Television Portrayals of Police Officers: “The Shield”

Police dramas have explored the most urgent complications attending the role of law enforcement in a democratic society. Cop shows have trained a critical gaze on police authority by depicting corruption and the limits and abuses of police power, as well the substantial personal and emotional costs of working in law enforcement for the officers themselves (Grant, 1992). As agents of the state, cops have the ability to arrest citizens and compel them to obey commands (“pull over!” “freeze!”), but they are also public servants required to uphold the law as it exists. Police shows frequently figure this relationship as a tension between the institutional constraints of the “system” and the cops’ own personal pursuit of justice, presenting police officers as rule-breaking individualists whose own private moral code potentially supersedes their devotion to the law or their tolerance for the bureaucracy of the justice process (White, 2008). In many cases, this intolerance is presented as a justified form of anger against a system hamstrung by regulations that favour criminals over victims. There are several television shows both Australian and American which portray police in different ways. This includes both positive and negative depictions, which allows us to come to our own conclusions about what the police force is really like. Some of these shows are based on factual evidence and documentaries and others are just fictional dramas to show us the exciting and glamorous lives that come with being a police officer. Certain fictional dramas have also come to show police officers as being corrupt and taking advantage of the power they hold but in my opinion this is not just fictional but rather a reality that must be dealt with in order to clean up crime in our streets (Grant, 1992).

[INSERT “THE SHIELD PIC 1”]

The Shield is a prime example of a “cop show” where there is a team of officers who represent the face of evil in entertainment media. Alonzo and Mackey are menacing, rough cops who rule their urban environment like the street gangs and criminals who live in the same area. Mackey, however, is not a cowboy struggling to dish out justice in an untamed land. Nor is he a Dirty Harry, forced to operate outside the law because the justice system ties his hands in dealing with those who have no fear of the law (Grant, 2002). Instead, Mackey takes more than a little glee in beating suspects, planting evidence, stealing from criminals, taking payoffs, setting up his fellow officers to take the fall for his crimes, and playing mind games with investigators seeking to uncover his misdeeds. And yet, there are a significant number of moments in Mackey’s life where he is driven more by the need to catch the bad guy at all costs than by selfishness. There are plenty of evil story lines in The Shield for Mackey. For example, he is willing to participate in theft in an effort to get his strike team buddies some reward, even as he does not particularly desire it at that moment for himself. In another theft scheme, Mackey desperately wants dirty money, but for the purpose of sending his autistic son to a special school and getting him a skilled tutor. It should be recalled that this is a denial of self that Alonzo does not evidence as he portrays evil-for-itself. While Mackey does commit crimes and does not enforce the law to the fullest extent in some cases, his actions are typically tempered by a higher calling of some perceived greater good or, post-dirty deeds, are tinged with remorse. For example, he executes a fellow police officer; that behaviour is evil. Mackey does so because the officer was planted on his team by a boss that cares largely about a coming election and the great publicity that a “dirty cop” arrest would bring to his campaign. Later, Mackey is haunted by the killing, which sets him up as not evil but vulnerable and, oddly, even righteous. This quality makes Mackey complex, beyond good and evil. Moreover, what sets Mackey apart from Alonzo is the balancing act between good and evil that Mackey must play an act that Alonzo doesn’t see the need to do. In films, cops are represented as being wholly good or wholly bad, where both do not meet (Grant 1992). That is the key to The Shield, to explore the ambiguity.

[INSERT “THE SHIELD PIC 2”]

Joe Clarke, an African American training officer with a propensity for exacting extreme brutality on suspected criminals of colour, is also a bad cop in the show. Like Alonzo, Joe has a deadly, violent temper that is displayed through fearsome beatings. Joe, is no longer a member of the police force because of a beating he gave a young Latino and suspected drug dealer. Joe’s rage against the victim can only be quelled once the young man is dead; a murder that Joe forces Mackey into committing, and an act that Mackey must suffer for. Therefore, unlike Alonzo, and now Joe, Mackey’s crimes are never purely self-serving as he eventually expresses some remorse about the manner in which he has to, or is forced to, to conduct law enforcement. Additionally, Mackey is tempered by his fellowship with his strike team, colleagues, and other more forthright detectives. In the end, it is Mackey’s allegiance to others, his sense of fellowship that requires him to consistently choose what he believes is the good that serves others rather than himself. Taken together, the depictions of Mackey and Jake (also a cop) in contrast with Alonzo and Joe suggest an inescapable racial essence with Blackness distinct from Whiteness and, thus, the element in making sense of each character’s relationship with evil (Grant, 2002). Mackey is constructed as a bad cop with good intentions, while Jake is a good cop trying to remain so in the face of evil (Alonzo). And Alonzo and Joe are bad cops, with no good intentions. Overall, The Shield utilizes a discourse that emphasizes racial signifiers and class positioning to portray a social environment that justifies the presence of such troublesome policing.

The 1973 Knapp Report stated that there are three primary types of police officers, the meat-eaters, the grass-eaters and the birds. The meat-eaters constitute a small percentage of all officers who aggressively pursue scenarios that they can exploit for financial gain. Big payoffs are found in activities such as gambling and narcotics. Lucrative gains corrupt the meat-eaters to the point that the only way to check their abuses is by releasing them from duty and possibly prosecuting them (Comack, 2012). Grass-eaters are those officers who do not accept payoffs or gratuities. They make up the overwhelming majority of officers on the force. On the other hand, the birds keep out of it and are not directly involved. Although they may have knowledge about the situation, they choose not to interfere or say anything. Majority of the officers in The Shield are seen as meat-eaters as they engage in activities that would not be acceptable or appropriate for the everyday duties of a normal “good” cop.

According to Comack, there are two basic theories that have been posited to explain police corruption, the rotten apple theory and the environmental perspective. According to the rotten apple theory, there are a few bad apples within police departments who were not properly screened and came into the department susceptible to corruption. The environmental perspective suggests that police corruption is a reflection and a result of the political corruption in cities. Politically corrupt cities create environments that are conducive to police misconduct.

Since the 19th century, the aim has been to sell the police as crime fighters, downplaying the service function and problems of legality. The depiction of police in television dramas today is not necessarily realistic or positive in any way, shape or form. Rather I believe it is the total opposite of this. In almost every crime television series, the police almost always apprehend the suspect and solve the crime. This portrayal is far from the truth and in reality every single crime doesn’t get solved. Most television series about police officers have turned into a soap opera where it follows the lives and relationships of individual people in the force, not to mention that everything is blown way out of proportion. Executive producers of crime television dramas glamorize the life of a police officer by adding all the excitement of chasing criminals in cars, shooting at every chance they get, hot pursuits and solving every crime. However, in reality being a police officer involves a lot of tedious paperwork and writing up reports to explain every single detail that happened when they were called out to a disturbance or alleged crime. Police are portrayed as masculine, smart, full of martial arts skills, fit, aggressive, action packed, always willing to shoot at suspects and so on. The sad reality is that the public want to see all the excitement and glamour of being a police officer because no one wants to watch a show where police are filling out forms and writing up boring reports. Then does all this glamour and excitement encourage people to join the police force in order to get justice or for the simple reason that they get to shoot at someone or chase a suspect in a high speed car pursuit? In reality, police often deal with false reporting of crimes where valuable resources are wasted on prank callers and mediating work.

Bibliography

Comack, E. (2012). Racialized policing: Aboriginal people’s encounters with the police. Halifax, N.S: Fernwood Pub.

Grant, J. “Prime Time Crime: Television Portrayals of Law Enforcement.” Journal of American Culture, v.lS/1 (1992).

Grant, J. “The Shield,” Picturing Justice: The On-Line Journal of Law and Popular Culture, 22 May 2002. Retrieved from: <http://www.ufca.edu/pj/shield-grant.htm&gt;

White, R & Haines, F. Crime and Criminology – An introduction, 4th edn, Oxford University Press, USA. (2008)

Fiction vs. Nonfiction: Policing Represented by Media

Police Deviance in Popular culture

Fictional representations of policing through Television (TV) programs and movies often portray police officers in an unrealistic manner. Unfortunately, many people (including myself) receive their information and knowledge about police through mass media (Reiner, 2010). This can be a cause for concern, as what is shown on TV or films, in regards to policing and police deviance are generally glamorized, or overly exemplified. The media’s image of policing does not depart from actual policing, but cannot be considered a mirror reflection either (Reiner, 2012).

Many police programs demonstrate rule- bending as an essential part of effective policing (Surette, 2007, as cited in Dirikx, Van den Bulck & Parmentier, 2012). The TV series “19-2” centers on two beat cops of the Montreal Police Department, Nick Barron played by Adrian Holmes and Ben Chartier played by Jared Keeso. This TV series provides many instances when police deviance and police misconduct occur and is normalized or not spoken of. Nick, a veteran cop gets partnered with a new transfer from a rural Quebec town (Ben) and from the very beginning Ben is introduced to the police culture at his new department. The police culture as Loftus, (2010) states are norms and values that shape officers everyday decisions and practices. We see many occasions where the actions of police officers are a result of the police culture. For example, every rookie must have an initiation and this series does not deviate from that cultural norm. Ben gets invited to the tavern which is the police pub and is offered his first drink (for free of course), and he takes it. While watching this I thought why he wouldn’t take the drink, had he refused he would have looked a fool.

