Preview

Ethical Failures In Law Enforcement

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
797 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Ethical Failures In Law Enforcement
Law enforcement is successful in many facets of its duties and responsibilities. Even with all of the success law enforcement is able to accomplish, there are some ethical failures where improvement can be made. Examples of some ethical failures would be the code of silence, a conscience lack of team work amongst agencies, or leadership failing to remember, while they have a duty to the public, they also have a duty to their line level personnel. Leadership failures have a sweeping impact on the department as a whole and the entire community. Today’s society puts a tremendous amount of pressure on line level officers. Officers have expressed it does not matter what they do they are wrong even when the choices made are correct based on their training. Then the scrutiny is compounded by the media reporting a biased view of a situation instead of a comprehensive account. Today’s officer does not have the luxury of just enforcement of the law. Today’s officer is expected to be the community spokes person on and off duty, the role model on and off duty, crime scene expert, an expert in ever changing case law, an expert in driving, marksmanship, defensive tactics, a parent to everyone’s children, and an expert in the thousands …show more content…
The hiring process for a law enforcement agency is crucial to its success. The hiring process is the first step in either obtaining or creating an outstanding officer or the first step in creating a future disappointment. If a department hires the officer who’s integrity is beyond reproach and has a passion for law enforcement then you are on your way to creating a “cop’s cop.” Conversely, if a department hires an uninspired questionable officer, then they have created a career long problem at best. The worst case scenario is an officer who gives law enforcement a black eye across the
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Explain Why It Is Important to Have the Support of All Divisions of a Police Agency When Implementing a Change to Copps and Recruiting Officers.
    • 313 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Explain Why It Is Important to Have the Support of All Divisions of a Police Agency When Implementing a Change to Copps and Recruiting Officers.

    The recruitment of quality police officers is the key to the values and culture of any police organization and for the successful conduct of the COPPS strategy. For COPPS and recruiting good officers to work the agency must work together to…

    • 313 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Ethical Law Enforcement
    • 2228 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Ethical Law Enforcement

    I chose this subject because I feel that before embarking on a career in law enforcement it is fundamental to understand how to play by the book without getting ostracized by ones peers. The purpose of this paper is to outline proper behavior while paying attention to factors that will effectively limit corruption.…

    • 2228 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Leading Group Challenges
    • 1517 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Leading Group Challenges

    “The profession of policing and public safety continues to confront new challenges that also present a wealth of opportunities for initiating substantive change” (Batts, Smoot, & Scrivner, 2012, p. 18). Some have noted leaders in the criminal justice police organization face a crossroad when striking a balance between judicial and governmental expectations, the agency itself, stakeholders, and the public. According to Bisschop and Kimpe (2009), “The Diversity of these sometimes conflicting demands –representing the complexity inherent to the police organization –offers a number of distinct challenges for police leadership”…

    • 1517 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Criminal Justice Executives
    • 664 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Criminal Justice Executives

    Criminal justice executives are not only leaders to get their officers to work to a common goal, they are also managers and the one the community and city leaders look up to when problems arise (Cronkhite, 2013). Like their officers, executives must “do the right thing, do their best each day, and treat others the way they want to be treated” just as the Knoxville Police Department’s Operational Philosophy (2015) says. The hard part is ethically keeping his communities, officers, and political leaders happy at the same time. If this balance is upset, then trouble can arise. I picked three different police executives and analyzed how they were able to keep a healthy balance between the different groups.…

    • 664 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Copy and Paste
    • 1613 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Copy and Paste

    1) Law enforcement officers are seen as authority figures. People deal with them differently and treat them differently, even when they are not working. When a problem occurs, everyone looks to the officer to "take charge," to "solve the problem." Some say the cop is never off duty. Even when the officer is not working there is a tendency to attack problems and take charge. Sometimes taking charge is not preferable, and can cause particular strains in our world where many people like to linger with problems, never really solving anything. Recognizing the difference between a "problem solving" situation, where action is desirable, and a more passive situation, where action may alienate others, is difficult for the cop.…

    • 1613 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Ethical Standards In Law Enforcement
    • 2013 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Ethical Standards In Law Enforcement

    The ethical standard that law enforcement adheres to is truly important not because law enforcement is thought to be better than the average citizen but because they are held and expected to be of higher standard. If ethics was not held in such high regard than who would police the police? An ethical standard can be created but it is only through it existing in written form and being disseminated appropriately, followed by all through leadership by example, and enforcement to reinforce its importance that it becomes effective. With these aspects fulfilled it then becomes practicable and applied to the law enforcement officer’s life in his or her behavior. The public holds law enforcement to a higher standard because they see them as role models of society and expect them to act accordingly both professionally and personally. Any compromise to this expectation causes mistrust amongst the public towards police and leads to disorder. Law enforcement’s objectives in responding to calls for service are gaining control or compliance and resolution. With a lack of ethical conduct and mistrust or lack of faith in police these objectives become nearly impossible to achieve in a proportional…

    • 2013 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Does Ethics Influence Police Behavior?
    • 128 Words
    • 1 Page

    How Does Ethics Influence Police Behavior?

