Introduction
Available scholarship demonstrates that police work is conducive to incidences of sexual harassment and rape, as it grants exclusive opportunities for rogue and pedophilic police officers to use their authority and status to engage in “hidden” acts of sexual deviance and transgressions against the very people they are supposed to protect (Stinson et al 2). The abuse of the authority and prestige bestowed upon the police for purposes of sexual exploitation or even violence is a challenge that not only essentially betrays the trust that societies and individuals place in the police, but also triggers serious ramifications on the public’s confidence in individual law enforcement officers and the service in general (Independent Police Complaints Commission ii). This paper reviews a case involving sexual assault by a police officer with the view to discussing its cause, results, and what could have been done to prevent the wrongdoing.
Cause of the Suit
The suit under review involves a Las Vegas police officer, who went against the professional code of conduct by using his authority as an officer to gain the trust of women he met on duty with the view to establishing “relationships” that were to a large extent based on sexual intimidation and harassment. According to court documents, the disgraced police officer faced “two counts each of oppression under color of law and gross lewdness and one count of indecent exposure and taking pictures of a person’s private parts, all gross misdemeanors” (McCabe par. 2). Upon closer examination of the case, it becomes clear that the police officer used his authority to gain the trust of unsuspecting women he met at crime scenes and on routine calls, before perpetuating sexual transgressions such as undressing victims and gaining access to their private parts using the excuse of looking for evidence, exposing himself to women victims, and using his phone to record a personal sex video belonging to one of his victims without consent (McCabe par. 4-15).
Result of the Suit
This particular case was still ongoing by the time of its reporting; however, the offending police officer had already been indicted by a Las Vegas grand jury and placed under house arrest. Once convicted, the police officer is likely to not only lose his job on a permanent basis but also face a lengthy jail term that could exceed 15 years. Upon closer analysis of the case, it is clear that the defendant could be easily convicted based on the video evidence demonstrating the commission of serious crime involving sexual harassment.
Preventive Interventions
There are a number of interventions and strategies that could have been used to prevent the rogue policeman from sexually harassing and molesting his female victims. First, based on the fact that the police officer preyed on the most vulnerable women caught up in domestic disputes and other personal challenges, it would have been plausible to empower such women by providing them with adequate information on how they should engage the police. Available literature demonstrates that police officers engaged in sexual harassment perpetuate their selfish demands by taking advantage of the vulnerability of the victims as well as misusing the power and authority granted to them (Lonsway, Paynich, & Jennifer 177-178). To this extent, it becomes increasingly important to empower women regarding the parameters of police work with the view to assisting them maintain safer boundaries as they seek assistance from the law enforcement officers.
Second, it is evident that robust monitoring and intrusive supervision of suspected police officers could have helped to identify the officer’s behavior much earlier. From the case, it is clear that the police officer in question had recorded a personal sex video on his mobile phone and was often left behind in crime scenes with intent to pursue women (McCabe par. 3-15). However, his seniors at the police department failed to monitor the policeman or supervise his activities even after it became clear that he was no longer in sync with his colleagues in terms of undertaking police duties as a team. Drawing from this exposition, it can be argued that monitoring and supervision need to be effective in order to address incidences of sexual harassment perpetuated by the police, not mentioning that the supervising officers within a police department need to have up-to-date information on what their staff are doing and take action when complaints are made concerning the behavior of junior police officers (Independent Police Complaints Commission 10).
Lastly, there is need to provide education to senior and junior police officers so that they are able to manage difficult situations and also have knowledge on how to maintain safe boundaries with community members. Available literature demonstrates that “clear boundaries about what is acceptable behavior and what is not will assist and give confidence to supervising officers and colleagues to recognize and deal with worrying behavior, and identify early indicators which they might think are inappropriate but fall short of misconduct” (Independent Police Complaints Commission 9). Such an orientation, in my considered opinion, can only be achieved through education and effective sharing of evidence.
Conclusion
This paper has reviewed a case involving sexual assault by a police officer with the view to demonstrating its cause, results, and what could have been done to prevent the wrongdoing. Overall, it is clear that the incidence of sexual assault could have been prevented by empowering women victims, developing a robust and intrusive supervision mechanism, as well as enhancing education and intelligence sharing protocols for police officers.
Works Cited
Independent Police Complains Commission 2012, The Abuse of Police Powers to Perpetuate Sexual Violence. PDF file. Web.
Lonsway, Kimberly, Rebecca Paynich and Jennifer N. Hall. “Sexual Harassment in Law Enforcement: Incidence, Impact, and Perception.” Police Quarterly. 16.2 (2013): 177-210. Academic Search Premier. Web.
McCabe, Francis. “Las Vegas Police Officer Indicted for Sexual Harassment.” Las Vegas Review-Journal. 2013. Web.
Stinson, Phillip M., John Liederbach, Steven L. Brewer and Brooke E. Mathna 2014, Police Sexual Misconduct: A National Scale Study of Arrested Officers. PDF file. 2015. Web.