NCJ Number
193360
Date Published
2002
Length
38 pages
Annotation
In this chapter, individual privacy concerns and the police employee are discussed, and the constitutional privacy aspects of intrusive searches, testing, and employer regulation of interpersonal relations as they relate to the rights of police employees are examined.
Abstract
Privacy rights have been ascertained from court interpretations of aspects of the amendments to the U.S. Constitution protecting individuals from government intrusion into private domains. The courts have established fundamental privacy protections for citizens and have extended aspects of these rights to police officers in their role as public employees. In this chapter the rights of police employees regarding employer intrusion and regulation were analyzed focusing on the search of employee workplace belongings, employer authority to require drug and HIV/AIDS testing, and the control of interpersonal sexual conduct. The courts have permitted increased employer regulation in recent years in privacy-related areas. There have been significant changes regarding police employee privacy rights in areas related to Fourth Amendment provisions such as warrant, probable cause, and reasonable suspicion. In addition, the courts have established several principles that facilitated a new interpretation of police employee privacy in the workplace. Police employers are given considerable authority to regulate on and off-duty employee conduct. Until such a time when litigation defines the scope of employer regulatory powers, it becomes imperative that police employers develop constitutionally valid regulatory policies and procedures, maintaining the effective operation of the agency and protecting the privacy of their employees. References and tables