Reference no: EM132281370

Police in America

Project Two will entail an overview and analysis of the LAPD Rampart Scandal. Police Officers in the anti-gang CRASH (Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums) unit in the Rampart Division of the LAPD framed innocent individuals by planting evidence and committing perjury to gain convictions.

Innocent men and women pleaded guilty to crimes they did not commit and were convicted by juries because of the fabricated cases against them. Many individuals were subjected to excessive police force and suffered very serious injuries as a result.

This sort of conduct is associated with the most repressive dictators and police states. The task is to understand how it happened and what steps must be taken to ensure it will never happen again.

After reading the attached report, you are to provide a written analysis addressing the following question in-depth:

• Provide a brief overview of the LAPD Rampart Scandal.

• Do you feel the Department and others failed to identify the extent of the problem and minimize its scope and nature? Explain.

• Identify the culture of the LAPD at the time of the incident and do you feel that this central culture of the LAPD gave rise to and tolerated what occurred in the LAPD Rampart Division and elsewhere? Why?

• Examine the leadership within the LAPD. We discussed what is meant by "Span of Control." Can you hold the lack of proper supervision accountable for this incident? Explain.

• We also discussed in class the "Us versus Them" mentality within police organizations in regards to the Police Subculture. Did this play a role in the Rampart Scandal? Explain your rationale.

• Lastly, how can situations like this be avoided in the future? Include the concept of leadership and ethics in your response.

Guidelines

• Include cover page (papers without cover page WILL NOT be considered)

• Paper MUST be a minimum of 700+ words. Document the word count at conclusion of paper (papers submitted without word count WILL NOT be considered).