NCJ Number
173401
Date Published
1996
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This video summarizes the presentations at the Police Integrity Symposium held in Washington, D.C., July 14-16, 1996.
Abstract
A narrator provides the structure for presenting the symposium summary by providing information on the speakers and their presentations and how they fit in the symposium agenda and themes. Segments of various presentations were selected for presentation in the video. The keynote address by Stephen Vicchio focuses on how to identify and define integrity. Attorney General Janet Reno addresses the importance of training people to perform ethically and professionally. A presentation on the definition of integrity notes that it involves being law-abiding, technically competent, neutral and objective, and skilled in the selection and performance of the appropriate services. Another presentation deals with officer attitudes that promote and undermine integrity. Officers who are inclined to act with integrity, according to the presenter, are oriented toward providing the appropriate service under the given circumstances; whereas, officers vulnerable to abuse of authority are more interested in "adventure" and excitement. Such officers are prone to an abuse of authority, the excessive use of force, and the stimulation of conflict. A number of presenters discuss the importance of creating within a police organization and subculture a sense of common values that are internalized by officers through training, example, interaction, and the enforcement of disciplinary standards.