Police Corruption in the UK: A Critical Analysis

This essay critically discusses the issue of police corruption in the UK, with examples of misconduct, impact on society, and actions taken by the government. It evaluates the notion of 'bad apples' and highlights the need for a solid solution to this problem.

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MSC Criminology

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Are the British police corrupt? Critically discuss using examples
Corruption is defined as illegal or dishonest behaviour by a person
especially who is in a powerful position such as government officials or
police officer in order to gain personal advantage. Police corruption
defined a form of misconduct which is committed by police officers by
illegally or dishonestly misusing their powers in which they end up
breaking their police contract and abuse their powers for personal gain
(Tankebe, 2010). It is a major issue in countries all across the globe since
the role of police is to protect people from illegal or dishonest practices,
however, when they engage in these practices themselves, then it
resulted in eliminating the trust of people from the police department.
According to Punch (2009), the police are meant to enforce the law and
regulations them rather than abuse them which leads to a bigger
question regarding why some police officers violate the law in order to
become criminals. In the case of the United Kingdom, corruption of
police is a major problem which has affected society in a negative
manner. There are many examples which highlight this issue in the past
which shows that there is a requirement solid solution to this problem.
The objective of this essay is to evaluate whether British police is corrupt
by discussing various examples. This essay will include the impact of
police corruption on society, and its impact in the United Kingdom to
understand this problem thoroughly. This essay will analyse the impact of
corruption in the UK and what are the actions which can be taken by the
government in order to address this problem.

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In order to evaluate whether the British police is corrupt or not, it is
important to understand what constitutes a ‘corruption’. Generally, there
are two approaches which aim to approach the issue of corruption. The
first approach looks at different forms of behaviour and attempts made
by individuals with powers which distinguish such actions that might be
considered as corrupt (Newburn, 2015). On the other hand, the second
approach is construction of a definition which aims to separate corrupt
from non-corrupt actions. However, both of these approaches are not
satisfactory since the problem with corruption is that it is fundamentally
an ethical issue. This ethical problem is an inherent part of policing
which makes it more complex. Ivkovic (2005) provided the definition of
police corruption which is referred to an action or omission or a promise
of action or omission or an attempt of action or omission which is
committed by a police officer which is characterised a misuse of the
official position of the police officer which is motived in significant part
by the achievement of personal gain. It shows that police corruption is
related to abuse of position by the officer who engages in illegal or
dishonest behaviour within objective to gain personal benefits. The
definition given by Kutnjak Ivkovic leaves out the part relating to
unethical conduct of a police officer. Instead, this definition focuses on
the part that corruption is used by police officers in order to gain
personal gains. However, it is not true as unethical behaviour is a
relevant part of police corruption which affects a major part of society.
The key challenge with police corruption in the United Kingdom and
many other countries is that the government and other senior officers try

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to take the attention of people away from this issue by saying that it is a
problem of few ‘bad apples’. It is implied many times that police
corruption is a problem of a few rogue members or ‘bad apples’ based on
which this problem can be solved quickly (Newburn, 2015). Although it is
possible that on occasions there are a small number of individuals who
engage in highly unethical conduct which leads to police corruption,
however, the history of policing in the UK has shown that it is not the
case. This notion also has far-reaching and damaging implications as
well. For instance, this theory resulted in narrowing down the scope of
attention which resulted in directing the concern away from those who
are in the position of power and authority who needs scrutiny to avoid
this problem (Hough et al., 2016). This concept also implies that only few
police officers are bad and everything else in sound otherwise. However,
this is rarely the case when it comes to the police department. Lastly,
this notion implies that there are only a few individuals who are corrupt
which means that there is little requirement of investigation and
punishment of those individuals which becomes a default response of
senior officers, government and the public when it comes to responding
to corruption scandal (Newburn, 2015). These factors are increasing the
issue of police corruption of a global stage which resulted in creating
challenges for the public and society as a whole.
In the case of the United Kingdom, the police have been involved in a
range of corrupt activities such as bribery, the fabrication of evidence,
the concealment of serious crimes, and the commission of serious crimes
which include allegations for murder. In 2015, police forces across