The police culture is such that had Ben not taken the drink he would have been called on it, and would be considered more of an outsider than he already is. Within the first thirty minutes we see the sergeant tell Nick –who is irritated for being paired with a rookie – the “Commander shits on me, I shit on you…and you’ll have to go shit on the new guy” (Grou, 2014). The Sergeant then goes on to tell him that it’s just the way things work. This further elucidates the police culture in their precinct. Towards the end of the episode the Commanding Officer calls Ben into his office and instructs him to “cooperate” and give him cause to get his partner (Nick) fired. The Commander ends with “I think we have an understanding” (Grou, 2014). Ben was left with no choice as his patrol duty would be compromised and he would be given administrative work. However, when it came time to “rat out” on Nick –and there were many things Ben could have said, as Nick strays from the book –Ben refused to say anything responding with “he is my partner, there is a code” (Grou, 2014). The code Ben is implying would be what is referred to as the “Blue code of Silence”. This code is a key element in the police culture, as officers refrain from speaking about other officers and will lie to benefit their fellow officers. Accepting the code of silence and solidarity allows you to belong. Ben did not deviate from the police culture norms as he kept his partner from getting fired, and as a result was given a desk job. During the second episode Ben catches one of the officers drinking on the job, and you can see the pained look on his face as he is struggling to uphold the blue wall, while also longing to say something. Ben has done this quite a few times already, where either he turns a blind eye or lies to save his partner, and this could lead to deviance is his career. He may be disturbed by what he is doing, however continuing to do so he will eventually become habituated (Punch, 2010).

As Punch, (2010) indicates there are many types of police officers and Nick portrays the “Dirty Harry”. He uses tough methods that are somewhat deviant which he deems appropriate to result in an arrest. He would use more violence when dealing with the public to get information, and it usually results in him finding the actual suspect. He would then explain to Ben that this is how it is done. Nick would rather deviate and get the job done doing whatever it took rather than let a criminal walk free. Ben on the other hand is what Punch, (2010) refers to as a “Professional”. He would not allow for procedure to be unlawfully enacted, and he works by the book. He considers his job very important, and relies on good, honest policing. Many other types of officers are also illustrated in the TV series. We see “crusaders” these officers are usually on the hunt for criminals and are obsessed with crime fighting; there are other officers who would be classified as Dirty Harrys’ as well. Lastly we also see a “Cowboy”. This officer is usually highly aggressive and would have issues with authority. The officer in the show picks on Ben and insults him through “jokes”. Punch, (2010) also discusses three levels of deviance, and many of the officers would also be classified as Grass eaters. Grass Eaters typically don’t look for trouble, or ways to deviate, but if something comes there way they are open to accept. For example, the officers all accept free meals and drink at their police pub. The officers accept the drinks, otherwise they would be considered deviant had they chosen not to participate.

Throughout the episode we see many forms of deviance and how it is either thought to be normal, or you turn a blind eye. In this series we also get to see what Van Maanen, (2005) refers to as “the asshole”. Van Maanen, (2005) classifies citizens three ways: suspicious persons, know nothings and the asshole. The officers encounter daily interactions with the asshole. These people have no respect for them nor do they care for what they stand for. As a result, Nick may use excessive force towards these people and possibly jeopardize his career. They also encounter the know nothings, who nod their heads, and make their way, and the suspicious persons (mostly the troubled teenagers). Nick is able to justify his actions towards these people, because they are assholes. The lack of respect can allow an officer to perform “street justice” and rough up the individual they are dealing with (Van Maanen, 2005).

The representation of deviance in this police series is seen as normal, and will continue to be the norm, unless someone challenges it. However, it seems quite unlikely anyone will. Most of the officers are comfortable with the way things are and will not be susceptible to change. This media representation of the police department wasn’t as bad as many of the other police shows I have seen. They usually tend to glamorize and commend acts of violence to get the job done. 19-2 was raw and real, but of course being a TV series there will be many depictions of the police that are incorrect. The image this TV series provides is that police are generally accepted in the society and the public do respect them. Being a televised show they add a lot more high speed chases and crime fighting scenes than normal, and that contributes to a wrong view of what policing actually is. It makes the job seem like an action packed video game, when in reality most of policing isn’t fighting crime, but dealing with average problems that occur to citizens. It is important to note that while watching TV shows and movies about policing the media tend to over exaggerate and dramatize the whole thing. If we continue to receive our knowledge of policing through these fictional representations of action packed, crime fighting heroes, then everyone will want to be a cop. That being said policing is a dangerous job and they do portray the danger (just in a more glamorous way of course!)

References

Dirikx, A., Van den Bulck, J., & Parmentier, S. (2012). The Police as Societal Moral Agents:   “Procedural Justice” and the Analysis of Police Fiction. Journal Of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 56(1), 38-54.                       doi:10.1080/08838151.2011.651187

Grou, D (Director). (2014). 19-2 [Television series]. New York City: Bravo.

Loftus, B. (2010). Police occupational culture: classic themes, altered times. Policing and Society, 20(1), 1–20. doi:10.1080/10439460903281547

Punch, M. (2009). What is Corruption? In Police Corruption: Deviance, Accountability and Reform in Policing (pp. 18-52). Portland: Willan Pub. [Coursepack]

Reiner, R. (2010). Mystifying the Police: The Media Presentation of Policing. In R. Reiner, The Politics of the police (Fourth, pp. 177-202). London: Oxford University Press

Van Maanen, J. (2005). The Asshole. In T. Newburn (Ed.), Policing: Key Readings (pp.280-296) Portland: Willan Pub [Coursepack]

Police Corruption shown in Media: Prison Break

In today’s era we consume huge amounts of mass media through out our daily lives. A study conducted by San Diego Supercomputer Center has show that an average persons consumption of media will rise to 15.5 hours per day (Zverina, 2013). If we multiple that by week, by month, that is a total of 4557 hours per year. It is plain to see that a large amount of that will show either police goodness, or police deviance. Popular movies and series usually showing police deviance, so now police themselves have introduced they’re own series that depict what they do from they’re perspectives. Series like Border Patrol and Cops are a couple of examples. The real question is what the police officers are showing us is true, or is what non-police officers tell us is real? Or is it a simply a mixture of both?

Here is a link to see the list of how many cop shows, movies there are.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_police_television_dramas

The fictional television series I will be focusing on in this blog is the hit series, Prison Break: which was released back in 2005 with a total of 4 seasons. Focusing just on season 1 we can see on multiple occasions where the police correction officers at the prison misuse they’re powers. They try to neutralize it by repeating to themselves that the prisoners are criminals and do not deserve rights. They practice Cohen’s technique of neutralization; literal denial, which involves them not taking serious matters seriously. Prison Break is based on a man named Michael Scofield, a structural engineer and a natural genius who deliberately gets himself into the same prison, Fox River State Penitentiary where his brother Lincoln Burrows is also incarcerated in. His goal is to escape from prison with his brother before Lincoln’s execution takes place. Since the prison is located in Illinois U.S.A the death penalty is permitted. Lincoln has been ‘set-up’ by bigger people than the government in order to frame him for murdering the vice-presidents brother. Michael, along with 8 prisoners go on a journey to find routes within the prison that they can use to escape to the other side. On the duration of executing the plan they undergo many incidents where correction officers misuse they’re power.

[picture here]

One officer who is primarily known for his deviance is Brad Bellick who is the captain at the prison. The first episode shows how he begins to show hatred towards Michael just because he feels threatened by Michael’s brains. His hatred towards Michael is so strong that he knowingly allows Abruzzi (Inmate) to attack Michael. The criminologist Punch says that we should not blame individual misconduct because the justice system is allowing for them to do it in the first place. Prison Break shows many cases of this throughout the episode, like the case where Abruzzi and his followers cut off one of Michael’s toes, while officer Bellick walks away purposely. Bellick is also known for taking money from inmates by either looking the other way or offering them something in return. A good example of this is how Bellick always Abruzzi to run P.I (a sweet job doing construction in the prison). Abruzzi pays him hundreds of dollars per month in order to keep his status in P.I. Bellick also uses his powers to make the P.I crew work past hours just because he wants to make them suffer.

Here is a video of Officer Bellick ‘looking the other way’

Bellick has such high suspicion of Michael that he gets the new inmate Tweezer to be the new ‘rat’. He bribes him with burgers and fries to report information, and when Tweezer was unable to offer him any valid information he threatened to make him pay him hundred dollars for the burger. He also unjustifiably puts him into another cell with a dangerous inmate just to show him whose boss. The inmate is known for raping his cellmates, and Bellick knew this while putting Tweezer into the cell. Bellick on several occasions goes into Michael’s cell without any justified reason to try to find something to get him in trouble. Later down in the season when Michael is temporarily not using his cell due to being in psych ward, another officer named Geary rents out his cell, and collects the payment, also known as ‘nut’ all for himself. He also steals valuables from prisoner’s belongings of the items they bring on their first day they arrive to prison. When the fuse box wires get chewed up by a rat, officer Geary and Bellick go against the books, and get the electrician to install a new one; even though this is not allowed without authorization.

