DrugSense FOCUS Alert # 127 September 23, 1999 LA Times: Veteran Cop Explains How Drug War Causes Police Corruption TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, DONATE, VOLUNTEER TO HELP OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS PLEASE SEE THE INFORMATION AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS FOCUS ALERT PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE DrugSense FOCUS Alert # 127 September 23, 1999 LA Times: Veteran Cop Explains How Drug War Causes Police Corruption While drug policy reformers sometimes blame law enforcement for drug war damage, it is important to remember that the drug war is bad for police as well. In the wake of a huge corruption scandal in the Los Angeles Police Department, former police chief Joseph McNamara explained why this week in an excellent column for the Los Angeles Times. After researching the connection between the drug war and cops gone bad, McNamara came to a disturbing conclusion. "Studying the nation's police forces, I was stunned to discover that the old-type corruption uncovered when cops occasionally were caught taking payoffs from gangsters had been replaced by something considerably more ominous. Throughout the country, small groups of cops were the gangsters," McNamara writes in the piece. This is bad for the public, or course, but it's also bad for the majority of cops who haven't been corrupted. The good cops lose their credibility with citizens. They may also become demoralized. Please write a letter to the LA Times to thank McNamara for demonstrating how the country is reaping another bitter harvest sown with seeds from the drug war. Thanks for your effort and support. WRITE A LETTER TODAY It's not what others do it's what YOU do PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID (Letter, Phone, fax etc.) Please post a copy your letter or report your action to the MAPTalk list if you are subscribed, or by E-mailing a copy directly to Your letter will then be forwarded to the list with so others can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit This is VERY IMPORTANT as it is the only way we have of gauging our impact and effectiveness. CONTACT INFO Source: Los Angeles Times (CA) Contact: Pubdate: Tue, 21 Sep 1999 Source: Los Angeles Times (CA) Copyright: 1999 Los Angeles Times. Contact: Fax: (213) 237-4712 Website: http://www.latimes.com/ Forum: http://www.latimes.com/home/discuss/ Author: Joseph D. McNamara Note: Retired Police Chief of San Jose, Joe McNamara is a Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. His Forthcoming Book Is "Gangster Cops: the Hidden Cost of America's War on Drugs." PERSPECTIVE ON POLICE When Cops Become the Gangsters The war on drugs has spawned an ominous form of corruption: protector becoming the criminal. It may not be much comfort to Police Chief Bernard C. Parks and the people of Los Angeles during the current corruption scandal, but the pattern of small gangs of cops committing predatory crimes has occurred in almost every large city in the nation and in a great many less populated areas as well. Six years after retiring from 35 years in policing, I began research for a book on police administration. Studying the nation's police forces, I was stunned to discover that the old-type corruption uncovered when cops occasionally were caught taking payoffs from gangsters had been replaced by something considerably more ominous. Throughout the country, small groups of cops were the gangsters. The lure of fortunes to be made in illegal drugs has led to thousands of police felonies: armed robbery, kidnapping, stealing drugs, selling drugs, perjury, framing people and even some murders. These police crimes were committed on duty, often while the cop gangsters were wearing their uniforms, the symbol of safety to the people they were supposed to be protecting. Of course, only a small percentage of American police officers are recidivist felons. Sadly, however, these predatory criminals are protected by a code of silence. Otherwise honest officers who knew or suspected what was going on did not report the crooks, and at times even lied rather than testify against other cops. A code of silence is not unique to police. It exists in the White House, among students, doctors, lawyers, business executives and other groups. Indeed, even as children, our parents and peers admonish us not to tattle. Basic human characteristics of loyalty, trust and security are involved. These motivations are even more intense in police work. If cops make an error of judgment, they or someone else may be killed, or they can be sent to jail for using too much force. And even the most ethical officers fear being falsely accused of brutality or other crimes and of being railroaded to prison because their chiefs or mayors will not support them in politically volatile cases. Furthermore, the code of silence is strengthened because many cops chafe under the pressure from superiors to make petty arrests for drugs. State and local police made approximately 1.4 million drug possession arrests last year. Very few took place with search warrants, although the 4th Amendment, with few exceptions, requires the police to obtain a judicial warrant to search people or their homes. It is so common for police to lie about how they obtained drug evidence that the term "testilying" has replaced "testifying" in police jargon. Ambitious politicians and police brass calling for more arrests condemn the code of silence while ignoring widespread police perjury in drug cases. It is not surprising that many cops feel that the only one they can really trust is another cop. Nevertheless, it is perverse when those sworn to enforce the law instead shelter predatory criminals who happen to carry a badge. Minorities tend to be the victims of the most grievous police crimes. The current Los Angeles police shooting scandal, like the thousands of cop crimes elsewhere, does immeasurable damage to the credibility of the criminal justice system. Mayors and police chiefs usually assure their citizens that there are only a few rotten apples when these scandals are publicized. Yet the number and similarity of police gangster crimes nationally indicate a crisis in American policing. Official corruption will be a major problem as long as we cling to the present drug policies. The code of silence cannot be totally eliminated. But the harm to good cops and to society can be reduced if politicians abandon their demagogic calls for a police war against drugs. Police officers who are true partners with the community in reducing crime will be far more likely to report thugs on the force than cops who think they're part of a warring occupation army. SAMPLE LETTER (sent) Thanks to Joseph McNamara for explaining how the drug war causes police corruption ("Perspective on Police," Sept. 21). Others may say that there will always be a few bad apples in any large group. It's impossible to deny that police, like members of any other profession, are subject to corruption even under the best circumstances. Likewise, there are police who are immune from corruption under the worst circumstances. But, it is grossly myopic to say that the incidents recently uncovered in Los Angeles are just about a handful of bad cops. There is a common thread running through these incidents, and others around the nation: the obscene profits made possible by drug prohibition. That is the invitation to corruption, just as it was during alcohol prohibition during the 1920s. No matter how many honest cops there are, drug prohibition offers the lure of easy money to those teetering on the edge. Add that to the despair of knowing that efforts against illegal drug sellers will never really put a dent in the trade and you've got a recipe to make more bad cops. Stephen Young IMPORTANT: Always include your address and telephone number Please note: If you choose to use this letter as a model please modify it at least somewhat so that the paper does not receive numerous copies of the same letter and so that the original author receives credit for his/her work. ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts 3 Tips for Letter Writers http://www.mapinc.org/3tips.htm Letter Writers Style Guide http://www.mapinc.org/style.htm Prepared by Stephen Young - http://home.att.net/~theyoungfamily Focus Alert Specialist

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