Why “A few bad apples” is an understatement of the police problem
By Dr. Moriel McDuffy
When I hear people say there are a few bad apples in policing, it makes me cringe. The statement is a minimization of the systemic issues with policing. Look at it this way. If there are 100 police in a district and 5 police are corrupt. Often the other 95 “good officers” stand up for their cohort. At a minimum, the officers remain silent. Those who do not stand up are dismissed from the force. Former Buffalo police officer Carol Horne experienced it when she reported her partner for choking a citizen during an arrest. She was dismissed from the force in 2008, which reinforced the negative culture of backing bad officers. When the other 95 officers allow the minority to run rough shot in the community, you have a more significant problem than just “a few bad apples.” There must be someone to hold officers accountable including an internal reporting system. Group behavior always influences its members. Inevitably, the 5 bad officers normalize the misconduct, and “good officers” looking the other way also becomes normalized. If you know anything about group processes, you know it is a matter of time before 5 bad apples become 10. The new officers will follow suit, and a pattern of misconduct is born. When there is no accountability, there is no external motivation to do what is right. When you can only rely on…