[picture of Bellick here]

There is another incident where Michael’s cellmate Sucre gets into some trouble, and officer Bellick threatens to put even harsher charges on him if he does not tell the truth. While threatening him he assaults him by pushing him into the wall when he did not need to. There are a few other scenes where we catch officers engaging in sexual behavior on prison grounds, beating up inmates, drinking on the job, and threatening to put inmates in the solitary confinement. These are acts for about a little over half of the first season, but they do continue throughout the season with the emphasis of committing dishonesty from the officers. Clearly these officers have not abided by Peel’s Principles of Policing. His 8^th point “Police should always direct their action strictly towards their functions, and never appear to usurp the powers of the judiciary” has been neglected in the Prison. The police officers think they hold ultimate control of the prisoners. The inmates would never dare to report an incident of police corruption because they knew that either the documents would be ripped up, or they would get more hits from other officers for doing this.

Although the series were based in America, we can note that acts like these according to the constitution, and police ethics of the U.S are not allowed; yet the officers seem to be getting away with it. They are unable to fight for they’re first amendment, which allows anyone to come to the government for protection. The police officers are not following the amendments (which are equivalent to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom) that are guaranteed to each of the inmates that are in that prison. This is happening all due to officers putting up a blue wall of silence in order to protect they’re fellow officers. The brotherhood that they keep up so high has allowed police deviance throughout time. If this blue wall did not exist what would be the outcome in our justice system? The worst thing a cop wants to be is a snitch. I noticed in the show besides the officers, there is no one else, or organization that they are able to report police wrongdoing. This is with the exception of the warden, who they can only speak to if the officer allows them to, or if the warden himself wants to speak to. There is no usage of Knapp’s Commission Typology, which is a way to independently investigate Police Corruption. How can the prison ever be improved where these incidents get undocumented, and apples continue to get rotten.

Has mass media over produced police deviance? Is this what typically happens in prisons or is it just what we see on screen. The series Prison Break generally portrays the police officers to be a certain brand of convicts themselves, but they have done this so the viewers have a more likingness towards the inmates, instead of the officers. The director is aiming to get more ‘likes’ on the prisoners than the officers. It is clear they do this because they preview each one of the prisoners lives before getting caught, and do not do this with the officers. Media has shown the favoritism of movies, and series that show police corruption. Movies that have just recently come out are good examples about how current this still is. 21 Jump Street was a hit, along with Bad Cops. Are these movies just showing us what most entertains us because ‘real’ police work can be seen as slow, and unentertaining? Police corruption has clearly happened throughout prisons, and in the public. That is why there are hundreds of articles in newspapers, footage online that show us this. Numerous YouTube videos help any person in the entire world see first hand what police officers do that is unconstitutional in Canada, and in other parts of the world.

It is a fact that police officers do not make nearly as much as they do in America than they do in Canada. It is not surprising that certain police officers take forms of bribery to help with they’re bank accounts. To a naked eye seeing all these movies, and videos online, one begins to think of police officers as deviant, greedy bad guys that just happen to wear badges. To be frankly honest without even entering America, I would be cautious if I see any police officer in the States. This is not because I am doing anything wrong, but simply because media has embedded such an ugly portrayal about certain officers and departments like NYPD that are known for corruption without getting serious consequences.

Previously when I looked at Canadian Police Officers I would feel safe and secure. Now with the new information from media about the 17 officers in Abbotsford currently being investigated for misconduct under the Police Act, they have made me very skeptical. Another current case is the investigation of a few Toronto police officers that have been charged with sexual assault. I am beginning to question how good police accountability really is here in Canada. Bad people are always going to be around that is not what I am focusing on; it is why the system is allowing these things to happen. The real question I am currently asking myself is are these the only cases of police corruption or are these the only ones that the media have caught. Media has allowed the public to question our justice system so that we can make the change we want, or at least prevent injustice from happening.

This is a link that shows how working with the press needs to be done

Clearly what we see on TV isn’t all fiction, since we have numerous cases of police deviance happening all around us even currently. Reality is that police wrongdoing is happening, and it will continue happening because we are all human, and as humans we do make mistakes. The real issue is how to tackle holding police officers accountable for they’re actions. The justice system has been formed to hold the public accountable, but what are they doing to hold justice administrative’s accountable. If these issues do not get portrayed on media, then they go unnoticed, if they go unnoticed then it means more corruption is likely to happen. If more corruption happens, we will be no different from other countries around the world that allow officers to get away with anything they want. The corruption, misuse, and wrongdoing that occur within the police brotherhood ruins the name for all officers, and hurts the whole validity of the justice system. The ‘us’ versus ‘them’ mentality so famous in pop culture needs to fade away in order for police corruption to decrease.

References

Flynn, G. (2005, August 26). Prison Break. Retrieved from http://www.ew.com/article/2005/08/26/prison-break-0

https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/first_amend

Smart, G. (2014, December 30). How social media makes you think all cops are bad. Retrieved from http://smartremarks.lancasteronline.com/2014/12/30/how-social-media-makes-you-think-all-cops-are-bad/

Zverina, J. (2013, January 1). U.S. Media Consumption to Rise to 15.5 Hours a Day – Per Person – by 2015. Retrieved from http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/pressrelease/u.s._media_consumption_to_rise_to_15.5_hours_a_day_per_person_by_2015

Police Deviance in Pop. Culture: The Mentalist

Television shows involving crime and policing very much dominate prime-time television. But to what extent are these shows stylized portrayals of the realities of policing? Is police deviance glamorized, as opposed to conventional, legitimate policing? As argued by Cummins et. all, a repercussion of these shows is that “the day-to-day reality of policing is obscured from the vast majority of the public who have little direct contact with the Criminal Justice System” (2014).

One could argue that The Mentalist is one such show. The series follows Patrick Jane (played by Simon Baker), a once highly successful, affluent psychic. Jane had his wife and daughter murdered in consequence of his going on a national news show and taunting serial killer Red John, speaking on his motives and mental state, as well as his childhood. Spiraling into an unhealthy succession of rage, isolation, and depression following the murder, he admits his career was fraudulent and that no one possesses psychic powers. Rather, he’s simply very intelligent, observant, deductive, and socially skilled. Therefore, he is able to manipulate the average person.

 

Patrick Jane, in the process of working a case, masquerades as an inmate.

During his prolonged phase of despondency, Jane coincidentally stumbles into the office of the CBI (California Bureau of Investigation), and after some time they decide his talents are conspicuous enough for them to hire him as a consultant. To their surprise, he assists the CBI in closing virtually every case they come across. However, his ultimate underlying goal is to find and exact revenge on Red John. Despite being a member of an agency that rhapsodizes over the values of the justice system, Jane considers it a slow, tedious and broken process. Accordingly, his methods are very unorthodox and he regularly eludes police procedure, but he is efficient nonetheless.

 

The following clip exemplifies this:

 

Punch (2009, p. 25) has constructed a typology of “police officers and their relationship to deviance and corruption.” These include uniform carriers, mister average, professionals, noble causers, innovators and number crunchers, crusaders, ideological combatants, lone wolves, and cowboys. Though Patrick is not a police officer per se, he can be identified as a lone wolf, which is a category, Punch implies, that encompasses officers who are committed to one particular case and may resort to deviant means in order to solve it. For Jane, “committed” may be too weak a word to define his relationship with the Red John case. The sole reason he joined the CBI in the first place was to seek revenge on the killer, and he tirelessly pursues the case on his own time throughout the show. He is no stranger to aberrant methods, either. In one particular episode, he illegitimately gains access to Red John’s case files. He has repeatedly stated that if he ever comes face-to-face with Red John himself, he would not hesitate to kill him. He is also known to tamper with evidence to ensure that the guilty is found guilty.

Let us now shift our focus from Patrick Jane as a character and how his behavior embodies deviance, to a comparison of police/criminal investigation proceedings within the show and those in real life – fiction vs. reality. Furthermore, the interrelatedness of this and the show’s production of deviant policing related themes that appeal to viewers.

The portrayal of crime solving in The Mentalist is an obvious departure from reality, in that it is shown to be less challenging than it actually is. The video above, for example, is a simplistic depiction of crime scene investigation, in that Patrick makes huge assumptions from very little work upon arriving.  Cummins et. all assert that such condensed narratives are “almost completely divorced from the reality of modern police work” (2014).

Jane opting for vigilante justice rather than generally following the criminal justice system is indefinitely an indication of the show aiming for the allure of deviancy in policing, in contrast to conventional policing.  Additionally, Patrick will commonly convince members of his team to engage in his elaborate plans, that he constructs in order to deceive or persuade suspects one way or another (this includes tactics such as hypnotizing them, in certain episodes) to out themselves as the killer. The same applies to interrogations, as he will pry a confession out of a suspect, that he himself has systematically narrowed down as the wrongdoer, by any means necessary. This being the case, the manner in which interrogations are carried out is another big distinction in police procedure in the show compared to reality. The show takes place in California. As per California law, anytime an admission or confession made during police interrogation is involuntary, it is considered to be obtained through denial of due process of law (Robison, 1969, p. 740).  As a result, the confession is excluded from the evidence at the trial.  The show completely ignores the possibility of the evidence that Jane obtains illegitimately being thrown out. This affirms Cummins’ view that popular crime drama shows are “full of procedural errors. (p. 5).

