Running Head: WEEK 4 WEEK 4 4 (1) Is law enforcement misconduct indicative of bad apples or a bad barrel? It was reported in a drama film, The Stanford Prison Experiment, has been depicted that well-educated, and people with stable physical and mental health turned out to be taking pleasure from torturing prisoners (Gilmour, 2016). This is an example of a bad-barrel. The bad apples scenario is true but on the other hand that there are some people who are ambitions for a “noble cause” (Fitch, Means, & Seidel, 2014). They may treat the people as hardened criminals, and may have been involved in shooting the potentially-criminal-looking persons: just for the sake of their ambitiousness. This is the example of preoccupied people with certain beliefs that can make them bad apples. There are also some peer-pressure practices such as consuming too much alcohol to deal with the stress (Fitch & Jones, 2014), for example, a rookie officer who has just made visited a horrific accident or child abuse; it could be quite disturbing for them to deal with such kind of situations and may cause secondary trauma to them. (You didn’t answer the question. Giving examples is good but you need to follow the instructions and answer this question “is law enforcement misconduct…bad barrel?) Another example of a bad barrel is the racial profiling as mentioned, where an African-American woman had to pay fines for illegal parking and was unable to come to the court who was also suffering from homelessness; for her original amount of fines of $151, she has paid the installments of $550 in terms of fine, whereas she still owes $541 (DOJ, 2015). This tells the lack of social insight into the system towards the people that make a good apple a bad barrel. Having the present system of civil oversight and independent audit, these phenomena should be referred as bad apples, because it is the personal responsibility of a person to deal with the stress and other factors in law enforcement career. (2) What is "marginality" and how does it impact law enforcement? Marginality is the behavior that is required to “pass” or get to a certain threshold to complete the objective of a given assignment. It can be defined as a ‘formality fulfilling behavior’ in law enforcement. Marginality can seriously affect an assignment or situation on law enforcement personnel, as they are trying to meet the requirements by ignoring other things. This is because they are overwhelmed with their jobs and lives that they don’t pay attention to the situation at hand (Zipper & Adams, 2014). The example of this could be if a person is required to pass an exam, and the passing score is 80%. He or she will attempt the paper that will get him/her passed and will not attempt all even if that person is capable of doing that. This sort of behavior could occur in repetitive jobs.

1. Running Head: WEEK 4
WEEK 4
4
(1) Is law enforcement misconduct indicative of bad apples or a
bad barrel?
It was reported in a drama film, The Stanford Prison
Experiment, has been depicted that well-educated, and people
with stable physical and mental health turned out to be taking
pleasure from torturing prisoners (Gilmour, 2016). This is an
example of a bad-barrel. The bad apples scenario is true but on
the other hand that there are some people who are ambitions for
a “noble cause” (Fitch, Means, & Seidel, 2014). They may treat
the people as hardened criminals, and may have been involved
in shooting the potentially-criminal-looking persons: just for
the sake of their ambitiousness. This is the example of
preoccupied people with certain beliefs that can make them bad
apples. There are also some peer-pressure practices such as
consuming too much alcohol to deal with the stress (Fitch &
Jones, 2014), for example, a rookie officer who has just made
visited a horrific accident or child abuse; it could be quite
disturbing for them to deal with such kind of situations and may
cause secondary trauma to them. (You didn’t answer the
question. Giving examples is good but you need to follow the
instructions and answer this question “is law enforcement
misconduct…bad barrel?)
Another example of a bad barrel is the racial profiling as
mentioned, where an African-American woman had to pay fines
for illegal parking and was unable to come to the court who was
also suffering from homelessness; for her original amount of
fines of $151, she has paid the installments of $550 in terms of
fine, whereas she still owes $541 (DOJ, 2015). This tells the
lack of social insight into the system towards the people that

