Gratuities, corruption, and the democratic ethos of policing the case of the free cup of coffee

Most police officers draw the line between accepting gratuities without 'strings' and taking bribes to compromise their policing duties, but gratuities can influence police to spend their time unequally among establishments that do and do not offer them gratuities.

Gratuities for police officers can include half-priced restaurant meals, a free Thanksgiving turkey from a neighborhood grocer, or a discount on a toaster from the hardware store. Such gratuities most often are a show of friendship and admiration for police officers, although they can be enticements for officers to spend more time at an establishment as an extra deterrent to potential robbers. Although most major police departments discourage the taking of gratuities out of fear that the practice may condition officers to accept bribes, there is little empirical evidence that of the officers who accept gratuities, significant numbers move on to taking bribes. Gratuities are not likely to be 'the foot in the door' for corruption, but they do raise the ethical issue of democratic policing, which entitles all citizens to equal access to police services. When gratuities draw officers to spend more time with persons and businesses that offer gratuities, they risk violating the ethic of democratic policing. This should be the rationale for training officers not to accept gratuities. Seven notes are listed.