preview

Causes Of Corruptiontion In Frank Serpico : Police Corruption

Decent Essays

Frank Serpico was a police officer in the 1960s that was excited and nervous about it at the same time because of what the job entailed. Serpico soon realized that there was a significant amount of corruption in the field and no one said anything about it. He was placed in an “action” precinct in Brooklyn which means that area has a high crime rate which he was excited about. He soon became sick of the job and strove to be a detective which did not necessarily work out for him. He sought to fight against the corruption, the justice system, and the rumors started based on an idea of someone’s sexual orientation and no evidence to back it up. Some corruption revolved around bribery, special treatment and laziness. An example of this is when the court marshals offer that put up the eviction notices bribe the cops with five dollars to break down the door and kick the residents out. Another form of bribery being accepted was when the cop accepted the money that the guy offered so that he would not get a ticket. Serpico refused all of these bribes and sought to end cop corruption. The cops fell asleep at their position when they were working overnight and would set alarms on when to call the Sergeant and when the sergeant would make their rounds to assure all the men are working. Serpico did not sleep on the job either in case he had to catch a criminal. The police officers got special treatment by the public, so they wouldn’t have to pay for meals. Serpico soon realized the different world that the police officers have in comparison to the public which are oblivious to the reality. One night Serpico caught a burglary carrying a knife, who already committed three crimes before, so he would have been put away for approximately 20 years, but since he got a good lawyer they ruled it as a minor wrongdoing and only got sentenced to three months. At this point he lost all faith in the justice system until one day he realized he could help someone. A man asked him for help deliver his baby, and he did so without being nervous, he soon found out they named the baby after him and that gave him great joy. After all this he was aspiring to be a detective, to be part of the investigation, and not just in the aspect of

Get Access