2. make a good apple a bad barrel. Having the present system of
civil oversight and independent audit, these phenomena should
be referred as bad apples, because it is the personal
responsibility of a person to deal with the stress and other
factors in law enforcement career.
(2) What is "marginality" and how does it impact law
enforcement?
Marginality is the behavior that is required to “pass” or get to a
certain threshold to complete the objective of a given
assignment. It can be defined as a ‘formality fulfilling behavior’
in law enforcement. Marginality can seriously affect an
assignment or situation on law enforcement personnel, as they
are trying to meet the requirements by ignoring other things.
This is because they are overwhelmed with their jobs and lives
that they don’t pay attention to the situation at hand (Zipper &
Adams, 2014). The example of this could be if a person is
required to pass an exam, and the passing score is 80%. He or
she will attempt the paper that will get him/her passed and will
not attempt all even if that person is capable of doing that. This
sort of behavior could occur in repetitive jobs of similar nature
where a person may assume the settings of the other case and
make it align with the new case, fit all the situations in it, and
fulfill the formality of his job. It can affect the law enforcement
adversely because concerns are not given to the situation, and
often the overlooking behavior is present that may provoke
similar incidents to occur again because perpetrators may
believe that the justice system will just meet the formalities for
the situations, and they will be saved from prosecution. (I don’t
know what you are trying to say by “will just meet the
formalities”. I know the definition of formality)
(3) How does "marginality" contribute to the creation of a bad
barrel? (provide examples)
Marginality may contribute to the creation of a bad barrel. For
example, if a police officer is designated to provide security to
an event, and because of his marginal behavior (probably
because the person is too stressed), has not imposed the proper

3. procedures required. Because of this behavior from the officer
supervisor, subordinates working under a supervisor would
likely become bad barrels. because these are the good people
put into the bad barrel; they are on the stake of their supervisor
in the given situation and it is not their own will that is creating
unlawful compliance.
Furthermore, an officer just stops an African-American driving,
because just he was told by his peers to preferably stop them as
part of the sub-culture. (Are you saying he is the supervisor that
was on duty? Then you said subordinates working under the
supervisor. I am confuse)
(4) Describe two ethical dilemmas in law enforcement and how
they should be handled.
Dilemma 1
A middle-aged person who has been doing a good job at
work suddenly finds themselves in a financial burden with their
children. The person has to take on additional assignments with
late hours to add it to their income. The person has got a good
reputation in the police department; however, the officer fails to
implement the required procedures because of fatigue and do
not take precautionary actions assuming that ‘all would be fine’.
However, a mishap occurs and his best friend is given the
charge for inquiry, who is hesitated to charge his/her friend for
not paying sufficient attention to the job. (you failed to say how
you would handle it)
Dilemma 2
A well-educated graduate with good behaviors starts a job
in law enforcement. He sees that all of his peers are involved in
drinking to avoid stress. He finds that one of his peers is drunk
on the job, but has a higher than his. The young rookie officer
does not want to report him because he does not want to make
enemies in the work place. (you failed to say how you would
handle it)
(5) In your planned audit (Research Paper), what are the
statements you will use to clearly state any conflicts of interest
that you have in the audit for full purposes of disclosure (if

4. any)? If no conflicts, why not?
For example, in a situation with a highly esteemed department,
there has been undue pressure on the auditor for not having the
details because of an incident that occurred due to a reckless
behavior of high-rank officers. The details have been declined
asserting the security reasons and confidentiality clauses. In
this situation, the auditor is pressurized to carry out further
investigations. The statements can be used, “In the given audit,
it was difficult to find the out details because of the official
procedures that were found to be in conflict and because of the
true judgment and reporting is not possible”. In this way, the
auditor can inform the authorities without making subjective
statements.
References
DOJ. (2015). Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department.
Retrieved 9 8, 2019, from
https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opa/press-
releases/attachments/2015/03/04/ferguson_police_department_r
eport.pdf
Fitch, B. D., & Jones, C. H. (2014). Bad Apples or Bad Barrrel:
Social Learning Theory as a Paradigm for Understanding Law
Enforcement Misconduct. In B. D. Fitch, Law Enforcement
Ethics: Classic and Contemporary Issues. Sage.
Fitch, B. D., Means, R. B., & Seidel, G. (2014). The Role of
Supervision in Motivating and Maintaining a Culture of Ethics.
In B. D. Fitch, Law Enforcement Ethics: Classic and
Contemporary Issues. Sage.
Gilmour, C. (2016). The Stanford Prison Experiment: ‘put
people in bad barrels and they’ll become bad apples’: A new
movie charts how Philip Zimbardo’s famous 1971 project at
Stanford University in California had a devastating effect on
those involved. Retrieved 9 8, 2019, from
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-

