Police Ethical Violations

Law enforcement has one key ethical issue: integrity. Dictionary.com defines integrity as “adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.” According to Cartwright, G. (2010) those who work in law enforcement “deal with temptation continually.” He continues by explaining that while most officers make the right decision, some do not. When the actions of law enforcement violate both ethical and lawful conduct, and those actions become public; “there is a lot of shock and confusion”. These transgressions must be investigated and addressed.

In dispensing their duties, police officers are governed by a set of ethical codes and principles of behavior; the codes of ethics exists as:

Law enforcers are supposed to behave in an ethical manner in order to achieve justice to the community. Where some of the police officers complete their duties ethically, others are caught in ethical misconduct that blurs their vision of administering justice. Several unethical practices have been noted in the course of duty of most police officers, and all corners of the world have their police officers affected by the practices (Klockars, Ivkovic, & Haberfeld, 2004).This paper looks into two most prominent and persistent ethical concerns in police systems, in the USA and worldwide.

A police station requires many key features and a very strong basis of trust not only held between fellow officers but also with the community. All officers should have and maintain professional traits and personable traits such as: compassion, loyalty, leadership, responsibility, equality, equity, integrity, honesty, happy customers, respect, and compassion (Renee Scotland, Personal Communication, November). These traits are needed in order to have a well-maintained police unit and ensure proper collaboration within the force. In order to make sure the officers follow a proper moral and ethical approach to maintaining the law the Sylvan Lake police department has a code of ethics, as well a specific mission, vision, and values laid out to

It is important that police officers be ethical especially while on the job. An officer’s

Hall, D. E. (2014). Criminal Law and Procedure, 7th Edition: Cengage Learning. Retrieved October 18, 2017, from

First, there is lack of information and knowledge on the right police training philosophy, learning approach and training program objectives (CALEA, 2010). This lack of knowledge has immense negative effects on police training, especially because it affects not only senior commanders of police departments but also management, police trainers and other staffs. The other ingredient to police training that lacks is community understanding and support for police training programs (Mitrani, 2014). It is found out that the communities that are served by officers do little to support or appreciate post-academy training programs, which have numerous benefits to communities (CALEA, 2010). For instance, post-academy and field training for newly posted officers helps in the utilization of individual and department creativity, stakeholder collaboration, and effective problem-solving skills and techniques that would improve communal safety and

Police “officers work and live in a constantly changing environment in which they are exposed to a myriad of ethical conflicts. When either unprepared or unaware, police officers are more likely to “go with the flow” than they would be if they were adequately prepared to face potentially ethical risks.” (Gilmartin & Harris, 1998) Most ethical violations are committed because the officer is exposed to a situation in which he was inadequately prepared. The lack of time to think about the situation before committing an ethical violation has detrimental life changing consequences. Police work can be very exciting and very rewarding but if not properly prepared and trained an officer can easily find himself involved in an ethical violation. Understanding the issues and being mentally prepared will help police officers become more responsible and make better

Abstract Ethical issues in the criminal justice system have become undesirably common in the past decade and no matter how hard we try to eliminate those issues they have a way of coming back in various ways that continue to test our morale integrity. Ethical issues don’t exist solely because of law enforcement and public servants making unjust decisions but because two groups of people have failed to fully honor their positions held. Whether it’s the law enforcement and servants of the public offices taking pride and upholding the oath they took or America’s citizens actually being law-abiding citizens.   Common Ethical Issues in the Criminal Justice System Introduction Criminal justice and ethics are believed to be conjoint, working hand

In America, we also have an expectation of professionalism, leadership, and integrity in police officers conduct. Moreover, there are certain qualities expected of police officers. For example, it is not irrational to expect a police officer to have excellent problem solving, critical thinking, and effective communication skills. In America, the communities of police officers have collectively agreed when sworn in as an officer to follow and ensure an Oath of Honor, which is an ethical standard. The oath reads as follows, “On my honor, I will never betray my badge, my integrity, my character, or the public trust. I will always have the courage to hold myself and others accountable for our actions. I will always uphold the constitution my community and the agency I serve” (IACP). For a citizen, there are also value expectations, which are to be law-abiding, respective, to include respect for police officers and one another. In this and in a perfect world, no conflict would exist. However, and realistically, a conflict will always exist, but to what extent, is the

The criminal justice system is one of the most important components in the public service system. Since it is a system that citizens encounter daily it would be most beneficial for those who are employed to behave as ethical leaders. Leadership skills and ethical behavior are both parts of the duties of any officer serving the law. Often employees are placed in quick decision situations that can have fatal outcomes if not handled properly. By ensuring that all officers of the law have a set of functioning ethical leadership skills can not only develop a well-rounded individual, but also builds the relationship between the community they serve to protect. The police and other officers of the law have great discretion and power over an individual which makes having responsible, ethically behaving persons on the front lines even more important. With the right training and education, ethical officers can set the bar and improve the quality of life of the community they serve as well as other officers.

New officers need to know that no profession demands a higher ethical standard than law enforcement. Whether or not there are other careers that require a similar dedication to doing the right thing, it is undeniable that there is a tremendous degree of expectations placed upon police officers. Every officer knows, or at least should know by now, that they live in a fishbowl. Friends, relatives, neighbors and strangers watch every move law enforcement officers make, both on and off duty. The fact is that the public scrutinizes police officers more than most other professions, either because they are cynical or hope to catch them screwing up or because they are hopeful

My first interviewee officers jack Davidson, patrolman from Somers point police department. When interviewing Patrolman Davidson, I found the following to be his impressions of the police force in general. Officer Davidson spoke of why ethics and character are important in the field of law enforcement. His response was that ethics and character go hand in hand. In law enforcement it seems that there are so many reasons to do the right thing. The reasons began with public opinion and also should include their influence on the youth who will be growing up to be citizens of the city, state, or country. If a police officer does not behave with

What are the standards in Police Ethics? By definition it is the Rules of conduct recognized in respect to police actions when dealing with a class of people, person or a particular group, culture, etc. In all the research I have done, books, articles and research papers I have read, I am hard pressed to find an ethicist without a political agenda or pure racist opinion, who believes that the policies should stand as written.

Police officers are trained to read, write and analyze numbers. They are also trained how to handle firearms, identify non-lethal weapons, use defensive tactics effective, conduct search and seizure, driving techniques, investigate criminal acts and the laws of arrest, but how many police take a course on ethical conduct or learn the meaning of sworn oath? Some police officer feel ethics is not important and training is of low – priority. Law enforcement officers take oaths creates an ethical landmine. Officers have to weigh their personal values against colleague demands that may develop a hostile environment and cause ethical issues to flourish. When police officers demonstrate unethical practices, negative issues occur. Corruption scandals are painful reminders that officers need more