In this scenario as the Chief of Police this student would impose significant action as opposed to termination. The individual in question has a virtually clean record and on paper the individual in question is considered to be a good police officer. Good police officers are needed. Although the act that was committed is not something anyone should be looking at while in a work. It is against all companies’ policies that do not deal in the matter of pornography and is unacceptable. In the military when an individual does something distasteful he or she is not terminated for their actions, but they are held accountable and punished according to the rules and regulations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice also known as the UCMJ. Under …show more content…
According to the Dakota Student, which is the student news site of University of North Dakota, one police officer was caught watching pornographic material by his own lapel camera. This police officer’s name is Dan Lund. The investigation showed up that the officer did not have any illegal pornographic material on the computer, but was in violation of the misuse of state equipment as is the above officer. Dan Lund however, chose to resign in lieu of termination. This officer also had a clean record according to the Dakota Student. Lund had been working at the University of North Dakota, as a police officer since 1996 and upon resignation was a supervisor for the UPD. It seems to this student that Dan Lund was scrutinized a little to hard. He faced termination so he chose to resign. This student although watching pornography is distasteful and misusing state equipment is wrong. This student does not feel that officer Dan Lund should have been facing termination for a minor transgression. This writer feels that the above punishment would have sufficed and that he should maintain his rank as a supervisor. There are far greater things that officers should face termination for such as disabling cameras on the …show more content…
He was caught watching pornography on the work computer, which is the misuse of state equipment. Officer Dan Lund resigned in lieu of termination. In the case as described by the Los Angeles Times, officers were disabling their vehicles dash cameras as to hide their actions while in the performance of their duties. With this their Police Chief did not pursue an investigation as to who were the individual officers who were disabling the cameras and decided to put in a policy which is supposed to deter the officers from disabling the cameras so that they may be used for their intended purpose to protect the officer and the citizens in which they interact with. With the above three examples of misconduct one similar and the others way worst than the misdeed being discussed this student feels that the punishment awarded is just. If the Officer fell under the Uniformed Code of Military Justice he or she would be awarded a similar punishment, but would more than likely be doing a little extra work and not have as many freedoms seeing how he or she may have gotten restricted to their
A former officer from the Newton Police Department was recently in the news for having committed a crime. The former officer’s name is Jason R. Miller and he was arrested for having exposed himself to passing vehicles. Jason Miller was a police officer for the Newton Police Department for approximately 14 years. The Newton Police Department, in Newton, New Jersey, received a couple anonymous complaint about the former officer and they started their investigation into the allegation. Miller is said to have committed these offenses over a seven month period in late 2014. The Newton Police Department gathered evidence from multiple videos, retrieved from the dashboard camera of his police cruisers, and then took disciplinary actions. The complaint affidavit against Jason Miller also states that the targets of his actions were young male motorists that were stopped.
In this week’s scenario situation is a bit confusing with the actions of Officer Jones. There are the actions that he left a victim unattended while in an investigate state. It was later found that it was a domestic violence situation which could have ended with her husband returning to harm her. The actions of Officer Jones making contact with who he assumed were the actor was wrong. There are departmental policies as well as training in the proper manner to handle situations. His actions, in my view, if I was reviewing the use of force would not be justified. There are several procedure requirements that he violated that resulted in the use of deadly force.
The report explained that since the Consent Decree began, the Monitor has consistently reviewed all serious uses of force by officers and regularly conducted broader Use of Force audits to ensure that uses of force are being accurately reported and appropriately supervised and when necessary, evaluated. The Monitor has conducted several Use of Force analyses to date, including a comparative analysis of uses of force from 2012 through November 2016, multiple analyses aimed at assessing the integrity of the Department’s use of force data, a discussion of specific 2016 uses of force, and a comprehensive historic analysis of 2015 uses of force. To conduct the audits, the Monitor reviewed supervisors’ use of force reports and officer Force Statements for the relevant time period. To ensure the integrity of the NOPD’s use of force data, the Monitor conducted several targeted “control audits” that reviewed resisting arrest cases, Injury to Arrestee reports, and all citizen and rank complaints of excessive use of force. In addition, the Monitor assessed the Department’s Use of Force Review Board and reviewed random body worn camera videos. The Monitor found no incident where use of force to overcome resistance was unreported or use of force resulted in unreported injuries and no unreported uses of force when reviewing excessive force lawsuits or cross-comparing against citizen and rank allegations of
In today’s society, a common definition of authority is expressed though great respect. However, these authoritative figures earn their title through extensive training and experience that give citizens a reason to show their respect. Officer Encinia is the complete opposite of this example. Trooper Encinia has only been working for the Department of Public Safety at Texas Waller County Jail for a little over a year (Thompson). To make matters more interesting, Encinia was cited in 2014 by the department for “unprofessional conduct”(Reese). Eninia’s incompetency to handle a situation similar to that of Sandra Bland indicates is unqualification to carry the title of a Texas State Trooper. According to Sunny Hostin, CNN’s Legal Analyst, she debates that an officer with the authoritative power, such as the general law enforcement, holds responsibility to de-escalate intense situations. She goes on to point out that “When you have a police encounter, you want to make it as short and sweet as possible. You do want to comply” (Hostin). Some experts say that Encinia provoked Bland trying to exert his power through his unreasonable commands and threats causing her to become furious and act in what people call “in an arrogant manner” (Edwards). If one wants to express their power, it should never be through violent threats or acts, but more so with responsibility and humility in
