Explaining Corruption in the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service: A Case Study of Organizational Culture and Police Corruption

Most scholars studying police corruption now agree that police corruption cannot be explained as simply a rotten apples or rotten pockets phenomenon but is better explained from a rotten barrel approach. From a rotten barrel perspective, institutional failure is the main cause of corruption. Institutional failure can often result from a specific type of organizational culture. However, little is known about how organizational culture impacts police corruption in the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS). This chapter addresses the existing gap by collecting data using in-depth interviews with police officers in the TTPS. The findings can assist academicians and police managers to better understand and tackle corruption in the TTPS as well as similar law enforcement organizations throughout the Caribbean.