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ethical conduct in law enforcement
police leadership philosophy
ethical conduct in law enforcement
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Since the 1800’s, the main duties of a uniformed police officer revolved around carrying out patrols and investigations into crimes (CliffsNotes.com, 2011a). A usual patrol involves the officers either walking on foot or using vehicles travel around neighborhoods as a way of deterring criminal activities (CliffsNotes.com, 2011a).
The investigative part of a police officer’s work usually comes in when a suspect of the case at hand has not been identified (CliffsNotes.com, 2011a). Usually, the detective has to sift through some evidence so as to identify the leads to the suspect. Finally, there are special activities that require specialized law enforcement personnel to carry out. These activities include traffic control and drug control (CliffsNotes.com, 2011a).
It is clear from all this that the job of a typical police officer is hazardous. The police organization borrows much of its organizational structure from the military (CliffsNotes.com, 2011b). With its bureaucratic structure and the lines of command that pervade the organization, its culture can lead to inflexibility. It can also lead to a culture of indifference amongst the police (CliffsNotes.com, 2011b). With the tendency of the organization to ape their counterparts in the military, its workers are pre-disposed to violence. This is one example of how an organization’s culture can influence the decisions of its personnel. Furthermore, an authoritarian form of leadership also plays a great role in nurturing a domineering air in a police officer (CliffsNotes.com, 2011b). For example, the use of guns, the use of police swoops as a means of fighting crime, and the use of uniforms that closely resemble those of the military have inculcated a domineering character and, t...
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... Department of Justice, 2001). Some form of witness protection should be accorded to me to protect me from retaliatory attacks.
References
CliffsNotes.com (2011). Police Strategies. Retrieved from http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/topicArticleId-10065,articleId-9953.html.
CliffsNotes.com (2011). Police Organization. Retrieved from http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/topicArticleId-10065,articleId-9952.html
Criminal Justice Code of Ethics (n.d). Retrieved from http://www.oregon.gov/DPSST/SC/docs/F-11.pdf?ga=t
The Importance of Ethics in Criminal Justice. Retrieved from http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/4031_Banks_Chapter_1_Proof.pdf
U.S Department of Justice (2001). “Principles for Promoting Police Integrity: Examples of Promising Police Practices and Policies”. 7-11. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojp/186189.pdf
Police officers have a substantial amount of responsibilities that are required to be upheld on an everyday basis. They are said to be the “front-line soldiers” in the criminal justice system (Fleming, Ramcharan, Dowler, & de Lint, 2007, p. 2) meaning they’re the first in the government to have face-to-face communication with the potential offender. “To Protect & Serve” is a broad motto that sums up the duties of a good police officer. Their role begins when a report to the police is made, actions or suspicions of a crime is present, and/or following an investigation made by the law enforcement (Fleming, Ramcharan, Dowler, & de Lint, 2007, p. 2). Typical tasks officers are engaged in are: to preserve the peace, prevent crime, enforce the law, investigate crimes, lay charges, etc (Fleming, Ramcharan, Dowler, de Lint, 2007, p. 105) but there is more to what is generally mentioned by the public, online sources, articles, books, and even the police themselves. Officers not only conduct a criminal investigation, but they also decide whether or not to proceed with obtaining an arrest which is a serious step in the justice process (Fleming, Ramcharan, Dowler, & de Lint, 2007, p. 2 & 4). Authors of The Canadian Criminal Justice System (2007, p. 4) states that because it is impossible to convict every single person who has broken...
Dempsey, J. S., & Frost, L. S. (2012). Police Ethics and Police Deviance. An Introduction to Policing (6th ed.). Clifton Park, NY: Delmar Cengage Learning.
As taught in the lectures, it is impossible for police officers to win the war against crime without bending the rules, however when the rules are bent so much that it starts to violate t...
Each position in criminal justice holds power and responsibility, and therefore, it is very important that said people in those positions do not abuse it. Unethical behavior in the criminal justice system takes away trust and respect from authority, and as a consequence, the law is more easily disregarded if the people lack faith in the system. It can, also, contribute to crime and/or cause citizens to not report crimes. Society should have indubitable confidence in the men and women of the criminal justice system. Law enforcement officers violating even the smallest rule could lead to more serious infractions. Syed (1997) states, "Every instance of corruption bends or violates a rule or law and, similar to the granting of impunity, may contribute to an officer's perceptions of the law as applying differently to different people and increase the ease with which violations can be rationalized." Having less than ethical persons in our criminal justice system can lead to a weakened society, the ruining of lives, and even add to crime.