 

 

Cummins suggests that the “dominant portrayal” of policing is one that pushes serious crimes, including murder and serial killers (p. 2), and this entirely captures the premise of The Mentalist. This is unambiguous sensationalization of police work. However, Cummins maintains that policing includes the element of routine just as any other job does, and so “a realistic drama would be unwatchable” (p. 3).

 

Resources cited:

• Cummins, I., Foley, M., & King, M. (2014). ‘… And After the Break’: Police Officers’ Views of TV Crime Drama. Policing.
• Punch, M. (2009). Police corruption: Deviance, accountability and reform in policing. Routledge.
• Robison, T. (1969). Police Interrogation of Suspects: The Court Versus the Congress. California Law Review, 740-777.

Representations of Police Deviance in Serpico

Serpico is a 1973 American crime drama film, based on a true story and starring Al Pacino as Frank Serpico. Waldo Salt and Norman Wexler wrote the screenplay, adapting Peter Maas’s biography of officer Frank Serpico, who went undercover to expose corruption in the New York Police Force. While working as a uniformed patrolman, Frank Serpico shines through at every assignment. He moves on to plainclothes assignments, where he slowly discovers a hidden world of corruption and deviance among his own colleagues. After witnessing cops commit violence against suspect, taking payoffs, and other forms of police corruption, Serpico decides to expose what he has seen, but he is harassed and threatened by his fellow officers. The struggle leads to infighting within the police force, problems in his personal relationships, and Serpico’s life being threatened. Finally, after being shot in the face during a drug operation on February 3, 1971, he testifies before the Knapp Commission, a government inquiry into NYPD police corruption between 1970 and 1972. After receiving a New York City Police Department Medal of Honor and a disability pension, Serpico resigns from the police force and moves to Switzerland.

The Knapp Commission was a committee of five citizens that investigated corrupt activities of police officers, detectives, and supervisors working in the New York Police Department. The Knapp Commission found that the most serious police misconduct involved situations like providing protection for illegal gambling establishments, selling narcotics, overlooking building code violations on construction sites, and tolerating illegal parking in the commercial district (Armstrong, 2012).The Knapp Commission discovered that corrupt NYPD police officers were collecting protection money and were on the “pad,” which meant that they took bribes from criminals to ensure the criminals that their illegal activities could continue without the threat of being investigated by the police. Many of the criminals involved in bribing police officers prior to the Knapp Commission were involved in vice crime rackets like prostitution and gambling. However, the Knapp Commission and subsequent investigations found that the flow of money involved in the illicit narcotics trade afforded new corruption opportunities. One of the commission’s chief witnesses was a police officer named William Phillips who was caught receiving bribes during an investigation conducted by the commission. The Commission also established that there were two different kinds of corrupt officers; these were the so-called grass eaters, and meat eaters. Meat eaters are police officers who “aggressively misuse their police powers for personal gain”(H-Net,1997). Grass eaters are officers who simply accept payoffs that the happenstances of police work throw their way; basically grass eaters are officers of all ranks who took bribes to allow gamblers, prostitutes and other criminals to avoid the law and escape arrest (NY Times,1994).

Media representations of the police are important in understanding the significance of policing. The media do present the police in a favorable way. News stories portray cops in the way they want to see themselves, particularly “as the thin blue line between order and chaos”(Reiner, 2010). The police are cast as the heroes who protect the victimized weak from the criminal underworld. Before the 1970’s police deviance stories were reported through a one bad apple framework. Such stories implied that there was only one individual who was committing wrongdoings. This kind of news reporting proved to the audience that the whole police force was still legitimate, the police force just had one rotten apple so to say. Media reporting presently has time and time again placed corruption reports “in a framework that legitimizes the police institution at the same time as reporting widespread deviance”(Reiner, 2010). Police deviance movies like Serpico portray a story of the good apple in a rotten barrel. These stories focus on a lone honest officer and his battle against organizational corruption. Most of these good apple in a rotten barrel stories developed right after the Knapp Committee investigations. The media also focuses much attention on the deviant police officer, who is a bad apple in a clean barrel. The main character is cop who takes up a brutal vigilante style. The protagonists rule bending is the result of the combined pressure of the general cynicism induced by police work and some special psychological weakness (Reiner, 2010). An example of this is Sidney Kingsley’s play Detective Story.

The media acts as agents of reform. By painting a picture of deviance, corruption or injustice, “media stories contribute to the sense of urgency regarding the need for action to combat such corrupt or unjust practices”(Chan,1995). Organizations whose deviance is being exposed are capable of, and are engaged in, shaping ,and developing public discourse to minimize damage to their image, as well as to project a sense of order and control by reporting on actions being undertaken to fix the problem. There are two cultures of police reporters. There are the inner circle reporters who typically work for popular media outlets and who are trusted by the police to carry stories which are more likely to boost the popular image of the police. The outer circle reporters  typically work for quality media outlets and are prepared to engage in investigative reporting and present stories which expose deviant police practices. Typically, police forces seek to enhance their image by having media units in charge of giving information to the media. When police deviance becomes a major public issue through media coverage, police organizations must seek access to the media to effect damage control. Public scandals also require immediate repair work within police organizations. Since scandals threaten to expose organizational weaknesses and reveal systemic abuses, organisational representatives must restore and bolster up the ”myth system”. They do so by attempting to minimize the issue, by claiming that a problem was caused by a few individuals, and critics may insist that it was not a matter of a few rotten apples, but a rotten barrel. Television images are powerful and convincing. Viewers may have read or heard about the problems of police, but television allows the audience to see the problems as if they were there. The television images are particularly revealing, and where there are clear breaches of rules or regulations, this is extremely embarrassing for the force if portrayed on t.v (Chan,1995).

Bibliography

 Armstrong, M. F. (2012). They wished they were honest: The knapp commission and new york city police corruption. New York: Columbia University Press.

Chan, J. (1995, January 1). Damage control : Media representation and responses to police deviance. Retrieved from http://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1162&context=ltc

CORRUPTION IN UNIFORM; Excerpts of What the Commission Found: Loyalty Over Integrity. (1994, July 7). Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/07/nyregion/corruption-uniform-excerpts-what-commission-found-loyalty-over-integrity.html

KNAPP COMMISSION (Police). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://what-when-how.com/police-science/knapp-commission-police/

Mackey, T. (1997, November 1). Meat-eaters and Grass-eaters. Retrieved from http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=1503

Reiner, R. (2010). The politics of the police (4th ed.). Brighton, Sussex: Wheatsheaf Books

Fact or Fiction? An Analysis of the film Pride and Glory

For the purposes of this blog, I plan to analyze the movie Pride and Glory in order to reveal the facts and fictions portrayed in the crime movies in relation to policing.

Synopsis

“Director Gavin O’Connor collaborates with Narc director/screenwriter Joe Carnahan on this family-focused police drama concerning an honest homicide detective (Edward Norton) assigned to investigate the precinct run by his potentially crooked older brother (Noah Emmerich). As the investigation begins to reveal some troubling facts about the precinct, it gradually becomes apparent that the policeman who is also the older brother’s best friend (Colin Farrell) may be the man orchestrating many of the suspected crimes” (Jason Buchanan, 2008: 1)

Trailer

Truths

Punch’s Classification of Officer Types

Punch’s Classification of Officer Types categorizes police officers in terms of their motivations to participate in misconduct and corruption (Punch, 2009). It is important to note how Punch emphasizes that officers exercise forms of deviance for reasons beyond the sole purpose of material gain. Punch’s typology is relevant in Pride and Glory, the main characters in the movie fall under her classification of officer types.

Ray

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi274923545?ref_=ttvi_vi_imdb_3

Ray, played by Edward Norton, is the main character in the movie and is characterized by his integrity and commitment to honest policing.   According to Punch, Ray would fall fit the profile of what she calls the “Professionals”: police officers who are highly committed to upholding the law through legitimate means. “Professionals” also tend to avoid interacting with officers known to be corrupt (Punch, 2009). Throughout the entire movie, Ray struggles between his commitment to policing and his loyalty to his fellow officers and family. In the end, Ray’s commitment to his profession is stronger than his familial obligations. He is too attached to his profession to turn a blind eye, and decides to put an end to the corruption he discovers within his fathers precinct.

Jimmy and Associates

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dI0YPlhhxU4

Jimmy, played by Colin Farrell, fits into the Punch’s “Dirty Harrys” profile. Although Jimmy receives material gain by selling the drugs he illegally confiscates, money is not the only thing that motivates his deviant behaviour. Like Jimmy, “Dirty Harrys” or “Noble Causers” are committed to the ends of policing and are willing to use any means to reach them (Punch, 2009). In other words, Dirty Harrys are willing to partake in corruption to close cases and speed up investigations. Dirty Harrys in philosophical terms are consequentialists; meaning that if a goal is morally important enough, any method of achieving it is acceptable (Frank, 2003). Consequentialists insist that whether an action is morally right depends only on its consequences. The right choice, they argue, is always the one that leads to the best overall consequences” (Frank, 2003: 2).

