Protector or predator? - Institute for Security Studies

Gareth Newham and Andrew Faull
police officials for criminal offences are a critical component of any plan to tackle
corruption. 132 There are two reasons for this: firstly, such tools allow managers
to intervene in minor incidents of misconduct before they lead to more serious
incidents of corruption. Secondly, taking disciplinary action for the types of misconduct
often associated with corruption (such as failure to follow procedures)
compensates to some extent for the difficulty of proving that a corrupt act has
taken place.
The ‘enhancing accountability’ approach to tackling corruption is often the
primary response of policing agencies and is referred to as ‘rule tightening’. 133 It
has been argued that almost all successful cases of corruption control have corresponded
with moves ‘from less authoritarian to more authoritarian (police) administrations’.
134 However, while it is accepted that rule tightening is a necessary aspect
of any effective anti-corruption strategy, it has to be carried out carefully. A dangerous
and unintended consequence of a punitive authoritarian strategy can be to
strengthen rather than diminish the ‘code of silence’ and ‘siege mentality’ prevalent
within many policing environments. A seminal case study of a Dutch police organisation’s
corruption scandal in the 1970s by Maurice Punch clearly illustrates this. An
authoritarian approach resulted in widespread inter-rank animosity between upper
and lower commanders as ‘scapegoats’ for the corruption problem were sought. 135
Steps to enhance accountability should therefore be accompanied by initiatives
that aim to change police organisational culture as part of a strategic institutional
reform process. In this way the organisation’s response can be seen as
supportive rather than punishing of police officials who find themselves struggling
to navigate what is a morally tenuous occupational terrain.
PromotiNG a culture of iNTEGrity
Organisational culture is an important determinant of the degree to which employees
in an organisation behave ethically. 136 Organisational values and norms
consist of the basic moral standards of society, as well as those prescribed by
organisational policies and rules. 137 Within this context, managers and staff,
through their speech and actions, establish the boundaries of what is considered
suitable behaviour. Meaning is given to policies and rules depending on how
managers enforce them and communicate them to staff. 138
Whereas traditionally police culture was viewed as part of the corruption
problem, analysts subsequently recognised its potential for being part of the
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