Criminal Justice?

Question

Okay I'm having trouble answering this question for homework "Is Police Officer's credibilty is dependant upon his or her ability to write an intelligent accurate report"??

Answer 1

All I can do, in light of the way your question is phrased, is offer my opinions on this issue.

A police officer's credibility is definitely related to his or her accuracy in documenting volations, offenses, crimes, incidents and infractions. The law, not unlike medical matters, is very important! And the effectiveness of law requires that all the links in the chain are trustworthy; this includes lawyers, legislators, judges and criminal justice workers such as parole officers. The "intelligence" of the report is not nearly as important as the accuracy of the report.

Unfortunately, police corruption is widespread. Most people do not appreciate exactly what constitutes corruption and why. I am a teacher, and I once discussed police corruption with my adult students. They did not realize that a cop who takes free coffee and donuts from a Seven Eleven has been corrupted. Policemen and women of integrity cannot take a single dime or scrap of food from anyone, on duty or off. The doughnut store gives free coffee, and the police go there for their coffee, and thus the place is given (of course, as the cop has to go there to get his free stuff) extra protection from what it might otherwise receive. This is not what the public pay for (to allow police services to essentially be sold to the highest bidder). In addition to the wrongness of this corruption, can the officer who receives the free stuff freely admit where he is (the coffee shop, for instance) for an unwarranted amount of his shift, or is he likely to color his report to suggest to the reader that he's not corrupted and not favoring anybody or anyplace?

I have several times seen cops speeding and wondered, "Is he going to an emergency?" If he's speeding without legitimate cause, who shall arrest him? Even when he's driving drunk while off duty, is he likely to be arrested when the (arresting?) officer knows that it is another cop staggering in front of him?

No one is there to arrest the obscene, corrupt, profligate officer, and this is a conundrum. So, we have story after story after story in the newspapers about police corruption; Miami, then New York, then Chicago, then Los Angeles, then Denver, then Long Beach California, then Philadelphia, then New York again. It goes on and on and on!

Yes, the cop needs to write an accurate report, but how likely is he to do that when "accuracy" actually inculpates him or his occupational kin?

Answer 2

I think it is...I think someone sounding and appearing educated has a lot to do with their credibility....

Answer 3

Yes.If it is not accurate it will not hold up in court.