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England and Wales had been ordered to review around 2,000 cases
based on the allegation of corruption which provided that these cases
were not investigated properly. This order was given by Her Majesty’s
Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) which has found that the police
department has taken no actions in over two-thirds of investigations in
which allegations of corruption were made (Halliday, 2015). In more than
3,000 investigations, only 900 police officers were disciplined or left the
service. In these cases, the examples of corruption include theft, bribery,
unauthorised disclosure of information, drug-related offenses and sexual
misconduct. There are more than 3,070 total investigation orders which
were given based on alleged corruption in which no further action was
taken in 1,685 cases (Halliday, 2015). This example shows that even
when corruption is found in the cases relating to police misconduct, no
action is taken by the department against those orders. It shows that
there are not just few ‘bad apples’, instead, it is a major problem which is
inherent to the police department in the United Kingdom. There are
many cases involving miscarriage of justice in the UK as a result of police
corruption which shows that it is a major issue in the country.
‘The Guildford four’ is a good example in which a case was instituted
against Paul Hill, Gerard Conlon, Patrick Armstrong, and Carole
Richardson. These four individuals spend 14 years in prison before their
conviction for two IRA bomb explosions in Guildford. These bomb
explosions occurred on October 5, 1974, and these parties were held
guilty by the court of appeal in 1989 (McConville, Sanders and Leng,
2017). These four individuals were wrongfully convicted over the

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bombings made in the UK, and recently the KRW Law claimed that they
newly released archive material shows that there is evidence of
preventing the course of justice. In a subsequent judicial inquiry which
was held by Sir John May provided a report which led to the trial of three
Survey Police Officers in 1993 in relation to conspiracy in order to
prevent the course of justice. In this case, the lawyers claimed that the
police officers acted ‘criminally’ and they requested to make an inquiry in
this matter to the Office of Attorney General. The evidence shows that
the judgement given by the Court of Appeal in 1989 was unsafe which
resulted in miscarriage of justice based on police corruption. ‘The
Maguire seven’ is another good example in which convictions made
against the Maguire Seven were ruled unsafe in 1990 based on an
inquiry which exposed disturbing holes in the police’s forensic evidence
(Hickman et al., 2012).
In this case, a family was wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for two
IRA bombings made in 1974. In this case, the parties were convicted
wrongfully on the basis of false confessions which were extracted after
physical abuse and threats by Surrey police while detained under anti-
terrorism laws. The police officers made a claim that the Maguire
household was a bomb factory despite the fact that no evidence of bomb-
making was found in the house and it surrounding after rigorous
searches (Hickman et al., 2012). The Maguire Seven were arrested and
charged based on the fact that the explosive substance nitro-glycerine
was found on their hands in the forensic report. Mr Conlon died while
serving his prison sentence in 1980 after which he was cleared

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posthumously. It was found by three appeal court judges that the traces
of nitro glycerine which was found on their hands and gloves could have
been a result of innocent contamination. Another good example is ‘the
Birmingham Six’ case; in this case, six Irish Catholic men who were living
in England wrongly convicted for the murder of 21 people in 1975. They
were found guilty after a bomb exploded in the Mulberry Bush bar which
was situated in Birmingham in 1974. All these six men served more than
16 years in jail (Payton, 2016).
They were found guilty based on the forensic test conducted by the police
in whom they were tested positive for nitro glycerine in Greiss tests.
However, it was argued by scientists that the test was unreliable because
a positive range of nitrocellulose can be collected from a range of
innocent products. These six people were partially convicted on forensic
evidence which was later discredited by the court. The accusation made
by prosecutions against the police officers who investigated the case was
halted by the court in 1993 because of ‘adverse publicity’ which shows
that police corruption is a major problem which is affected the judicial
service system as well (Payton, 2016). The 1981 Brixton riot or Brixton
uprising in a good example to understand who police officers misuse
their power and privileges to engage in immoral and illegal activities. In
this case, a confrontation between the protesters in Lambeth and the
Metropolitan Police occurred between 10 and 12 April 1981. In this case,
a young black person was arrested outside a minicab by a police officer
in plain clothes who was taken off in a van by uniformed police and
missiles thrown at the vehicle resulted in breaking the window (Jefferson,

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2012). It shows that unethical and immoral actions of police officers
resulted in causing major incidents in which a large number of people
are suffered.
The case of Hillsborough is another good example which shows the
detrimental impact of police corruption on innocent people. As per the
Hillsborough Independent Report (HIP), it was revealed that the South
Yorkshire Police had blamed the fans for the football disaster which
occurred in April 1989 (Bennett, 2017). It was reported that actual victim
of this incident was blamed by the police officers in order to cover up the
true facts. The police officers lied by claiming that “Drunk, violent
football fans were responsible for the fatal crash which occurred in the
stadium. Hillsborough police chief reported in 2018 that ‘political
interference’ is responsible for enforcing the police officers to lie
regarding the whole incident in which they blamed Liverpool football
fans for the Hillsborough disaster (Ward and Morgan, 2018). The police
officers wanted to cover the mistake which they made by ordering to
open exit gate C which resulted in increasing the number of more
supporters to the already overcrowded central pens. It shows that police
officers work together during corruption cases and they try to hide each
other’s mistakes and illegal actions rather than exposing their corrupt
actions. It also highlights the fact that the issue of police corruption is
fundamentally linked with unethical conduct which makes it difficult to
eliminate this issue from the United Kingdom.

