Serpolis Police Department

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Police corruption has been a problem within the New York City Police Department even since it was formed back in the mid-1800s. When the department was formed the patrolmen were appointed to the position by local politicians so they were easily influenced or bribed by the politicians who were involved in criminal activities within their ward. Over the years there have been commissions formed to investigate the corruption within the NYPD even with future President of the United State Theodore Roosevelt when he was police commissioner. There were commissions formed in 1913, 1930, 1950 and 1972 with the most well-known Knapp Commission.
With the continued investigations of Organized crime during the 1950’s, U. S. Senator from Tennessee Estes Kefauver …show more content…
The Mayor was under pressure to investigate the NYPD for possible corruption after a few news articles were printed with details of the corruption within the department. The first article was written by a reporter named David Burnham with the article appearing in the New York Times. Mr. Burnham’s article was sourced by 2 NYPD officers, Frank Serpico and David Durk that had previously tried to report the corruption to supervisors with no results. Serpico and Durk became frustrated with the corruption and finally made a complaint to the District Attorney’s office. Finally tired of seeing the corruption occurring they approached David Burnham with their story. On April 25, 1970, the article about the corrupt activities of the NYPD appeared on the front page of the New York Times which forced the Mayor to form the commission in …show more content…
The Mollen Commission was formed to investigate the alleged corruption within the NYPD. Officer Michael Dowd was arrested for trafficking illegal drugs in New York City and in a suburban area where he lived. It was found that the corrupt activities consisted of police officers stealing drugs and cash from dealers while protecting some other illegal drug activities. However, unlike the Knapp Commission findings, the commission found that the corruption was limited only to a few precincts instead of NYPD wide. The Mollen commission found that the corruption was consistent with a small group of police officers usually working in the same precinct and the same

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