Another way of looking at “Dirty Harrys” is in terms of “noble cause” corruption. Police officers become frustrated that due process and bureaucratic rules prevent them from convicting criminals, and decide to take things into their own hands. Like Jimmy does in Pride and Glory, “some ‘tough’ cops view their role as crime control” (Westmarland, 2006: 161). Jimmy and his fellow officers are able to justify their actions because by locking up and stealing from drug dealers, they believe that they look out for the greater good of their organization and the public in general (Westmarland, 2006: 161).

Jimmy could also be defined in terms of what Punch calls “Ideological Combatants” (2009). Like Jimmy, “ideological combatants are “obsessed with crime-fighting and personally invested in a ‘war on crime’; may create opportunities for deviance” (Larsen, 2015). Furthermore, they are focused on certain group or type of crime (Punch, 2009). In Pride and Glory, Jimmy’s corruption is all in relation to the drug trade, he is not involved in illegal gambling or fraud for example.

Grass eaters, meat eaters and birds

Based on an officer testimony heard before the Knapp Commission in 1972, this typology is used to distinguish officers by their involvement in corruption (Larsen, 2015). The Knapp Commission investigated corruption within the NYPD. Pride and Glory also takes place in NY, and show many similarities to the Knapp Commision Typology.

Grass eaters

“Out of sight out of mind and the fuckin envelopes on time”

The Knapp Commission names cops who passively accept perks and rewards for deviant behaviour as grass eaters; they see the perks they receive as natural aspects of being a police officer . Officers who denied “grass” or paydays were ironically seen as the deviant one’s’ refusing kickbacks raised suspicion among other officers and was frowned upon (Larsen, 2015).

Pride and Glory does a good job at emphasizing the role of the grass-eater. In one scene, two officers Eddie and Kenny are shown in squad car driving. Eddy complains that he needs some money and Kenny reminds him that Jimmy (their leader) has advised them to lay low. Eddie argues that laying low isn’t going to pay his rent and proceeds to try to rob a convenience store. This scene is significant because it supports the notion that many officers rely on the money or “grass” they get from deviant acts, almost as if the money was a part of their salary (Larsen, 2015). It also depicts a transitional phase, where grass eaters are not fed, taking matters into their own hands. The officers go from following orders to get paid to actively searching for payoffs, assuming the role of meat eaters.

Meat Eaters

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGrFzy7yfT0

Meat-eaters, as described in the Knapp Commision, are “proactive carnivores” (Larsen, 2015); they are actively seeking opportunities to abuse their police powers to gain some form of benefit. The Knapp Commission testified that “The meateaters are different. They’re out looking. They’re on a pad with gamblers, they deal in junk, or they’d compromise a homicide investigation for money” (Larsen 2015).

Jimmy, the “leader” of the corrupt cops, fits the perfect description of a meat eater. As his brother-in-law Ray, “the professional” (Punch, 2009) cop, discovers clues and follows various leads, he uncovers Jimmy’s secret. Not only have the men in Franny’s precinct been making money by confiscating drugs and reselling them, but Jimmy has been heading the entire thing. Ray uncovers that Jimmy has been setting up other police officers by tipping off dealers that he was working with before they got raided. Ray also learns Jimmy has participated in tons of planned executions, and that he killed off one dealer he could start working another.

Birds:

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi342032409?ref_=ttvi_vi_imdb_8

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi325255193?ref_=ttvi_vi_imdb_9

The Knapp Commission Typology uses the term “Birds” to classify senior officers who are aware of corruption taking place, but choose to remain indifferent. The commission defines birds and suggest that “the birds just fly up high, they don’t eat anything either because they are honest or because they don’t have any good opportunities” (Larsen, 2015). At one point in Pride and Glory, Ray discovers Jimmy and his gang of police officers as they are torturing a suspect to find out information. Ray calls Jimmy’s commanding officer and chief Franny to alert him about what Jimmy has done, but Franny does not offer him the advice that he was hoping for. After realizing the extent of Jimmy’s corruption, Franny fears that his position could be jeopardized and initially refuses to help Ray. Although he was not aware of the extent of the problem, turning in Jimmy would mean admitting a degree of involvement. Franny argues that all they have to do is give Jimmy a slap on the wrist and cover their tracks. Franny is a prime example of a bird; which can be distinguished by his choice not to intervene or reprimand the corrupt officers in his precinct.

When Jimmy frames Ray, it would also fall under Roebuck and Barker’s Classification of Activities, which categorizes officers according to the type of corruption they partake in (Roebuck and Barker, 1974). Jimmy engaged in what Maurice Punch would define as “flaking and padding”, and addition to Roebuck and Barker’s work. Flaking and padding refers to planting or adding evidence to a scene to attempt to set someone up (Punch, 2009).

Blue Code of Silence

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi358809625

The blue code of silence is an aspect of police culture that discourages police officers from reporting on one another (Westmarland, 2005). One could even say that police follow as similar code as the streets do; dont snitch on your own. Tensions commonly arise when”individual integrity and group loyalty are in opposition and are simultaneously expected” (Kleinig, 1996: 67). We see this in Pride and Glory throughout a large majority of the movie. In one scene, Ray explains that he believes Jimmy is involved in corruption to his superior Franny. His advice to Ray is to sit on it and see what really happens before stirring up a mess, reminding him that he has to protect his own. Ray obviously doesn’t like it, but his father orders him to keep quiet and Ray reluctantly agrees. The blue code of silence works “[strengthens] internal solidarity, but also inappropriate loyalties or secrecies” (Westmarland, 2006: 161). In the beginning of the movie Ray is still dwelling on a prior incident where he succumbed to internal department pressures in protecting a bad cop, ultimately costing him his marriage. Although Ray eventually breaks the blue code of silence, we see how much he struggles with this throughout the movie. In fact, that is the major source of conflict in the film; the struggle between being integrity and loyalty.

Punch’s Three-level Typology of Origins

In Punch’s Three-level Typology of Origins, she highlights the various origins for police corruption; corruption within the police domain, externally driven corruption and system failure. Most of the corruption that takes place in this movie, falls under “within the police domain” and the “externally driven corruption” categories.

Within the Police Domain: “This encompasses grass-eating, conventional corruption, process corruption (including ‘testilying’), meat-eating, and strategic ‘noble-cause’ corruption” (Larsen, 2015).

Externally Driven: ‘This includes state domination, whereby police engage in deviance at the direction of / in furtherance of the interests of politicians, as well as capture by deviant elites, whereby the police collude with cabals of politicians, organized criminals, and local officials” (Larsen, 2015). In the movie, Jimmy’s actions are also influenced by his partnerships with organized criminals in the drug trade. He gets to a point where he is in so far deep, that a gangster visits him at his home and threatens to harm his family.

Myths

The use of deadly force

Pride and Glory, among many other crime movies present a distorted view of police use of deadly force. Often in crime movies,  there is heavy emphasis on police brutality that results in death- especially via gunfire (Crawford, 1999). In crime dramas, viewers are often bombarded with shootout scenes and murder when in reality, the majority of police officers can expect to work their entire career without firing so much as one shot in the line of duty. In fact, though the rates vary, police in all cities kill rarely. Pride and Glory takes place in New York for example, where the average police officer would have to wait an average of 694 years before killing anyone (Crawford, 1999). Below I have highlighted two scenes from Pride and Glory that involve the use of of deadly force.

Example A:

The movie begins with a scene that reveals 4 dead officers at a crime scene. In fact, this is the incident that motivates Ray to go back into police work. At this point he is unaware that the officers were killed because the gang members were tipped off by Jimmy.

Example B:

Two members of Jimmy’s crew try to rob a liquor store, which goes badly. A bystander and one of the two cops are killed, and the other holds the store owner hostage. Francis Jr. goes to the liquor store to talk his officer into freeing the officer. He manages to get the officer out of the store alive as police hold back the people on the streets, who are on the verge of rioting.

The Role of the Detective and Patrol Officer

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi308477977?ref_=ttvi_vi_imdb_1

The film industry is often criticized for overemphasizing and exaggerating the role of the detective. Many movies imply that police investigators are highly effective crime fighters with particularly cunning skills that ensure they solve crimes that ordinary men and women would not be able to do (Crawford, 1999). They face gang shootouts, high speed chases and many other intense life or death situations. On the other hand, they give off the perception that patrol officers are incompetent, lazy and overall incapable of keeping the public safe. Similarly, in Pride and Glory, Ray and Jimmy’s roles as police investigators are highly emphasized. Kenny and Eddy, the patrol officers or “grass eaters” in the movie, are portrayed as unintelligent and incapable of doing their jobs without Jimmy’s guidance. Films fail to consider that most of the cases closed by detectives are solved because the patrol officer has caught the perpetrator at the scene of the crime or because a witness comes forward (Crawford, 1999).

