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By Dale AndrewsThe excuse when officialdom is confronted with substantiated allegations of police corruption is the timeworn response which refers to a few deviants or “bad apples” as not representative of the majority of police members.This is no different in Guyana.  However that argument cannot be sustained if the authorities will not outright condemn publicly, the apparent widespread acts of misconduct while pointing to established standards and codes of conduct that are generally complied with. Moreover, the ‘bad apple theory’ of police corruption has, at least as far as official inquiries are concerned, now effectively been discredited.The 1976 U.S. Knapp Commission found that corruption existed extensively in drugs enforcement, criminal investigation and in uniformed patrol and effectively debunked the “few rotten apples” by advocating that “…A high command unwilling to acknowledge that the problem of corruption is extensive cannot very well argue that drastic changes are necessary to deal with the problem.” (Knapp, 1972:6-7).  Knapp’s conclusion was supported by reform Commissioner Patrick V. Murphy’s view that “… the task of corruption control is to examine the barrel, not just the apples – the organisation, not just the individuals in it – because corrupt police are made, not born.” (quoted in Barker and Carter, 1986: 10)Furthermore, the situation is certainly not helped by an “us and them” attitude which the Wood Royal Commission in New South Wales found ‘encourages (the) police to adopt an adversarial position to anyone who is not a police officer or who challenges police activity’. (1997a)In a similar vein, the Mollen Commission of 1994 which was mandated to inter alia determine ways for the New York City Police Department to maximize its ability to identify and deter misconduct and corruption through the introduction of proactive measures at all levels, found that the police culture allowed corruption to ‘flourish’ ‘because of willfully blind supervisors who fear the consequences of a corruption scandal more than corruption itself’, and was one reason for the virtual collapse of the anti-corruption systems (1994:1).To speak vaguely of force policies without presenting them for public scrutiny is equivalent to a con game.  The current evidence suggests the policies where they exist are failing due to poor dissemination.  Government through its Ministry of Home Affairs needs to take stock of the persistent criticisms, and take steps to counter the weaknesses in the GPF’s implementation of any anti-corruption policy.Moreover, although it is not unlikely that the GPF might be able to detect examples of corruption, the public is unaware if examples of organised corruption have been found.  This is partly so because the attractiveness of the “bad orange’ notion is supported by the unavoidable visibility of individual cases of corruption.  This is reinforced by the reluctance on the part of many police administrations to admit that corrupt activities are entrenched.Based upon his review of several factors,Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping, including definitions of police corruption and typologies of corrupt practices Newburn (op cit) gives some definitive conclusions includingi) police corruption is pervasive, continuing and not bounded by rank;(ii) any definition of corruption should cover both ‘financial’ and ‘process’ corruption,Cheap Jerseys, and should acknowledge the varying means, ends and motives of corrupt activities;(iii) the boundary between ‘corrupt’ and ‘non-corrupt’ activities is difficult to define,wholesale jerseys, primarily because this is at heart an ethical problem;(iv) police corruption cannot simply be explained as the product of a few ‘bad apples’;(v) the ‘causes’ of corruption include: factors that are intrinsic to policing as a job; the nature of police organisations; the nature of ‘police culture’; the opportunities for corruption presented by the ‘political’ and ‘task’ environments; and, the nature and extent of the effort put in to controlling corruption;(vi) some areas of policing are more prone to corruption than others;(vii) although there are many barriers to successful corruption control, there is evidence that police agencies can be reformed;(viii) reform needs to go beyond the immediately identified problem;(ix) reform must look at the political and task environments as well as the organisation itself;(x) reform tends not to be durable; and(xi) continued vigilance and scepticism is vital.Valuable perceptions when studying police corruption could be gleaned from in-service and former members to determine how members feel about the established rules and standards of conduct with respect to corrupt practices; the various forms of police corruption; how corruption in the organisation should be addressed.The South African Police Service Code of Conduct is considered the best known example of an attempt to improve professional conduct in the police service and every police force should equip their members with the necessary knowledge related to inter alia the abuse of power and State assets, corruption, and discrimination.This discussion would be incomplete without outlining some of the measures which have been combined to provide support to police leadership and frontline managers.  These include a code of ethical behaviour, anti-corruption education,Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys, targeted recruitment strategies, progressive development, proactive investigation of suspect officers and support to whistleblowers.Among the list of privative measures produced by Frik and Walek (2001:15) we foundi) introduction of stricter recruitment criteria;(ii) the drafting and introduction of a Police Code of Ethics;(iii) the introduction of compulsory training to raise the legal awareness of the police;(iv) the permanent integrity testing of members;(v) the introduction of a system to routinely inform members about crimes committed by their colleagues.The two collaborators went on to list a set of repressive measures that could be combined with the preventative includingi) the introduction of a stricter punishment regime for corrupt behaviour;(ii) the introduction of a separate body to combat corruption;(iii) the introduction of improved methods of supervising police activities;(iv) the introduction of corrupt behaviour indicators (expensive lifestyle, indebtedness, complaints,cheap nfl jerseys china, etc.) and the creation of an early warning system;(v) the introduction of an ‘agent provocateur’;(vi) the introduction of a camera system within the agency;(vii) the introduction of stronger powers to audit bodies (access to the bank statements of members, and their family members etc.).For varying reasons, some of these may not be accommodated locally, but for President Ramotar’s 15-point plan presented at the 2015 Officers’ Conference to have any realistic chance of succeeding, the GPF would need to emulate the Association of Chief Police Officers Taskforce on Corruption which – after its formation in 1998, put “in place preventive strategies more robust than those previously introduced.”Rhetoric will not carry the day, because what members of the public really need to witness is the police administration taking a providing positive symbolic leadership, by being visibly active in tackling police corruption, and putting in place strategies to detect, investigate and eliminate corruption within its ranks.Punch (1994) posits that the ‘positive symbolic leadership’ must send an unambivalent message to the rest of the organisation and to those outside the organisation.  This form of leadership requires that senior officers “state explicitly and openly thati) the ends never justify the means;(ii) they are running a ‘clean’ organisation even if this weakens their ostensible effectiveness;(iii) they will be as open as possible about internal deviance and will co-operate fully with external agencies; and(iv) they will personally serve as role models for integrity (Punch, 1994:34).For the Guyana Police Force to be taken seriously,holesale NFL Jerseys, any zero tolerance anti-corruption culture rhetoric must be backed up with a comprehensive policy on corruption prevention.  This is the initial step where the tone of full commitment for a culture of integrity is set at the very top.The administration should ensure that the anti-corruption policy is clearly disseminated throughout the force.  Moreover, the policy should not be left to languish as a dead document, but must be applied by way of a corruption prevention plan which provides a strategic approach for the GPF to analyse, plan and implement its anti-corruption framework.The ultimate aim should be improved systems and procedures, change attitudes of ranks, and improve the overall integrity and performance of the force. These offerings are intended to generate wide debate in the hope that citizens could contribute ideas on addressing issues that affect the professional police service delivery.