their actions and become bolder in doing so. This perspective is reinforced by Panwala (2002) who presents a case study demonstrating how police corruption increases the boldness of other police officers in the context of police brutality. Panwala (2002) cited the case of New York City police officers who tortured Abner Louima in the bathroom. The police officers responded to questions about the brutality incident by stating that they were not there or that they did not know what had happened (Panwala, 2002). This particular case was handled with delay and its assessment revealed that the police officers acted boldly in carrying out their brutality, suggesting that they could easily commit this “heinous crime” with impunity. Clearly, police officers who practice police brutality are made bolder by their ability to successfully engage in corruption to some extent. An interesting perspective connecting police brutality and police corruption is politics. Police brutality and police corruption are tools used together to support negative policy. In order to understand this position comprehensively, it is essential to explore a brief history of American police brutality and, therefore, police corruption. It is claimed that brutality was developed decades ago in order to develop the authoritarian nature of the police force. Eventually, police brutality turned into a form of corruption in itself, making these..