The trouble with squads: accounting for corruption in Australia’s specialist policing units

Article

Bleakley, P. 2021. The trouble with squads: accounting for corruption in Australia’s specialist policing units. Criminal Justice Studies. 34 (1), pp. 115-133. https://doi.org/10.1080/1478601X.2020.1763985
TypeArticle
TitleThe trouble with squads: accounting for corruption in Australia’s specialist policing units
AuthorsBleakley, P.
Abstract

The specialist squad is a common aspect of modern intelligence-led policing. Officers seconded to such units learn from the institutional knowledge and experience in a certain area of enforcement, allowing them to develop an expertise that enables proactive policing. While the utility of specialist squads is clear, the vulnerability of officers attached to them to become involved in corruption is also high. Corruption research argues that officers in squads are at risk of engaging in misconduct for a variety of reasons, such as the low visibility of their work and the necessity of building relationships with criminal actors. The history of police corruption in Australia supports this theory, with a range of examples of corruption in specialist squads to be found across the country. From an historical criminology perspective, this article explores the corruption in Australia’s specialist squads to discuss why risk factors were not addressed despite being consistently identified in the past. It also looks at attempts by police administrators and governments to deal with corruption in specialist squads, evaluating the efficiency of these strategies with a view to informing future anticorruption measures.

Sustainable Development Goals16 Peace, justice and strong institutions
Middlesex University ThemeCreativity, Culture & Enterprise
Research GroupCente for Social and Criminological Research (CSCR)
PublisherTaylor & Francis (Routledge)
JournalCriminal Justice Studies
ISSN1478-601X
Electronic1478-6028
Publication dates
Online25 May 2020
Print02 Jan 2021
Publication process dates
Submitted03 Feb 2020
Accepted28 Apr 2020
Deposited30 Apr 2020
Output statusPublished
Accepted author manuscript
File Access Level
Open
Copyright Statement

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Criminal Justice Studies on 25/05/2020, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/1478601X.2020.1763985

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/1478601X.2020.1763985
LanguageEnglish
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