Police Corruption: Blurring between reality and fiction

Police corruption is perhaps the most well known and prevalent problem that comes up in policing. Corruption has also provided to be a main source of conflict in movies in the crime genre. In Pride and Glory for example, the whole movie revolves around the idea of police corruption and the struggle to preserve integrity in the line of duty. This is the one aspect portrayed in film that offers a frightening glimpse of reality that most viewers do not witness in real life. These scenes are often graphic, raw and disturbing, and present the viewer with the opportunity to analyse situations that are taking place in society. However, although the corruption in crime dramas represent or mimic real life events, these forms of corruption are rare. Take Pride and Glory; Jimmy and his gang are able to get away with murder, extortion and drug dealing for a long time before they are stopped. The problem with having real life situations mimicked in these movies is that they exaggerate the extent to which they occur. How can you tell people that police corruption is a rare phenomenon when it is present in almost every single crime drama! Things get even worse when the movies present themselves as “true stories” when in reality, they often magnify the severity of the situation (Crawford, 1999).

& the Moral of the Story is…

Throughout my research on this particular blog and my personal experience watching tons of crime movies, I want to stress that it is important that we take the material we see in these movies with a grain of salt. Although we like to think that we are able to separate fact from fiction, preconceived notions about police work stem from fictional reenactments and representations of crime. Although the images we view in these movies are often exaggerated and fanatical, i’m not saying we should ignore them. Films, especially those that deal with real life issues like police deviance, reflect “their times and the trends in politics, law and society” (Crawford, 1999: 7). Movies that address law and crime change as we develop. As I have discussed in this blog, there are many theories presented accurately in these movies, such as the one’s we see in the Knapp Commision and the typologies theorized by Punch. There is something very significant that goes on in terms of the way the film industry distorts police corruption and deviance. These distortions are not random, the film industry is affected by social influences and events, particularly those that involve the criminal justice system. Movies reveal a lot about how we perceive crime, and how those perspectives advance and shift as society changes.

References

Buchanan, J. (2008, January 1). ‘There Was Something In This That Was A Little Bit Above A Cop Drama’ Retrieved February 28, 2015, from http://www.mtv.com/movies/movie/286159/moviemain.jhtml

Crawford, C. (1999). Law Enforcement and Popular Movies. Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture, 6(2), 46-57. Retrieved February 22, 2015, from http://www.albany.edu/scj/jcjpc/vol6is2/crawford.

Frank, R. (2006). The Status of Moral Emotions in Consequentialist Moral Reasoning. Retrieved February 27, 2015, from http://www.law.yale.edu/documents/pdf/Intellectual

Kleinig, J. (1996). The ethics of policing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Larsen, M. (2015). Four Typologies of Police Corruption [Class Handout]. Police Accountability, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Richmond, British Columbia.

Pride and Glory. (2008). Retrieved February 28, 2015, from http://www.imdb.com/

Punch, M. (2009). Police corruption: Deviance, accountability and reform in policing. Cullompton, Devon: Willan Publishing.

The Knapp Commission report on police corruption. (1973). New York: G. Braziller.

Roebuck, J., & Barker, T. (n.d.). A Typology of Police Corruption. Social Problems, 423-437.

Westmarland, L. (2006). Police Ethics and Integrity: Breaking the Blue Code of Silence. Policing and Society, 145-165. Retrieved February 28, 2015.

Training Day: The Deviant Wolves

We have all seen the classic film “Training Day”, (Fuqua, 2001) staring Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke. For those who have not seen the film, Training Day is a prime example of a film exposing police deviance. In the film, a rookie officer (Jake) has been given the opportunity to work along side a narcotics officer (Alonzo) who has a different view of justice than any normal uniform officer would. Alonzo takes Jake on patrol to show him what “real” policing is about. As the shift goes by, the rookie starts to realize how corrupt this way of justice is served. Jake soon realizes that in order to catch the criminals, you have to be the criminals. This leads on to a quote in the film where Alonzo explains to Jake that “to protect the sheep you gotta catch the wolf, and it takes a wolf to catch a wolf”. In other words, policing can not be as effective by simply following the rules. In order to receive results, bending the rules is an essential. Furthermore, this is a great example showing how Alonzo falls into the ‘dirty harry’ typology of policing. Alonzo does whatever he needs to, to get answers. This includes threatening people, bribing them, and so on. Also, Alonzo falls into the typology of a ‘cowboy’ officer. These type of police officers have no regards for following procedure, they see hierarchy as a joke, and their only goal is to catch the bad guys, no limits required. Alonzo executes this typology by killing a drug dealer and framing his death. In Alonzo’s view, “the world is a better place without him”.

It is not surprising that Jake is not comfortable with this corrupt form of policing. Jake witnesses bribes, blackmail, threats, and much more horrible things that are not custom to how we would like police to act. This form of policing is quoted to be “ugly but necessary” according to Alonzo. In order to get results, an officer must do what he or she has to do.

In addition, as the day goes by, Jake also realizes that this corrupt system of policing does poorly in working towards recidivism. In one scene of the film, Jake catches two men attempting to rape a girl. Once Jake makes his arrests, only then does he realize that sending the men to jail does nothing in Alonzo’s view. Alonzo explains to Jake that he should “let the garbage men take out the garbage”. In other words, rapists may be a major issues to the public, but they are not worth Alonzo’s corrupt policing work. Instead, they should let the typical uniform police handle these minor issues while they should focus on real crime fighting.

Furthermore, this film has various scenes that wave red flags for police corruption. These acts involve drinking and driving, smoking drugs, unauthorized police searches, theft, and much more. It is because of these deviant acts that give this film the name for a corrupt policing movie. Some, or even majority of these deviant acts can be played out into the reality of police work. For example, shady deals can often be found between ‘meat eater’ police officers, and gang members.

To add on, this film portrays many typologies of police corruption. For example, Alonzo is seen as a opportunistic thief. In other words, he would take things such as money from the scene of a crime and keep it for himself. Secondly, Alonzo associated with direct criminal activities such as murder. Another typology for police corruption associated with the film is internal pay off. This is when Alonzo paid his supervisors for various benefits.

Overall, this film puts into perspective how some of our very own police officers act. Although the reality of policing may not be as harsh as the film portrays it to be, police corruption is still present. What this film says about our police is that, police do not feel the need to follow rules at time. Having a badge gives them a sense of power that can not be taken away, after all Alonzo does say “we are the police, we can do what we want”. Having seen the film, it gets the viewers to be more aware of police wrong doing from minor things such as running through red lights when there is no emergency, to blackmailing suspects.

In addition, this film sends a message to the viewers that although the police are here to serve and protect us, corrupt police officers only care for themselves. The only goal for these officers is self satisfaction. In other words, these officers do not care to make the community a better place to live in,  but instead to benefit from taking down the bad guys.

The relationship between fiction and reality in this film are very much alike. Even though this is a typical Hollywood film full of car crashes, gun shooting, and fighting, the image it creates about police deviance is very much real.

The above clip from Training day shows how one officer (Jake) is not happy with this new style of policing that is being exposed to him. On the other hand, Alonzo tries to explain to him that ‘rough justice’ is needed. (Content involves mature language).

To add onto the topic of police deviance, Elizabeth Comack in her book (Racialized policing: Aboriginal people’s encounters with the police, 2012) identifies police corruption through racialization. Comack explains how officers use race as a “primary variable in their decisions to stop and search, arrest, and charge” (Comack, 2012 pg 23). To some this may not be a big issue, but Comack sees it as a threat to our democratic society as we see it being so free when in reality it is not.

In conclusion, Training Day is a film that opens our eyes to police deviance. The officers we trust with our lives may not be the people we see them as. Whether we agree or disagree with how police go about their duties, these corrupt acts will continue to occur. After all, it takes a wolf to catch a wolf.

Bibliography:

Comack, E. (2012) Racialized policing: Aboriginal people’s encounters with the police. Winnipeg: Fernwood Publishing Co Ltd.

Donsknotts (2012) I walk a higher path son, YouTube. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onZwTLcePy4(Accessed: 28 February 2015).

Fuqua, A. (2001) training day 

Police Culture Clouded by Media Portrayal

The media is filled with top stories on what is happening around the world. These news reporting’s are selected according to audience attraction to certain types of stories. Recently, police accountably has been a very hot topic for top stories in the media. There is a new sense of police viability that allows the police to be recorded by viewers and quickly uploadthese onto the Internet causing immediate reactions. Unfortunately, as a form of entertainment, all the media in our society acts as another piece of cultural junk food that is enjoyable but unhealthy.

Chicago P.D. is a very popular crime fighting show that airs on television. The series is packed with a ton of police interactions with civilians and even the fire department. One of the main characters who is always in the spot light is Sergeant Hank Voight. Hank Voight is a prime example of a “dirty cop” along with plenty of other police officers on his team that act the same way he does. Under the Knapp Commission Typology, Sergeant Hank Voight falls under the category of a meat eater:

‘Proactive carnivores’ in search of graft. Meat-Eaters sought out opportunities to exchange police authority for some form of benefit. “The meat-eaters are different. They’re out looking. They’re on a pad with gamblers, they deal in junk, or they’d compromise a homicide investigate for money”.

