Provide a 6 pages analysis while answering the following question: Police Misconduct in the United States. Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide. An abstract

  

Provide a 6 pages analysis while answering the following question: Police Misconduct in the United States. Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide. An abstract is required. According to a study performed by Hickman and Bureau of Justice Statistics, a total of 2000 complaints made by the citizens regarding the police misconduct of excessive use of force were found to be true out of more than 22000 complaints made by the citizens (Hickman, 2006). These are just a few cases that have been reported and analyzed. several cases are unreported due to the fear of power and authority of the police officials. This research will focus on police misconduct carried out in the region of United States and the causes as well as the types of police misconduct and what reforms are in place to address the issue of police misconduct. There are various theories that may help in identifying the causes of police misconduct. One such theory is the rational decision-making theory which states that individuals involved in deviant behavior if they have formed a perception that deviant behavior will result in more utility and fewer disadvantages of drawbacks. This means that police officials even weigh costs and benefits before carrying out activities that can be regarded as misconduct and if they are more likely to perform inappropriate activities if they perceive the benefits for those activities to be more than the drawbacks. Chappell conducted a study in which 3,810 police officers were involved and their perception regarding types of misconduct and severity of punishments were recorded (Chappell, 2004). The researcher identified that the severity of punishment for police misconduct involving the exchange of gifts and meals was perceived to be quite relaxed. Another reason due to which police misconduct exists and is so hard to counter is peer pressure. Police departments may contain two different kinds of group. One group is that which promotes devious activity and is indulged in those activities and the other group complies with the rules and regulations.