Attitudes of Police Officers Toward Their Professional Ethics

• NCJ Number: 94014
• Journal: Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 12 Issue: 3 Dated: (1984) Pages: 211-220
• Author(s): G T Felkenes
• Date Published: 1984
• Length: 10 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Revised version of paper presented at the 1983 Conference of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences

Annotation

This study investigates how police officers in several police agencies view their professional ethics.

Abstract

Professions are guided by codes of ethics to aid them in performance of their duties and to ensure maintenance of high standards of conduct. Police officers are faced with a maze of obligations in the performance of their official duties. The 'Law Enforcement Code of Ethics' and 'Canons of Police Ethics' were created to make explicit the conduct considered appropriate for police officers and to guide them in the performance of their duties. Some of the broader questions examined in the study are the following: Do police officers have a clear understanding of the 'Law Enforcement Code of Ethics' and the 'Canons of Police Ethics?' Do they feel constrained by agency, societal, or other factors from behaving professionally? Do they consider their ethics adequate to guide professional conduct, and are they willing to abide by the principles? The responses indicate reliance on personal ethics in situations where standard police ethics are not clear, and suggest the need for further research in police ethics. (Author abstract)