This sort of typology is very accurate for his characters type of police deviance and corruption because Voight uses his police authority to benefit him and his team. He takes criminals down to an unseen basement and beats leads out of suspects. If Hank Voight were to be an officer in Canada, he would almost always be breaching The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Almost every episode he would be violating Section 8 of the Charter that states:

“Everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search and Seizure”

He would not only break that section of the Charter but many times he would be breaking Section 9 of the Charter that states:

“ Everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned”

Punch attempted to understand diverse motivations of officers who are involved in police deviance and corruption. To better understand what classification Hank Voight would be classified under a “Dirty Harry/Noble”. In every episode Hank Voight and the investigations department ‘get results’ by using practices that would other not be ethical in the real world.

Social media plays a large role in how society keeps up to date with current events. Social media has evolved rapidly and has become the main reference point for trending events. New casters follow new values of ‘news worthy’ reports one of which includes violence or conflict. Violence is one of the news worthy values because it fulfills the media’s desire to present dramatic events in the most graphic possible fashion. (Jewkws, 2011) Police deviance is always news worthy reporting because it displays conflict. Although many of the stories covered are very exaggerated, these authoritive figures who partake in deviant activity taint the whole police image. Unfortunately many people in society only have these new reporting’s as their main source of update with their communities. These stories create moral panic in communities, as it seems as if there is always violence in their backyard. Unfortunately with the news values society rarely see incidents of police work done well, this creating a constant image of not so good police work.

Police deviance is always going to be a topic of interest; they are constantly being recorded, and watched. Constant watch of police officers by others or peers may cloud an officers judgment, here is an example of one:

Watch closely at the incident that happened this incident took place in Washington State. A 35 year-old man named Antonio Zambrano- Montes was merely throwing rocks at cars in the grocery store parking lot. Zambrano-Montes ran across the street while an officer chased him then shot him after trying milder measures, which included commands to surrender, and firing a taster. As shown in the video Zambrano-Montes turns towards the officers, falls to the ground, and dies. Stories such as this one are always the ones of high interest because it involves conflict with authority. It raises speculation of how the law enforcement, that we trust to protect us, will react to an incident that stared as such a little problem. Naturally people start to form opinions and judgments of the incident without full coverage and knowledge to the facts. Media reports such as these ones really make society question whether or not the police are being accountable for their actions.

Fictional representations of police work can be quite confusing, especially with all the different aspects of police work. The behaviors and the situations that are displayed in televisions shows and real life are quite far off. In televisions shows or movies, it is always smooth sailing for police officers as they always get the job done by the time the hour is over (even with commercials). Sometimes in order to do so the police must display practices that are not lawful. Some people in society who are oblivious to the clear division of police work in the real world verses the police work done in shows are also confused by the constant updates with police deviance in the news, potentially causing doubt and even fear of the police.

References:

(n.d.). Retrieved February 28, 2015, from https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTBb-1m8OZ9vVXOTsSRW8XioQmH9Rxn81WAR0hqEOrDT2iNUuB1

(n.d.). Retrieved February 28, 2015, from https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSMtypV_Y1qBh8XiJFRIFa9WXgO4-yuwvoRQDIo5mnsotxzasT5

Southall, A. (2015, February 12). Police Killing of Man Who Threw Rocks Is Reviewed in Washington State. Retrieved February 28, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/13/us/police-killing-of-man-who-threw-rocks-is-reviewed-in-pasco-washington.html?_r=1

Search, seizure, arrest and detention under the Charter (91-7E). (n.d.). Retrieved February 28, 2015, from http://publications.gc.ca/Collection-R/LoPBdP/CIR/917-e.htm#C. Arrest

(n.d.). Retrieved February 28, 2015, from https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRGlzqS8Nv_35TM8zIN_VzwllNwSmg51Adgk93q8wACpg25WXyV

Jewkes, Y. (2011). Media & Crime. London: SAGE Publications.

Police Deviance and Accountability: Gotham

Popular television shows can tell us a lot about police deviance. The television series I would like to discuss is CTV’s new popular show called Gotham. Gotham is interesting when exploring the world of police deviance because of their corrupt police department. The show has reoccurring themes of corruption from criminal syndicates and under world activity, to corporate malfeasance and institutional corruption (Wosner, 2015). Gotham is the city that batman protects. Gotham is about a good detective with strong morals working in a city riddled with corruption. Jim Gordon the honorable detective who is new on the job tries to make it his goal to heal the city. However, what he doesn’t realize is the system is broken from the inside with corrupt cops and politicians. The show has many interesting characters such as the unusual cop Harvey Bullock, who happens to be the partner of Jim Gordon. Harvey is involved with the notorious mob boss Don Falcone, and directly affiliated with his right hand girl Fish Mooney.

Gotham is an interesting show to evaluate when it comes to police deviance. The definition of deviance is straying away from organizational norms and this series depicts both extremes of police deviance (Collins, 2003). Harvey Bullock and the rest of the Gotham police department are negatively deviant in the sense that they turn a blind eye to corruption or partake in illegal activity. These police can be described by the term meat-eaters. This term is used to describe police that use their power of authority for personal benefit (Larsen, 2009). These are the types of officers who would compromise a homicide investigation for money (Larsen, 2009). Detective Jim Gordon on the other hand is on the other end of the spectrum, where he strays away from the departmental norms of corruption and rises above it. Many times throughout the series his job is threatened because he uses unconventional policing methods in the sense he uses his position to do good. Gordon can be described almost as a “crusader”. Crusaders are personally invested in the war on crime. Later in the show Harvey bullock picks up some of Jim’s habits in that he moves away from corruption to pursue more honorable policing methods. Gotham is a city that is literally sick, where criminals are untouchable and government does nothing to change it. Gotham is city like many urban cities found around Canada and the U.S. today with many of the same problems of deviant activity.

Gotham’s police are corrupt from every aspect ranging from police misconduct, to police corruption and they even go as far as predatory policing. Predatory policing is he worst out of the three types of police misconduct, it is when police proactively engage in extorting money from the public or from criminals by providing protection and other services to them (Larsen, 2009). The police deviance displayed by Gotham city’s police department can be displayed as meat-eaters which incorporates the idea that they are proactive carnivores constantly seeking opportunities to benefit from police power (Larsen, 2009).

Deviance is an action that violates generally accepted norms in society. Police deviancy is a goldmine for Hollywood because it sets the stage for scripts that reflect situations that can be related to real life. The most commonly portrayed deviant cop is the dirty harry otherwise known as, the noble crusader. Dirty harry officers do anything to get their man, they will use unorthodox and sometimes deviant methods to do so ( Larsen, 2009). Dirty harry police justify their actions by the result of the outcome (Larsen, 2009). They depict a deviant character, the “bad cop” with likeable traits and make him seem misunderstood (Gustafson, 2015). The cop has complete disregard for rules and norms of the department.

In Gotham the police are affiliated with two major mob bosses, Don Falcone and Salvatore Maroni and the officers have to honor the rules of the gang opposed to what is right. These themes are fantasized but not unbelievable and that’s what makes them so interesting. Gotham is the perfect TV show when imagining deviance in all aspects of society; it is a broken city with broken citizens who are lost. The police have given up on them and the city. Jim Gordon is a great character to look at when it comes to deviance. He is an excellent example of how deviance is not always a bad thing and that changing norms can sometimes be beneficial. Some norms that have been changing in everyday policing are things such as racism and sexism. Today racism and sexism are not culturally accepted in most societies in the western hemisphere. Another character who is fascinating to look at is Harvey Bullock, who is a rude, arrogant, set in his way police officer. He is a bad cop, but is so do to circumstance and the conditions of the city. Over the years he has been molded to accept corruption as the way things are and not question it. Gotham has a dysfunctional social environment that provides excellent opportunity to examine the social theory of deviancy (Wosner, 2015).

There are two types of cop films; there is the corrupt cop movie and a vigilante cop film. Vigilant police films disregard procedural safeguards and rules of conventional police work to catch their perpetrator, usually with violence. Corrupt cop movies are when the hero of the movie goes after corrupt police to take down the broken system (Gustafson, 2015). Gotham incorporates both of these aspects when looking at Jim Gordon and the Gotham PD. But what makes these films so appealing to the public that we continue producing them?

I believe we talk about police and produce active media about police deviance because it is interesting. Police are put on this pedestal to be better than the rest of society with their morality and integrity, and it is fascinating to imagine them being deceitful and dishonest. It is exciting seeing police do anything they can to get the bad guy, even if it means bending the rules. Police deviance on film is also interesting because it is not far fetched to imagine it being true (Wosner, 2015). Recently on the news and in the media there has been a lot of tension with public opinion about the police regarding misconduct and corruption. The case of Robert Dzienkaski is a great example of police not following protocol when dealing with the public.

Police wrongdoing in the media can be portrayed in the media in two different ways, either good or bad. Films show police deviance as being a necessary lesser of two evils to catch the bad guy. In this scenario police deviance is exciting and accepted by the viewers as just. However Hollywood can put a negative spin on police corruption. In Gotham for example the corruption makes the department look broken. The reoccurring theme in negative movies is the hero of the movie tries to fix a broken system by going after the bad cops. Another reoccurring theme is redemption through personal sacrifice (Gustafson, 2015). In many corrupt cop films, an initially questionable character shows qualities of reform and redemption, a corrupt cop turned hero (Gustafson 2015).