Having had the opportunity to see both sides of the argument play out in the City of Memphis and as a member of the Memphis Police Department. I have become an advocate for requiring entry-level police officers to have at the very minimum an associate degree or the equivalent college credits. The college requirement can only be avoided with military experience. However, my position is not that more education makes you a better police officer or less education makes you a lousy officer. I believe that there should be a “happy medium” when it comes to police work. A good officer will be empathic, fair and in tune with the needs of the community and its members. Requiring a level of education for your entry-level officers speaks volumes about your agency and their dedication to professionalism. The benefits of having a college educated officer have shown to make a difference in the way they do their jobs. An educated police officer is less likely to utilize force when interacting with his co-workers or civilians. A department with educated officers also has shown to see a reduction in misconduct and disciplinary issues(Gómez-Mejía et al., 2016). Some years back the Memphis Police Department had relaxed their
It is important that police officers be ethical especially while on the job. An officer’s
Although very little formal information is provided regarding the situation and the evidence surrounding it, I essentially chose this case because the media releases provided actual quotes from the officer’s testimony in court. The case was examined by an
In this country we are seeing an increase in ethical violations in the field of law enforcement. I will go into detail about some of the main ethical issues we are seeing today and what can be done to prevent such acts from happening. When one officer is being unethical it has a huge effect on how the public views law enforcement as a whole. Many officers go undetected for a long time before getting caught, but an officer committing ethical violations will have their day it’s just a matter of time. In order to improve this growing problem we must first understand why there is such a problem in the field of law enforcement.
Any one with common sense and not struck by the love bug, and of the smooth talk of a criminal stud would not have to be embarrassed by this unethical situation. This also makes for another ethical situation. The decision of the Department of Corrections to gave this correctional officer the option to resign, instead of bringing criminal charges against her, like they would have done if this was a male officer.
Law enforcement officials are trusted with a great deal of responsibility and discretion in order for them to effectively complete their daily duties. An officer’s job is to protect citizens and uphold the law. Officers often have to act immediately and their work can only be examined later. Due to this, it is imperative that the public is
When debating the issue of police use of force, the issue of what actions constitute too much force must also be addressed. Another concern is the possibility of corruption amount officers. When given such great power, the probability of corruption is high. Officers generally do not start out as corrupt, but years of work on the force can create animosity between officers and suspects and lead them to decide to use force more quickly (McEwen, 1996). Many times, officers patrol the streets alone which creates the opportunity for potential abuse of power (McEwen, 1996). Although police officers need to be permitted to exercise some discretion, they also need limits and guidelines to follow when using their powers of discretion (Manning, 1997). The decision to use force should not be taken lightly in that citizen’s lives are at stake. Police should be allowed discretion in decisions to use force; however, this discretion should be limited. In several cases in Arizona, officers have used deadly means of force. In all cases, the officers
We need a better way of responding to different needs. As suggested by cultural theory, cultures are always changing and change occurs naturally as a response to alterations in the human environment (Kezar, 2014, p. 32). Campus leaders can impact and shape the nature of changes and whether they will support or upset campus operations (p. 4). The lieutenant does not agree or support this change because he believes it conflicts with professionalism, integrity, and justice. As previously mentioned, the department’s mission, under professionalism, states that, all members of the University Police Department are committed to providing the highest level of professional law enforcement services to all within the university community, regardless of race, creed, national origin, or sexual orientation (UPD, n.d.). The lieutenant has advised his shift unit to use discretion. Discretion is a vague term that can be defined as the decision-making power afforded to police officers to make an arrest (follow police procedure) or let someone go with a warning (formal or informal).
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
Leaders such as Booth in this situation should have been playing an important role by setting the example of high moral conduct that should be passed on to his subordinate employees. Instead in this case Booth was the individual that was breaking the law. In my opinion training should be conducted consistently on policies and the enforcement of those policies. Ethical behavior should start from the top and work its way down to the newest member of a department. Leaders such as Jason Booth needed to practice instilling the highest moral behavior in his deputies to create the most ethical leaders for today and tomorrow. Booth betrayed a lot of individuals by his actions. After meeting him personally a couple of times, he appeared to be an individual that had allowed the power of being the Sheriff of Saluda County make him think that he was above the laws of The State of South Carolina and The United States of America. When law enforcement personnel begin to feel that they deserve special compensation for their regular duties, it is time for them to find a new line of work. Unethical behavior arises when officers’ demands for compensation overrides their public
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