Running head: ASSIGNMENT: LAW ENFORCEMENT DEVIANCE

Assignment: Law Enforcement Deviance Denise Silven ADJ/235 July 10, 2011 Rebeca Sanchez-Roig

ASSIGNMENT: LAW ENFORCEMENT DEVIANCE Assignment: Law Enforcement Deviance When a substation known as the Rampart Station was opened in 1966 in an area of Los Angeles called the Rampart Area, gang violence was almost non-existent. However, gang activity increased and during the 1980s the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) reacted by creating a special anti-gang unit known as Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH). This unit was created to combat the increased gang violence. The Rampart Area is located west of downtown Los Angeles and covers 7.9 square miles. (Report of the Rampart Independent Review Panel, 2000). Due to the wide latitude the LAPD gave CRASH officers to combat the gang problem, the decline in the crime rate in the Rampart Area came at a price. The officers created their own subculture and ignored supervision and control as well as disregard LAPDs policies and procedures. This misconduct went unchecked because LAPD managers ignored warning signs

and failed to provide the level of leadership, oversight, management, and supervision required to control CRASH officers. (Report of the Rampart Independent Review Panel, 2000). The consequence of CRASH officers misconduct and lack of management was a scandal of historic proportions. This scandal involved allegations of perjury and corruption as well as the planting of evidence, attempted murder, and the beating of suspects by CRASH officers. Two forms of police deviance cited in the Rampart Independent Review are excessive use of force and planting of evidence. The reasons that might be behind the deviance described in the Rampart Independent Review are many but this paper will mention only a few. (Report of the Rampart Independent Review Panel, 2000). One reason behind the deviance described above is the creation of an independent subculture among the members of CRASH which enabled this unit to develop a war on gangs

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mentality. They resisted supervision and control and ignored LAPDs procedures and policies. Another reason might be the understaffing of the Inspector Generals Office which limited its ability to monitor the LAPD and its special units. A third reason might be LAPDs inability to provide anonymity to people who wanted to come forward and report the misconduct. (Report of the Rampart Independent Review Panel, 2000). The misconduct by CRASH officers that led to the Rampart scandal was allowed to flourish because Rampart lieutenants did not perform field investigations or spend time in the field monitoring the CRASH officers. Additionally, an over-emphasis on field productivity in the form of arrests and contraband seizures as well as a lack of audits due to the refusal by Rampart detectives to provide the necessary documents to the Central Bureau lieutenant also allowed the misconduct to continue unchecked. Even after a Rampart lieutenant and a Central Bureau lieutenant was notified of this refusal, still nothing was done to get a handle on the CRASH unit misconduct. (Report of the Rampart Independent Review Panel, 2000). The methods that are recommended to correct this deviance are, again, many, but this paper will mention only a few. One method recommended is the implementation of a risk management system which would reduce the risk of misconduct by officers and enhance the trust and public confidence in the LAPD. Also, officers with extensive training and experience should conduct the background investigations of LAPD applicants in order to better detect the at-risk applicants. Finally, both the Police Commission staff and the Inspector Generals staff should be increased and reorganized. (Report of the Rampart Independent Review Panel, 2000). According to other research, studies on police brutality categorize three factors that explain why police officers use excessive force; these are individual, situational, and organizational. A good predictor of a police officers attitude with respect to excessive force is

ASSIGNMENT: LAW ENFORCEMENT DEVIANCE his or her attitude toward human rights laws. Additionally, job satisfaction and education level are also significant variables affecting attitude toward use of excessive force. (Akdogan, 2009). In yet other research, it would appear as though some officers feel their extra-legal methods are necessary to deter criminal behavior and possibly even desired by members of society that are victimized by criminal behavior. It is said that even prosecutors participate in

and sometimes encourage police dishonesty in their effort to prosecute criminals. It would seem as though police dishonesty has continued throughout the ages and another Rampart scandal might be on the horizon if something is not done to bring police departments under control and spot the at-risk officers before they can victimize someone totally innocent of any wrongdoing. (Goldschmidt, 2008).

ASSIGNMENT: LAW ENFORCEMENT DEVIANCE References (2000). Report of the Rampart Independent Review Panel. Retrieved from ADJ235 Ethics and the Administration of Justice website. Akdogan, H. (2009). Understanding and preventing police use of excessive force: An analysis of attitudes toward police job satisfaction and human rights laws. (University of North Texas). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/304962888?accountid=35812 Goldschmidt, J. (2008). The necessity of dishonesty: police deviance, 'making the case', and the public good. Policing & Society, 18(2), 113-135. doi:10.1080/10439460802008637