NCJ Number
188596
Journal
International Journal of Police Science and Management Volume: 3 Issue: 2 Dated: Winter 2000 Pages: 153-164
Date Published
2000
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This paper describes the implementation of a change strategy within a British public service police organization.
Abstract
The establishment of an Ethics Forum in a county police service in the mid-1990's was both inspirational and challenging at all levels of the organization. The intention of this effort was to place the practice of ethical values at the center of police work through an action inquiry strategy (Fisher and Torbert, 1995) to increase awareness of the significance of ethics for a police service. This paper shows how a police organization implemented its intention to develop transparent ethical practices following a series of public national debates and accusations of poor practice by the British police from the 1970's through the 1990's. The responsibility held by the author in the organizational change was as external academic adviser to the Ethics Forum. The experience of working with this strategy allows the author to assert that the action inquiry process, which addresses issues of human relationships and the management of multi-level interactions, is a good example of learning organizational policy and practice. 36 references