TheCommission to Investigate Alleged Police Corruption (known informally as theKnapp Commission after its chairmanWhitman Knapp) was a five-member panel formed in May 1970 byMayor John V. Lindsay to investigatecorruption and misconduct within the New York City Police Department (NYPD).[1] The creation of the Commission was largely a result of publicized accounts of police wrongdoing, as revealed byPatrolman Frank Serpico and Sergeant David Durk. Lindsay's action was also prompted by a front-pageexposé inThe New York Times on April 25, 1970 that documented a vast scheme of illicit payments to police officers from businessmen, gamblers and narcotics dealers.[2] In its final report, the Commission concluded that the NYPD had widespread corruption problems,[3] and made a series of recommendations.
After taking private testimony for over a year, the Knapp Commission initiated public hearings on October 18, 1971.[6] In addition to interviewing "lamplighters" (whistleblowers) Serpico and Durk, the Commission heard testimony from former Police CommissionerHoward R. Leary, corrupt patrolmen, and victims of police shakedowns.[7] As a result of the testimony of these witnesses, criminal indictments against corrupt police officials were handed down.
Concurrent with the Knapp Commission inquiry, Mayor Lindsay directed Police CommissionerPatrick V. Murphy to implement NYPD reforms. These included proactive integrity checks, large-scale transfers of senior personnel, mandatory job rotation in key areas, ensuring sufficient funds to pay informants, and cracking down on citizen attempts at bribery.[8]
On June 15, 1972, Whitman Knapp was nominated by PresidentRichard M. Nixon to be a federal judge for theSouthern District of New York.[9] However, Knapp stayed with the Commission through the end of the year to complete the work.
The Knapp Commission issued a preliminary report in August 1972, and a final report in December 1972.[10] In its final report, the Commission found widespread corruption in the NYPD, and made the following recommendations:
hold commanders accountable for their subordinates' actions.
require commanders to file periodic reports on key areas that would breed corruption.
create field offices of the Internal Affairs division in all precincts.
place undercover informants in all precincts.
improve screening and selection methods and standards.
strive to change police attitudes toward corruption.
enlist public support in the battle against corruption.[10]
The Knapp Commission Report on Police Corruption categorized two types of corrupt police officer: "Grass Eaters" and "Meat Eaters". This classification scheme distinguished petty corruption under peer pressure ("eating grass") from aggressive, premeditated major corruption ("eating meat").[11]
The term "Grass Eaters" described police officers who "accept gratuities and solicit five, ten, twenty dollar payments from contractors, tow-truck operators, gamblers, and the like but do not pursue corruption payments".[12] "Grass eating" was something that a significant number of officers were guilty of, and which they learned to do from other cops or from imitating the deviants they watched and investigated every day. The Commission concluded that "grass eating" was used by NYPD officers to prove their loyalty to the "brotherhood", and with that came incentives like side jobs.[13] One method to prevent cops from becoming corrupt was to remove the veteran cops who indulge in corrupt practices. Without veteran cops to emulate, new officers might never learn to "eat grass".
"Meat Eaters" described officers who "spend a good deal of time aggressively looking for situations they can exploit for financial gain".[12] An example was shaking downpimps andillicit drug dealers for money. The Commission noted that Meat Eaters "justified this extortion by marginalizing their victims as criminals and undeserving of police protection."[13]
Armstrong, M. (2012).They Wished They Were Honest: The Knapp Commission and New York City Police Corruption. New York: Columbia University PressISBN978-0231153546
Barker, T. (1978).An Empirical Study of Police Deviance Other Than Corruption. Journal of Police Science and Administration 6(3): 264-72.
Barker, T. & D. Carter (1990).Fluffing Up the Evidence and Covering Your Ass: Some Conceptual Notes on Police Lying. Deviant Behavior 11: 61-73.
Barker, T. & D. Carter (Eds.) (1994).Police Deviance. Cincinnati: Anderson.ISBN978-0870847141
Chin, G. (Ed.) (1997)New York City Police Corruption Investigation Commissions. New York: William S. Hein & Co.ISBN978-1575882116
