Law Enforcement: Policing the Defective Centurion, Decertification and Beyond (From Police Misconduct: A Reader for the 21st Century, P 355-366, 2001, Michael J. Palmiotto, ed. -- See NCJ-193774)

• NCJ Number: 193793
• Author(s): William C. Smith; Geoffrey P. Alpert
• Date Published: 2001
• Length: 12 pages
• Sale Source: Prentice Hall Publishing
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This paper discusses decertification as an ultimate method of accountability in cases of serious police misconduct; police professionalism as a means of controlling police behavior is also considered.

Abstract

The regulation of police misconduct has traditionally relied on the disciplinary measures devised by localities. Once the individual officer becomes certified by the State regulatory agency, local agencies are free to hire, fire, or discipline an officer without oversight or State intervention. Because initial attempts to manage misconduct have been limited to such internal control mechanisms, discipline often has been subjectively imposed, with widely disparate punishments. In many cases this has resulted in inconsequential disciplinary action taken against officers who had engaged in serious misconduct. Also, officers who committed serious offenses might be fired but then find work in an agency that was unaware of the misconduct or indifferent to it. In every State and the Federal Government, police officers must be licensed or certified. Once an individual has earned the license and maintains it, he or she may continue in a career of law enforcement in any agency. This paper argues that the State agency that certifies police officers must have the authority to remove the license when the licensee has proven unworthy. Central to the implementation of any decertification procedure, however, is the need to define misconduct so serious as to warrant removing an officer from the law enforcement field entirely. This paper discusses the nature of misconduct that warrants decertification, namely, the violation or abuse of professional standards that govern core/critical police responsibilities. The process of defining misconduct would be facilitated if all officers were to be held to a uniform set of ethical principles. A logical first step is an enhanced effort to educate officers in ethical and moral decision-making. Thus, there is a need for a national consensus on the ethical and moral parameters for police conduct. 1 figure and 53 notes