Julius Wachtel

About the author: Julius Wachtel, a lecturer in criminal justice at Cal State Fullerton, retired from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms in 1998 after twenty-five years in law enforcement.

Despite intensive efforts to curb police corruption, corruption still continues. The very nature of police work—dealing with criminals day after day with little supervision—encourages corruption. Police are judged by their superiors and by the public on their ability to catch criminals and reduce crime. As long as they are measured by these goals, police will feel pressure to cut corners—such as planting evidence and ignoring a suspect's civil rights. Adopting more stringent standards of police training is an important step in reducing the forces that lead to misconduct, but it is not the only cure. The police culture...