Police Accept Gratuities In the United States, Essay

Police Accept Gratuities?

In the United States, some lower-paid professions such as waitresses or pizza delivery drivers rely on gratuities from their customers in return for good service as an important part of their overall earnings, while other professions such as doctors and lawyers, rarely or never receive gratuities since they are deemed adequately compensated for their services from the outset no matter how well they perform. When it comes to law enforcement, though, the issue of gratuities becomes murkier, with the iconic image of the police officer on the beat accepting an apple from a smiling vendor being contrasted more recently by high-profile cases of police officers who have accepted much larger cash "gratuities" in return for looking the other way or providing advance notice of police raids. Because these cases adversely affect the entire law enforcement community, it is therefore important to determine the propriety of police officers accepting gratuities.

Whether police officers should accept gratuities may depend in large part on the context in which the exchange is made. According to the various definitions provided by Black's Law Dictionary, a gratuity can simply be a harmless gift that does not carry any corresponding strings of obligation. In this regard, Black's first defines gratuity as "something acquired or otherwise received without bargain or inducement. Something given freely or without recompense; a gift" (p. 701). When applied to police officers, this definition is consistent with the provision of gratuities to other professions that also provide services to the community. For instance, Ivkovic (2005) notes that, "Is it really so wrong for police officers to accept gifts? After all, we sometimes give our garbage collectors, babysitters and mail carriers holiday presents. We send our kids to school with gifts for their teachers. Why is treating police to free cups of coffee, half-price meals, half-price admission to movie theaters or special discounts in stores any different?" (p. 4).

The next definition provided by Black's, though, indicates there can also be an unstated quid pro quo aspect to the provision of a gratuity which is "something voluntarily given in return for a favor or especially of…