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Ethics in law enforcement and policing
Ethics in law enforcement and policing
Ethics in law enforcement and policing
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The unwritten code of conduct is compromised in almost all public service jobs, it is much more essential to choose where you stand, when we have the power to impact someone’s life as a law enforcement officer. However, the views on unwritten code of conduct governing the behavior of police officers and corrections officers are both inappropriate and unethical. The reason being if the code is unwritten, then the guide lines are unclear. This is why individuals need to follow the written code of conduct so they would not make unethical choices. A code of silence puts the individual’s loyalty to each other rather the department. This can form clicks which will cause them to make unethical decision within their job performance and causing …show more content…
According to Goodman (2013), “Remember, you can react well to your surroundings, even under adverse situations, and you can conduct yourself ethically” (p. 34). Many times use of forced can be abuse by security personal. These individuals should conduct themselves in the highest standards of professionalism. Based on the scenario with my partner who stroked a criminal suspect who was been arrested and is secured in handcuffs is morally wrong. From the past my partner has already received punitive sanctions for using unwarranted use of force. It appears that he has not been making ethical decisions when it comes to his job duties. At this point, I would get the suspect away from my partner to defuse the situation and prevent him from striking the suspect again. Once the suspect is secured in the vehicle, I would explain to my partner that he was wrong and should have not used excessive forced while the suspect was restrained. I would explain to my partner that he has to report the incident and I would do an incident report as well. Once my partner and I return to the unit, I will report the incident to my immediate
The job of a law enforcement officer sometimes can be tough. Officer are sometimes plagued with situation that test their ability to enforce the law and maintain order. Police officers today face a constant battle to maintain higher ethical standards. This mission becomes tougher each day when one considers the importance of fighting terrorism, drugs, human trafficking,
excessive force cases brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. BYU Journal of Public Law, 26(1),
Wood identifies that during the probationary period of the police officers first year on the force he or she can easily be fired for any cause. He specifically points to the fact that if a rookie police officer were to complain about another police officer’s ethical behavior the rookie police officer could be terminated. This constant threat of easy termination forces the police officers hand to fall in line with others. Consequently, during the officers first year he or she learns to shut up and do as others do. Therefore, by the end of the polices officers first year he or she is just as corrupt or ignorant to the corrupt actions of fellow officers. For instance, Mr. Wood alleged that another officer kicked a handcuffed and facedown suspect at the end of a chase (Wood, 2015). Two problem exist, the actions of the officer kicking an act of malfeasance and the failure to report the crime by the witnessing officer an act of nonfeasance. Although probationary periods are great policy, if not administered correctly an environment of corruption will easily be passed to another generation of police officers. Therefore, the lack of department policy to protect new officers from termination if reporting unethical actions was the driving factor the lead officers like Sgt. Wood to perform nonfeasance while the other officers kicked the suspect (Albanese, 2012). Essentially, police officer become ignorant of the unethical behavior
Law enforcement officers are in constant dangerous situations while out doing their responsibilities. When in these threatening situations, police officers typically have little to no time to determine the right precaution. These precautions may lead to the death of a suspect or even the officer themselves. The media has recently shed light on police brutality with use of force. Use of force could be defined as the amount of effort an officer must use in order to make an unwilling subject compel. Police officers are usually trained to enable the proper responsible to a dangerous situation they may be put in. In this paper I will go through the guidelines that a police officer must obey when considering a certain degree of use of force. Within each guideline there will be the pro and cons with that situation and also a recent case that happened. This paper will also talk about how this topic can be addressed more properly. These guidelines that officer are taught during their training are called Use of Force Continuum.
Each position in criminal justice holds power and responsibility, and therefore, it is very important that 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.
Police officers often encounter situations where the decision to use discretion challenges the way and the type of job that officers would normally conduct. Each day an officer is on the job, discretion when it comes to job duties appears, sometimes without any warning. Officers constantly struggle with the appearance of discretion, and often times do not know how to handle the situation when it does appear. Discretion may take many different forms in the job duties, but it always involves the officer letting a crime “slide,” rather than questioning every suspicious person. Letting a crime “slide,” for certain offenders, is of great concern for the administrators of police departments, because there is potential for ethical issues to surface later on. This essay will examine police discretion, factors that influence discretion, whether exercising discretion is appropriate, and the concerns that administrators have when it comes to police using discretion in the field.
Decision some officers make compromise their loyalty, to the community they swore to protect. It is a stressful situation when deciding to be loyal to the job or to fellow officers. “Many departments have officers swear an oath to serve and protect without allowing personal feelings, prejudices, animosities, or friendships influence their actions”, however, the code exists (Lawrence, 2015). Not the code of ethics or the code of honor, but the “cop code”, which bonds unethical officers to a code of silence to protect each other.
While reviewing the various instances of corruption by Law enforcement officers, it was shocking to see the increasing instances of repetitive and flagrant violations of abuse and corruption by law enforcement. Although it is conceivable that in some instances, such as the excessive use of force, the officer's perception of events at that instance could be skewed and could, therefore, result in an outcome less favorable than intended, however, there are some instances in which the actions of the officer(s) are intentional.
Police departments must execute their duties in such a manner that protects the conditions of a democratic society and addresses the security needs of all individuals and groups. The execution of these duties must also show the community that they serve, that they are good stewards of the positions they have been afforded the opportunity to hold, and those who hold these positions must be free from corruption. The term ‘police corruption’ has been used to describe many activities: bribery; violence and brutality; fabrication and destruction of evidence; racism; and, favoritism or nepotism. Stories of police corruption are read about or seen on news broadcasts at a level that would tend to make the public believe that corruption incidents such as those listed above are still as prevalent in law enforcement now as in the past.
Ethical behavior in law enforcement officers is continuously under scrutiny by the media, public and other law enforcement personnel. There are effective implements in place to balance the applications and efficiency of Ethics in law enforcement; to make just and lawful decisions to benefit of communities.
One may ask themselves, if law enforcement officers are working to protect the public, why would they commit corruption like they do? As it is described above, corruption is a big part in the law enforcement sector of society. The entire concept is quite complex although it may seem self explanatory to many people. Learning the many types of corruption and misconduct is only the beginning, then, to understand why the officers commit the conduct for which they do. With all this, it becomes apparent to the certain measures that need to be taken to rid society and police departments of the conduct that is constantly present.
Police Officers Oath of Office and Code of Ethics, A Question of knowledge Richard W. Deshon (2000) retrieved from: www.emich.edu/cerns/downloads/papers/PoliceStaff/
It is often said that power brings corruption, but in reality it is an individual’s lack of character, self-discipline, and integrity that leads to corruption. Law enforcement can bring many temptations on the job, and maintaining an up most level of personal integrity can often times be very difficult. The very nature of the job surrounds officers with all of the bad things that society, produces. There can be an endless amount of training and rules put into place to try and deter officers from committing unethical acts, but in the end it really just comes down to the specific individual and their willingness to do the right thing.
In this essay, I will examine the ethical issues surrounding police corruption and discretion in the criminal justice system. I will also define legality and equity and how they relate to police corruption and discretion. Police corruption and discretion are ethical issues that have been negatively impacting the criminal justice system for years. Police corruption weakens the public 's confidence in law enforcement officers. It also hinders the effectiveness of law enforcement officers whose job is to serve and protect. I will also define police corruption and discretion and the reasons behind police misconduct.
occurs in the workplace when deceit or scam by one or more employees causes or ,may cause the