Walker, S., & Katz, C. (2012). Police in America: An Introduction (8th Edition ed.). New York:
It is a myth to believe that an officers job is spend fighting dangerous crimes, in reality officers spend more time handing smaller cases. For example, police officers spend a lot of time doing daily tasks such as giving speeding tickets and being mediators in disputes (Kappeler & Potter, 2005). Handing out speeding tickers and handling minor disputes are far from fighting crime. Police officers spend more time doing preventive measures (Kappeler & Potter, 2005). Preventive measures involve officers intervening to prevent further altercations. Victor Kappeler and Gary Potter discussed the myth of crime fighting as invalid and misleading notions of an officer’s employment.
Law enforcement has many roles in the criminal justice process. The duties preformed by police officers include traffic citations, criminal investigations, emergency response, and crime prevention. Police officers are here to enforce all laws that are set by the government. When police officers encounter
The role in which police departments follow is the detail of patrolling communities, responding to emergency calls of service, and conducting investigations in an effort to follow up reported crimes. Reactive policing is responding to a crime that has already been committed. Police officers patrol areas within their own jurisdictions not only to look for crime, but to also be visible so to deter crime from happening. “Routine Patrol” includes the additional element of response time. Officers out patrolling their communities is required in order to facilitate response in a timely manner to dispatch
A common style of police leadership is a more bureaucratic style where the leader manages “by the book”, everything must be done in accordance with pre-written policies and procedures (Cordner & Scarborough, 2010). When a certain problem or concern isn’t covered by the book the leader refers to the next level for a decision. This style removes the ability of the leader to manage and forces a strict accordance to the “book”. This style can be very effective when dealing with dangerous situations which can be a common occurrence in police work.
Bibliography Why Good Cops Go Bad. Newsweek, p.18. Carter, David L. (1986). Deviance & Police. Ohio: Anderson Publishing Co. Castaneda, Ruben (1993, Jan. 18). Bearing the Badge of Mistrust. The Washington Post, p.11. Dantzer, Mark L. (1995). Understanding Today's Police. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc. James, George (1993, Mar. 29). Confessions of Corruption. The New York Times, P.8, James, George (1993, Nov. 17). Officials Say Police Corruption is Hard To Stop. The New York times, p.3. Sherman, Lawrence W(1978). Commission Findings. New York Post, P. 28 Walker, J.T. (1992). The police in America, p.243-263, chp. 10, Walker, Samuel (1999).
The changes in police culture have found some errors in managing this changes. Drawing on Kotters article, 50% of the companies failed in this error, by not establishing a great sense of urgency for changes which means that they are not setting right expectation, right goals and visions for the company which has the potential to jeopardise the future of the organisation. “Without motivation, people won’t help and the effort goes nowhere.” (Kotter 2007). As for the New Zealand Police they want urgent actions for changing the culture and to improve performance wit...
Criminal Justice professionals make decisions everyday and they have to be able to recognize when an issue involves ethical considerations. Therefore, in order to recognize these issues and make appropriate and correct decisions, it is important that the criminal justice professional study ethics. In order to make a good ethical decision the professional will have to have the ability to apply knowledge of ethics, know the ethical terminology and the concepts needed in making a good ethical decision.
Vicchio, Stephen. “Ethics and Police Integrity.” FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. July 1997: 8-12. EBSCOhost. Web. 12 Nov 2013
When you think of police what does it mean to you? The responsibility of a police officer is to protect the public and to serve the community. Also, they detect and to prevent crime, police officers strive to maintain the law. New police officers work with the general duty as patrol divisions, that provides a range of experiences and assignments. The General duty of policing involves patrolling in assigned areas to enforce laws, protect public safety, and arrest criminal suspects either by car, foot, bicycle, or in some cases, horse. Police officers can also do some of the following: they Investigate accidents and crime scenes; to secure evidence and interview any witnesses; they collect notes and reports; they can provide emergency assistance to victims an disaster, crime, and accidents;
The most common form of patrolling seen today is car patrols. As of 1984, an average police department has approximately 50 percent of their officers in patrol cars (Green, 1984). A great deal of the money that departments receive for funding will go into patrol cars (Green, 1984) and the main purpose of this form of patrol is to respond to calls of illegal activity, accidents and keep a presence within the community to help deterrent criminal activity (Green, 1984). The biggest advantage that this form of patrol has is that the presence of these officers are seen in several areas in the community in fast and efficient way. One officer can often be seen at one end of a community at any given time and again at another end of the community a little while later. Cars are easier to keep mobile in almost all weather conditions too.