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In most cases involving police corruption, the police officers show
minimum professional standard in order to help the innocent parties
ethically. The British police have established different task forces which
are focused on providing recommendations in order to increase integrity
in the department, however, these actions are not enough to put a stop to
police corruption in the country. The introduction of section 26 in the
Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 shows that the government has
taken the initiative towards recognising and addressing the issue of
police corruption in the country. This section provides that a police
officer who exercises his/her powers and privileges improperly or knows
others who exercise the powers in improper manner can be held liable
under this section. The guilty officer can be imprisoned by the court for a
term not exceeding 14 years or a fine or both (Legislation, 2018). The
objective of this section is to ensure that police officers are not misusing
their powers or privileges to gain personal advantage by causing harm to
other parties. However, implementation of this section has not been
effective since the number of police corruption cases has not reduced.
All these examples show that there are not just a few ‘bad apples’ in the
police system of the UK, instead, there are many officers who actively
engage in corrupt activities which are adversely affecting the whole
society. A recent study found that from 2009 to 2011, 372 police officers
were suspended for misconduct. 258 police officers have been suspended
from 2009 to 2011 for offenses include neglect and assault, sexual
assault and others from which 38 percent were proven, and 11 percent
officers were sacked (Cafe, 2012). The key issue with corruption cases

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against police officers is that the cases are delayed unnecessarily which
resulted in making it difficult for innocent parties to receive justice. A
report provided by the Independent Police Complaints Commission
(IPCC) on police corruption provided that from 2008 to 2011, 1,487
complaints were received on corruption by police officers. It was
reported that 345 of these complaints were referred to the IPCC for
investigation (The Guardian, 2012). It shows that even though parties are
making complaint against corruption of police officers, however, no
actions are taken by the authorities to capture and hold those officials
liable for violation their duties. IPCC provided that in order to hold a
police officer liable for corruption, it is important that there must be
clear information on what constitution as police corruption. Innocent
parties find it difficult to provide relevant evidence while filing a
complaint against police officers regarding their corrupt actions.
Although IPCC has provided that it is focused on completing the
complaint in the quickest and most efficient way possible, however, it is
difficult for it to ensure that thorough investigations are conducted in
these matters to benefit the general public. It shows that even though
there are many cases involving police corruption in the UK, still, there is
no efficient and effective measure which has been taken by the
government in order to address this issue.
The actions of police officers which are considered as “corrupt” might
not be so easy to explain; police officers risk their lives during their job,
and they might have to take these actions in order to survive or achieve a
greater good. However, this did not justify the examples mentioned

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above in which the police officers were involved in causing harm to
innocent public which resulted in adversely affecting a large number of
people (Porter and Prenzler, 2012). Different theories are used by
experts in order to understand and evaluate the issue of police
corruption to determine why police officers engage in corrupt activities.
The theory of social culture provides that it is difficult for police officers
to act ethically in most cases since they find it difficult to trust others.
They are more likely to see others as a potential threat just like criminals
saw police officers which make it difficult for them to ensure that they
act ethically rather than protecting themselves (Reiner, 2010). However,
this theory did not justify the illegal actions which are taken by British
police officers with an objective to gain a personal benefit. They engage
in those activities to cause harm to other parties or receive an unfair
advantage based on which the social-cultural factors cannot be
considered as a reason for police corruption.
As per the theory of delinquency, the young police officers are more
likely to engage in actions which they consider as “moral” to ensure that
the criminals are able to get away. In order to under causes of various
forms of police misconduct, the social learning theory can be utilised.
Akers’ social learning theory suggests that factors such as reinforcement,
modelling, associations, and attitudes are the key predictor of
delinquency and crime in general (Wolfe and Piquero, 2011). As per this
theory, there are four different variants which resulted in instigating and
strengthening the attitude of parties which motivates them to engage in
criminal activities. A balance between these four factors affects the fact

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regarding whether an individual will be prone to engage in deviant
behaviour or not. Although this theory is used in experts in order to
understand the reason for commitment of crimes by a person, however, it
can also assist in understanding the reason for increasing number of
police corruption in the UK. This theory suggests that police officers are
more likely to develop a peer group in the departments in which they
operate. In these peer groups, officers are constantly exposed to co-
workers who might engage in illegal or immoral behaviours (Cooper,
2012). It resulted in influencing attitude of other police officers as well,
and they are more likely to learn to accept deviant behaviour which
enables them to engage in corrupt activities.
The “rotten apple theory” provided that police officers engage in
unethical activities by themselves because they like to misuse their
powers. This theory is based on individualistic explanation of police
corruption. This theory provides that police officers involved in illegal
activities by misusing their powers in order to gain monetary
compensation for selfish ends (Gottschalk, Dean and Glomseth, 2011).
They engage in corrupt activities because it is easier for them to gain
unfair advantage by engaging in them without being responsible for the
consequences. Although the ‘rotten apple theory’ assists in
understanding the behaviour of police officers towards crimes, however,
it is inadequate in explaining the reason for frequency of police
misconduct. On the other hand, the subculture theory argues that there
is a degree of corruption in almost of police department which creates a
culture of accepting corruption in the operations. The more experienced

