It is long past due for the subject of greed and law enforcement officers to get some attention. The majority of officers who have been decertified during the last decade met their fate as the result of theft-related offenses. Literally thousands of officers and their families have been destroyed by the desire for the almighty dollar.
From a spiritual perspective, major religions have been fighting greed for centuries. Jesus is known to have lived in poverty. He warned against wanting money excessively. The Bible states, "Then he [Jesus] said, 'Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions (Luke 12:15)." Catholicism defines greed as the excessive love for riches. It can become so irresistible that the quest for money becomes the most important purpose of life for some people. [i]
Contemporary America is filled with so much greed that many people have come to except it as normal. To make matters worse, others have joined the ranks of cheaters and thieves by rationalizing hey, everybody else is doing it. Such rationalization has become pervasive throughout many aspects of daily life. Not since the Great Depression have Americans seen the degree of corporate indiscretion as witnessed during the last decade. Educators report student cheating is at an all-time high. Research reveals a startlingly percentage of children see nothing wrong with lying or cheating to get ahead. Athletics are routinely spoiled by a lack of sportsmanship and honesty. Corporations raise their prices to account for internal theft and shoplifting, while consumers are often cheated by some businesses.
Just how pervasive greed at work has become is evident in that workers steal more than shoplifters, even though shoplifters now steal $10.4 billion in merchandise each year. Employee theft is estimated to account for 47% of store inventory shrinkage in America. That figure equates to an employee theft price tag of about $17.6 billion dollars per year. This amazing amount makes employee corruption the greatest single threat to profitability of retail stores[ii].
Most officers know that employee theft is the leading cause of inventory loss in retail businesses, but it is much harder to accept the fact that a fellow officer is a thief. Employee theft takes many forms, from stealing office supplies or merchandise to stealing intellectual property and confidential information.
One of the nation s most extensive studies of officer misconduct sheds light on how law enforcement officers steal[iii]. Nationwide research about officers who have been decertified for misconduct has revealed that nearly half of the 2,296 decertified officers studied had their certifications revoked for theft-related crimes. The two largest categories were making false reports (19.92%) and larceny (12.12%). The vast majority of false report offenses were for falsifying overtime reports to steal overtime funds. Other crimes included fraud/forgery (5.03%), sale of cocaine (3.08%), sale of cannabis (1.36%), robbery (1.19%), bribery (1.19%), possession of stolen property (1.10%), and gambling (0.46%).
Countermeasures
Regardless of the type of employer, form of theft or particular circumstances, preventing theft, as opposed to reacting to it, needs to be the top priority. For most departments, the four most effective countermeasures are:
- Maintaining a hiring process that reveals the integrity of candidates,
- Ensuring all employees are treated fairly and respectfully,
- Consistent, stern accountability for those who commit theft, and
- Sustaining an organizational culture where officers help each other overcome temptations.
Ohio State Professor Jerald Greensberg s research[iv] is consistent with others who conclude most employees steal to retaliate against their employer. Consequently, one effective way to prevent internal theft is to identify and resolve the reasons employees want to retaliate. Accordingly:
- Treat all employees with dignity, fairness and respect.
- Improve perceptions of pay equity. Salary tends to be a sensitive subject. The more people believe their compensation is fair, the less likely they are to steal.
- Attack the rationalizations. People use all types of reasons to rationalize why it is all right to lie, cheat or steal. The most common reason given is that they have been mistreated by supervisors. Internal training, for both workers and supervisors, is a wise investment.
The hiring process for most employers can be enhanced in several ways. Employee background investigation is the most important. The best predictor of future behavior is past performance. Giving background investigators the skills and time to conduct a proper investigation will make the difference.
Removing the opportunity to steal is a crucial necessity. Establish a system of checks, balances and oversight for key processes such as overtime logs, evidence rooms and drug unit procedures. Have someone outside a work unit perform an unscheduled inspection from time to time. When greed-related offenses occur, ensure that harsh, consistent discipline is a certainty.
Resolving poor morale is one of the most effective ways to prevent overtime theft. A two-year study by the National Institute of Ethics[v] revealed that the ten greatest sources of anger and frustration among officers have a crucial common denominator: their administrators. The greatest cause of bad morale is the perception of favoritism committed by administrators. Leaders must be positive role models. The tone for integrity and trust starts at the top of any department. Leaders must be an example of ethical behavior and equitable leadership.
Lastly, the single most powerful countermeasure against officers self-destructing, whether the motivation is greed, anger, lust, or peer pressure, is for them to help each other overcome the inevitable temptations and dilemmas. In other words, when you learn that a fellow officer is thinking about making more money by some unethical means, do whatever it takes to stop it. Sometimes it only takes a private conversation. With someone else, a confrontation might be necessary. In the final analysis, isn t it ironic that most officers have enough courage to knowingly take a bullet to save a fellow officer, but some lack the courage to save another officer, if it means they must have that conversation or confrontation? Don t look back after you retire and know that you could have saved someone s career.
References
[i] Tickle, Phyllis, Greed: The Mother of all Sins, Many world religions say greed is the stuff the other deadly sins are made of., Beliefnet, 2002.
[ii] Hollinger, Richard,2005 National Retail Security Survey, University of Florida, Publisher.
[iii] Trautman, Neal, National Disciplinary Research Project, National Institute of Ethics, Publisher, 2006
[iv] Greenberg, Jerald, Mistreating workers boosts employee theft, Society for the Advancement of Education, April, 1996
[v] Trautman, Neal, Law Enforcement Anger and Frustration Study, National Institute of Ethics, Publisher, 2004