5. entertainment/music/features/the-stanford-prison-experiment-
put-people-in-bad-barrels-and-they-ll-become-bad-apples-
a7070596.html
Zipper, P., & Adams, T. (2014). The Psychology of Marginality:
The Role of Subculture in Shaping, Developing, and
Reinforcing Work Ethic. In B. D. Fitch, Law Enforcement
Ethics: Classic and Contemporary Issues. Sage.
1/20/16, 5:59 PMStill I Rise
Page 1 of 2https://www.poets.org/print/node/47855
Published on Academy of American Poets
(https://www.poets.org)
Home > Still I Rise
Still I Rise
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,

6. Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own backyard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
https://www.poets.org/
https://www.poets.org/

7. 1/20/16, 5:59 PMStill I Rise
Page 2 of 2https://www.poets.org/print/node/47855
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
Credit:
From And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou. Copyright © 1978 by
Maya Angelou. Reprinted by
permission of Random House, Inc.
Author:
Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou was an author, poet, historian, songwriter,
playwright, dancer, stage and screen
producer, director, performer, singer, and civil rights activist.
Read more
Date Published:
1978
Source URL: https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/still-i-rise
https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/maya-angelou
https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/maya-angelou

8. Micro Lecture - Week 4
Session 4 Micro Lecture
This week we discuss law enforcement ethics. The two chapters
were chosen for this week lay out a number of significant issues
that you will address in your writing assignment. Don’t be
afraid to push the conversation this week by providing specific
examples germane to this topic.
There is no question law enforcement has a strong subculture.
This sub-culture can be so strong that it dictates and guides
actions at and away from work. At work, there are pecking
orders established, and informal rules guide actions. For
example, when an officer is just beginning a field assignment,
they will stand in the back of the room until everyone is seated,
so they don’t make a mistake and take the preferred seat of a
senior officer. We could spend all week listing “unspoken
rules” that are part of the police sub-culture. Another example
can be taken from off duty events. My family knows I like to
face the door when we visit establishments, especially in
restaurants. That is not a normal behavior for other professions,
but it is in the police subculture. To further embed police
subculture, there is the possibility of isolation based on shift
work (Fitch, p .147). When working off hours and holidays,
law enforcement officers spend off time with those working like
schedules. Aspects within the subculture are not all bad, but
when they are, it is difficult to remove them. In fact, efforts to
stand up against negative aspects may be met with
consequences.
Additionally, the extraordinary stress of the work and possible
isolation must be proactively balanced by the leaders of the
organization. Effective wellness programs are a way to
intervene and promote healthy culture. The programs directly
address issues of stress and the stressful effects of the job. A
major component remains the need to balance life with friends
and time away from work. If you are interested in further
information in this area, check out Dr. Kevin Gilmartin’s book
titled: “Emotional Survival for Law Enforcement.”

9. (http://emotionalsurvival.com/about.htm)
Let’s add another layer to the discussion by addressing the
concept of “marginality.” As stated by Fitch, “Marginality is
best defined as exerting the minimal amount of effort needed to
“pass” or to “get by” – in other words, exerting only the amount
of effort necessary to prevent disqualification or disciplinary
action” (p.184). Said another way, law enforcement
organizations can fall into the trap of accepting mediocre
behavior from their staff because it is ‘good enough for
government work.’ First line supervisors are critical to
ensuring the standards of the organization are upheld and push
back against the tendency for “marginality.” If the first line of
supervision is weak, then marginality is likely to rule the day in
an organization.
With the understanding of the key concepts for this week, take a
moment to look at the Department Review of the Ferguson
Police Department reviews of Ferguson
(http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opa/press-
releases/attachments/2015/03/04/ferguson_police_department_r
eport.pdf). You will find the concepts throughout the
document.
“The culture within FPD influences officer activities in all areas
of policing, beyond just ticketing. Officers expect and demand
compliance even when they lack legal authority. They are
inclined to interpret the exercise of free-speech rights as
unlawful disobedience, innocent movements as physical threats,
and indications of mental or physical illness as belligerence.
Police supervisors and leadership do too little to ensure officers
act in accordance with law and policy, and rarely respond
meaningfully to civilian complaints of officer misconduct. The
result is a pattern of stops without reasonable suspicion and
arrests without probable cause in violation of the Fourth
Amendment; infringement on free expression, as well as
retaliation for protected expression, in violation of the First
Amendment; and excessive force in violation of the Fourth
Amendment.” (p.2)