NCJ Number
213851
Date Published
2006
Length
126 pages
Annotation
This second edition textbook strives to provide law enforcement officers and supervisors with an understanding of ethical behavior as it relates to policing.
Abstract
Topics center on four main questions: (1) is law enforcement a profession; (2) can law enforcement officers be professional; (3) what forms of behavior are the major law enforcement ethical violations; and (4) can we control police ethical violation? The chapters discuss the ethical violations of corruption, abuse of authority, and rule breaking, and the author illustrates how these ethical concerns have plagued police departments since their inception in England. A two-pronged approach to controlling ethical violations is proposed: “avoiding rotten apples and avoiding rotten structures.” This approach involves establishing high standards for officer recruitment and selection and for establishing strict policies and systematic review processes. The first chapter explains that the nature of police duties makes the occupation “morally dangerous” for its members. This first chapter also describes policing as a profession and claims that law enforcement officers can indeed be professional. Chapter 2 introduces the notion of occupational ethics and presents the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics, the Law Enforcement Oath of Honor, and the Statement of Ethical Principles from England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Chapters 3 through 6 present detailed discussions of the 5 paragraphs of the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics. Chapter 7 describes the most common forms of organizational rule violations committed by officers: drinking on duty, use of drugs, police lying, accepting gratuities, and sexual misconduct. Police corruption, corrupt practices, and corruption control are discussed in chapters 8 and 9. Police corruption is defined as any activities involving the misuse of an officer’s official position for money or its worth. Chapter 10 explores the problem of police abuse of authority while chapter 11 confronts the challenge of controlling police unethical behavior, which focuses on different forms of control and on administrative reaction and external accountability. Table, references, index