Capstone Research Project

Sean Pantoja
CRJS 490 Criminal Justice Capstone
Westwood College Online
Professor: Greg Brown
Introduction
Policing is honorable and there are competent police officers who demonstrate integrity in their work, but there can also be criminal behavior, dishonesty and lack of professionalism in the criminal justice system. There are various definitions of police corruption, but they all point to acts that result in dishonest gain as the police lack honesty and integrity. This may include opportunistic theft, engagement in criminal activities’ corruption of authority to protecting illegal activities. Police may understand the inner workings of the criminal justice system and can sue their information to be shielded from detection. This highlights the recurring theme that corrupt officials in the criminal justice system misuse their position for personal or material gain.
In order to dissuade some of the police office engaging in crime, then corruption ought to be seen as one of the high–risk crimes. Additionally the criminal justice system then needs to emphasize on honesty and integrity, with standards being adopted and implemented. As such the administration needs to be proactive to promote the standards and values that discourage corrupt practices. The recruitment and training of officers who follow ethical practice and have high standards of integrity is beneficial as such offices are more likely to misuse public resources or have conflict of interest while fighting crime. Careful vetting is paramount focusing on proper background checks and previous complaints on the potential recruits.
Corruption is a case of few individuals perpetuating the corrupt activities, but there are system failures that make it harder to eliminate such practices. For instance, the police officers may use the duty of law enforcement to harass the citizens, and those with o knowledge about their rights are likely to suffer in silence (Police crime.com, 2015). Additionally, in the whole criminal justice system, when the citizens not voice their concerns about the failure of the judiciary to address corruption then things may not change. To highlight that changes in the judicial system are unlikely to be effected when need arises is that judges who point out the rights of victims that had been violated are likely to face problems working with their colleagues (Judiciaryreport.com, 2015). Problem statementCorruption in the Criminal Justice system is a concern from the policing tactics to the justice system. The lack of strong control mechanisms has meant that the corruption is likely to be reinforced when there is no strong deterrence to deal with the issue.
Hypothesis
The consequences of the objectives and the empirical evidence are necessary to evaluate the validity of the hypotheses including:
Police officers with a previous criminal past will be more corruptible
Poor working conditions, low morale and employment benefits are associated with increased corruption
Greed and tolerance for corruption increases the risk of criminal activities.
Variables
The dependent variable is perception on corruption, while the independent variables are the factors affecting corruption in the criminal justice system, specifically the police. This includes perceptions about the employment benefits the perceptions on the role of honesty and integrity in the police force and knowledge on corrupt and criminal activities among police officers. Police officers may encounter huge sums of money especially when tackling drug criminals, and it may appear as though the bad guy are making more money and this may lure some of the officers to engage in corruption (Stuart, 1990). 
Qualitative vs. quantitative approach The quantitative approach is to focus on establishing the patterns in the data collected with eligibility and statistical analysis. The approach highlights the pathways between previous police conduct and police corruption. The independent variables are then identified based on the likelihood of influencing police corruption. However, there is likely to be interaction effects on the various factors affecting police corruption, while the accuracy of the data is dependent on the responses provided. It is necessary to have quality information, with such details only available when there are official arrests. In any case, the information for analysis need to capture what is relevant, but the police may be reluctant to paint the police force in a bad light.
The qualitative approach may require more time given the need to understand the perspectives and motivations behind the officers engagement in corrupt practices. As such, both quantitative and qualitative approach can be sued together in understanding corruption among police officers. There is no specified sample size in the qualitative approve, but it may be necessary to carry out interviews to corroborate information gathered. The option of observation is not feasible, and hence the quantitative approach will provide more relevant analysis. However, reviewing previous reports on corruption cases among the criminal justice officials, especially reports on cases where it has been proven that corruption has derailed justice. In the legal system, there is a risk that the judges can engage in corrupt activities to report cases for those who receive bribes to influence cases (judiciaryreport.com, 2014).
Research design
There is a need to understand perceptions about corruption among police officers based on different scenarios. Hence, an online survey/ anonymous questionnaire focusing on police perceptions would help to evaluate how they describe their behavior when faced with the like...