There is fine line between fiction and reality when looking at police deviance in films. Cinema shows realistic portrayals of what can happen in everyday policing and some of the struggles that may arise, such as temptation for example. Deviance exists within every profession but is most important in policing. Police are held to a higher standard. They are the protectors of society and must hold to their rules of morality and integrity. If the police do not follow the rules that they are required to enforce, the system will become broken in the eyes of an outsider.

Police deviance occurs when officers violate their legal authority or standard of ethical conduct. Movies depict a wide range of these ethical and legal mistakes by incorporating themes such as discrimination, corruption, excessive force, and intimidation. Gotham is an excellent film when assessing police deviance in popular culture. Jim Gordon is a crusader; he is obsessed with fighting crime and is personally invested in the war on crime (Larsen, 2009). The rest of the Gotham PD are the worst of the worst. They are proactively involved in corruption and have complete disregard for departmental rules. Police deviance is alluring to viewers because it is something that is not so far fetched. It is exciting to see officers break the rules because the police are meant to honorable. Police deviance and accountability will forever flourish in popular culture because deviance portrays a world that runs against the grain of conventional society (Wosner, 2015) . It takes us to a place where our imagination is tested and makes us think about how the police operate in the real world.

References

Collins (2003). Collins English Dictionary. Retrieved February 21, 2015 from http://www.thefreedictiornary.com

 

Gustafason, J. (2015) A Descriptive Analysis of Police Corruption in Film. Retrieved February21, 2015 from

http://www.albany.edu/scj/jcjpc/vol14is2/gustafson.pdf

Larsen, M. Kwantlen Polytechnic University. / Sources: Punch, M. (2009). What is Corruption? In Police Corruption: Deviance, Accountability and Reform in Policing (pp. 18–52). Portland: Willan Pub. / Roebuck, J.B. and T. Barker. (1974). A Typology of Police Corruption. Social Problems 21(3): 423-437.

Wosner, R. (2015) The Caped Crusader:What Batman Films Tell Us About Crime and Deviance. Retrieved February 20, 2015 from

http://www3.canyons.edu/faculty/wonserr/Deviance/Wonser and Boyns – The Caped Crusader Final.pdf

Police Deviance and Accountability in Sons Of Anarchy

Fabricated portrayal of policing is a common component of popular movies and television series these days. The reason being, it is appealing and thrilling to watch police officers demonstrate their duties. Some of the popular television shows that display policing is Cops, Border Security and 48 hours. The following shows showcase the police world in a more entertaining fashion. However, we are continuously exposed to images of problematic and questionable practices of police.

In all, does this ruin our perspective of the police in modern day society? The increased emphasis may cause people to believe that police misconduct is an everyday practice. The following blog will discuss further in depth of the relationship between fiction and reality policing.

Sons Of Anarchy

In the fictional television series, Sons of Anarchy, police brutality and delinquency is broadcasted throughout the series. The show portrays the ongoing battle between motorcycle clubs fighting for jurisdictional space within a small town. More so, the show outlines the relationships with club members and corrupt police officers. The show takes place in modern day California within a small town by the name of Charming. As a means of employment and income, the club relies on unconventional ways such as, organized drug smuggling, brothels and import/export of heavy firearms. Moreover, there are consistent homicides as a result of conflict with rival gangs. As president of the motorcycle club, Jax Teller’s personal and club life is constantly clashing with each other. In order to keep both families protected, Jax finds himself dealing with local politicians and authorities throughout the seasons.

Police Deviance in Sons Of Anarchy

The first Authority that the Sons of Anarchy inherit is Wayne Unser. Unser was the Chief of Charming Police Department in the first season. Soon later, Unser resigned from his duties due to cancer. During and even after being Chief of Police, Unser was always a corrupt police officer. He regularly dealt with the Sons of Anarchy and was also compensated generously. However, the main reason Unser helped out the motorcycle club was because of his love for Gemma. Gemma was the mother of Jax Teller, who was the president of the club. Unser always fulfilled Gemma’s request, which were usually demands from the club. Unser saw the motorcycle club “as a benefit to the town” (Unser 2015). As long as they kept drugs and violence out of Charming, Unser would turn a blind eye. Unser and the club worked together to keep the community safe. Unfortunately, the president of the club killed Unser because of conflict with Gemma.

The second Authority that the Sons of Anarchy fashioned with was David Hale. Hale was next in line for the Chief position once Unser retires. Unlike Unser, Hale “wishes to purge the town of {Sons of Anarchy}” (Hale 2015). Hale wishes to remove the club out of Charming in order to create a gang and crime free town. As the seasons go by, Hale starts to show cooperation with the club. Hale realizes that the rival gangs are a bigger threat to charming than the Sons of Anarchy. From there on, Hale begins to understand Unser’s reasons for cooperating with the club and begins to comply with the club as well. Sadly, during one of the club member’s funeral, a drive by shooting kills David Hale.

The last authority that the Sons of Anarchy have contact with is Althea Jarry. Althea was determined to solve the murder of Tara Knowles; Jax Tellers wife. However, during the investigation, Jarry falls in love with Chibs Telford. Chibs is one of the original members of the club. Teller takes advantage of this by having chibs pay off Jarry in order to have the new chief of police on their side (Jarry 2015).

Ultimately, all Chiefs in the town end up working with the Sons of Anarchy. They all realize that it is more beneficial to work with the club rather than trying to take down the club. Moreover, trying to collapse the club created more trouble than peace. In the end, instead of trying to ruin the clubs drug and gun runs, they work together in order to keep peace in Charming.

Relationship Between Fiction and Reality

Considering the amount of police deviance in Sons of anarchy, it had me questioning if comparable events were happening in reality as well. The club that I decided to investigate was Hells Angels. Hells Angels Motorcycle club is one of the biggest and powerful clubs in the world. The riders typically ride on Harley Davidson motorcycles and are involved in organized crime. The club carries out violent crimes like trafficking, prostitution and robberies.

Likewise, related incidents with the police and Hells Angels were happening in reality as well. A conversation caught on tape-helped lead to the arrest of a former sergeant-detective accused of selling information to the Hells Angels (CBC 2015).

http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/episodes/2013-2014/walk-the-line

Moreover, another incident of the police helping club members was in Abbotsford, BC. Constable Christopher Nicholson was charged criminally in 2013 (Cooper 2015) due too tipping off confidential sources about pending drug busts and search warrants. Nicholson was trying to get his source an advantage over competitors and gain drug market shares. Abbotsford Police Chief comments that

“Its not about the soil. You don’t get maximum drug dealing profits without co-operation from police officers, border services and correction officers. So if you drill down, you find the relationship between police and drug dealers is a lot closer than you think. In many ways, this is the tip of colossal iceberg in B.C” (Cooper 2015).

Thereupon, it is evident that the incidents of police deviance in Sons of Anarchy are also evident in Reality. I am assuming that other popular motorcycle clubs like the Outlaws, Pagans, and Bandidos have police officers involved in police deviance as well.

Understanding the Role of Police In Modern Society

From my understanding of watching Sons Of Anarchy, I have realized that policing is not black and white. There is a lot of grey area’s that police must make important decisions in order to keep the overall peace. For instance, instead of the police in charming destroying the motorcycle club, they all decided to work together in order to keep the town safe.

Consequently, police in reality are involved in such manner as well. For instance, police try to recruit informants in order obtain information about criminal operations. Police can easily arrest a criminal but they are more focused on the bigger picture of recruiting the criminal into an informant. The police need to work with informants in order to find the ringleader. Which in all terminates the whole criminal organization.

Overall, it seems that utilitarianism is a key concept for police organizations. Police organizations want to maximize on situations in order to benefit everyone.

Underlying Themes and Messages

An underlying theme and message conveyed through television of police wrongdoing is the emphasis of the deviance. Media tries to incorporate as much drama in movies or shows in order to keep the audience interested. Viewers do not want to watch boring roles carried out by the police. They are further entertained by police corruption and deviance. Therefore, the emphasis of police deviance may generate individuals to believe that all police organizations are corrupt.

Bibliography:

Althea Jarry. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2015, from http://sonsofanarchy.wikia.com/wiki/Althea_Jarry

Cooper, S., 19, T. P. F., & 2015. (n.d.). “It”s going to be a circus’: Probe of Abbotsford Police Department corruption could unravel successes in fight against gangs. Retrieved February 27, 2015, fromhttp://www.theprovince.com/news/going+circus+Probe+Abbotsford+Police+Department+corruption+could+unravel+successes+fight/10824590/story.html

David Hale. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2015, fromhttp://sonsofanarchy.wikia.com/wiki/David_Hale

Hells Angel allegedly taped talks with ex-Montreal officer. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2015, fromhttp://www.cbc.ca/1.1931061

Wayne Unser. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2015, fromhttp://sonsofanarchy.wikia.com/wiki/Wayne_Unser

Walk the Line – Episodes – the fifth estate. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2015, from http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/episodes/2013-2014/walk-the-line