[true_religion]

We already have administrative punishments for the police when they incorrectly assign blame and cause a public relations mess.

Is the termination of your career and/or potential retraining and social embarrassment not already an incentive to cover up?

[tremon]

If the punishment fails to correct the behaviour, it is insufficient punishment or the wrong punishment. In this case, I'd say that individual punishments are the wrong tool to correct systemic behaviour. It should be career-ending for brass and prosecutors to be effective.