Police gratuities: What the public think

This paper reports an Australian study of public attitudes to police gratuities. Police ethics have become a major public concern in Australia following corruption scandals in the 1970s and 1980s. Elsewhere, studies of police ethics have associated serious corruption, such as protection rackets, with the apparently less serious issue of the acceptance of gratuities. Much of the writing on police gratuities involves philosophical analysis with some speculation about public views - usually favoring the author's opinion. In response to the absence of empirical data on public attitudes to the issue, a survey was conducted covering a range of questions about perceptions of the ethical standing of gifts to police. The results of the survey support the claim of many theorists acceptance of gratuities undermines public confidence in the impartiality of the police and is incompatible with the concept of democratic policing. The literature indicates that although official police guidelines reflect public opinion, police attitudes and practices frequently do not. Police administrators need to find more effective means of fulfilling community expectations in area.