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police officers know how to avoid legal consequences by committing
corrupt actions, and they teach them to new members as well (Crank,
2014). Police officers who did not engage in these activities find it
difficult to perform their work without facing a hostile working
environment in which nobody got their back. The job of police is scary
without proper support from the team members which makes it more
likely that the other police officers will also accept and engage in corrupt
activities (Hough et al., 2016). Studies have shown that police officers
are more prone to accept illegal exchanges due to their subculture in
which the moral commitments of individuals are not sustained by their
peers.
Without proper support and assistance from the senior managerial
personnel, it becomes impossible for police officers to ensure that they
engage in ethical practices. The subculture has a significant impact on
the attitude and behaviour of police officers based on which they are
more likely to engage in practices which are illegal by misusing their
powers. The ‘slippery slope’ theory of police corruption argues that
accepting and letting go of small seemingly inconsequential gratuities
escalates into serious unethical and immoral actions by police officers
(Dean, Bell, and Lauchs, 2010). The police officers who accept minor
unethical actions or illegal behaviour of peers are more likely to develop
an attitude of accepting unethical practices. These officers find it easier
to accept serious bribes after accepting many small bribes for actions
which are constituted as inconsequential. This theory provides police
officers psychologically become more corrupt as they continue to accept

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more bribes for illegal activities (Wright, 2010). They also become
greedier as they realise that they can get away by accepting bribes which
encourage them to engage in more serious corrupt activities in order to
increase their profits. Based on the evaluation of these theories, it can be
determined that there are various factors which resulted in increasing
corruption in the British police.
The corruption in the police department in the UK is a major issue which
his proliferating due to lack of effective policies which are targeted
towards addressing this issue. There are various actions which can be
taken by the police department in order to reduce the number of corrupt
activities in the British police. Preventing corruption completely is a
difficult job; however, steps can be taken by the government in the UK
which can reduce it significantly. There are a few fundamental ideas
which can be implemented by the government which controls corruption
based on which the government show focus on three major areas which
include officer training, personal character, and incentives programs
(Sikka and Lehman, 2015). The first step focuses on hiring a police
officer of good character which is difficult for many reasons. Stricter
screening methods can be implemented by the police department to test
the character of potential candidates for the role of police offers.
Psychological factors should also be considered by the department in
order to find the right candidate for the job. Since human change with
time, good police officers are also likely to become corrupt as per
subculture theory discussed above. However, this issue can be addressed

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by providing appropriate training to police members that assist them in
acting ethically.
Training should include actions which police officers can take in order to
report the unethical behaviour or practices of other co-workers to
eliminate corruption. The incentive program should be implemented
which is focused on rewarding those police officers who engage in ethical
practices. Incentives should be given to those officers who report corrupt
activities of other police officers which resulted in destroying the culture
in the department of accepting corrupt actions. Lastly, the government
should implement policies which are focused on increasing transparency
in the operations of the police department. These policies should require
the police officers to comply with a framework which require them to
disclose relevant information regarding the actions taken by them. The
police department should send a report regarding the actions taken by
the officers to ensure that they did not hide any unethical practices. The
officers should report to a specific committee in which they have to
disclose the reasons for the actions taken by them based on which they
will be able to reduce corruption (Lindstedt and Naurin, 2010). Although
these policies can make it difficult for police officers to efficiency
complete their job, however, the government should take this fact into
consideration while forming the policies to ensure that efficiency is
maintained along with effectiveness.
In conclusion, a range of examples is evaluated in this essay in order to
determine that the police department in Britain is corrupt. This is proven

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based on evaluation of many examples in which innocent people suffered
significant loss due to the corrupt actions of police department in the UK.
The corrupt actions of police officers resulted in destroying the lives of
innocent people who are imprisoned or killed by police officers. Police
officers engage in corrupt activities in order to gain unfair advantages,
especially monetary benefits. Different theories highlight that there are
both individual and cultural factors which resulted in increasing corrupt
in the police departments of the UK. It becomes difficult for police
officers who are not corrupt to ensure that they did not engage in
unethical practices due to peer pressure. Many officers like to misuse
their powers, and they use them to gain unfair monetary advantages.
This is a growing issue which is affecting the citizen in the UK; therefore,
recommendations are given to address this issue. These
recommendations include hiring good character officers, providing them
training to deal with corruption relating issues, rewarding them for
eliminating corrupt activities and promoting transparency in the
operations. These recommendations will result in reducing corruption in
Britain and increase the trust of the public in the police departments.

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