    Examples of how ethics plays a role in criminal justice can be outlined in the following career fields, 1) Police, 2) Attorneys, 3) Individual-Participation. Police interact with the public on a daily basis. They have a tough job of dealing with a diverse group of individuals and not all of these individuals are easy to deal with. There are many ways to assess how ethics can influence police behavior (Gruber, n.d.). This can include the way police interact with their community and how their community relates to them. If police officers are conducting themselves in an ethical manner, the community, in-turn will behave in a calm and respectful manner. Once the community and police officers build that ethical relationship, this will eventually…

    • 128 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Ethical Dilemma
    • 1736 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Ethical Dilemma

    This article discusses the Criminal Justice System Employees, whose careers ended in dismissal, and or termination, forced resignation, or early retirement. I have selected random samples of misconduct within the criminal justice system. We will view the criminal justice system and their misconduct due to corruption, brutality, and drug-relations in adjunction to police officers involvement. Police corruption is a major problem in the United States. We the people look up to the police as role models, ones that our children, future leaders tread after. The police, the men and women who took an oath to abide by and uphold the law. Before any officer takes the Law Enforcement Oath of Honor he/she must have the understanding of what it means. It’s a solemn pledge that taken when he/she is sincerely intends to do what they say they will do. The Oath: “On my honor I will never betray my badge, my integrity, my character, or the public trust. I will always have the courage to hold myself and others accountable for our actions. I will always uphold the constitution, my community, and the agency I serve”. Integrity…

    • 1736 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Honesty And Integrity In Law Enforcement
    • 216 Words
    • 1 Page

    Honesty And Integrity In Law Enforcement

    You emphasized the importance of character traits in law enforcement as what determines the type of individual they are; in that regard, they should exhibit honesty and integrity. If the organizational structure within law enforcement fosters honesty then the tendency to act “right” becomes one of habit. A person of virtuous character tends to give rise to good intentions which then leads to right actions which can produce good consequences (Williams & Arrigo, 2012). For instance, officers that have good community relationships with the community that they serve will have an easier time communicating and interacting because there is a level of trust that exists.…

    • 216 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Integrity In Law Enforcement
    • 1762 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Integrity In Law Enforcement

    Police officers with integrity must possess trust, effacement of self-interest, courage, intellectual honesty, justice and responsibility. Klockars and associates define police integrity as “the normative indication among police to resist temptation to abuse rights and privileges of their occupation.” (Ivkovic & Shelly 2008, page 60). Integrity come at a personal coast sometimes those who stand up for standards and integrity are not always well received by their colleagues as they may act and think opposite. Cases of police misconduct can seriously harm off work to establish trust and confidence between police officers and members of the community. A survey done by Carl B. Klockars, Sanja Kutujak Lvkorich and Maria R. Haberfeld found that “most officers said they would not report a fellow officer who engaged in conduct such as accepting free gifts, meals ,discounts or having minor incidents while driving under the influence of alcohol. On the other hand most police officers said they would report a colleague who stole from a burglary scene, accepted a bribe, or used excessive force.” This survey shows that police officers would lie to protect a fellow police officer and also exercise their duty onto fellow officer whom break the law. It is also possible that police officers tent to tolerate free meals, gifts and working off duty because…

    • 1762 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Persuasive Essay On Law Enforcement
    • 511 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Persuasive Essay On Law Enforcement

    Recent highly publicized events involving the controversial interactions between law enforcement and community members have given a proverbial black eye to the image of law enforcement officers nationwide. Couple that with the marked increase of calculated and deadly ambushes of officers, leaving a whole profession feeling vulnerable and at risk, simply because of the uniform worn or the law enforcement profession they represent. It’s no wonder that one would be hesitant to join the forces of a once-revered profession when uncertainty looms and forces interested persons and current law enforcement officers to ask themselves; will I be ostracized by the media for the actions I choose to take; will I make it home today or will I become someone’s target once I put on this uniform.…

    • 511 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Criminal Justice Career Essay
    • 660 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Criminal Justice Career Essay

    There are a plethora of careers to choose from within the field of Criminal Justice. Lawyers of varying specialties, probation officers, jailers, game wardens, and many more. But there are few positions within this essential line of work that are as necessary as the police officer. The police officer is the most tangible vessel of law and order—he or she is the one that patrols the street corners at night and apprehends the criminals that lurk within those shadows. Their mission is to preserve the well-being of the community which they serve, a noble cause rife with stress at every turn. These men and women seek to bring us all a sense of security; a peace of mind. They do this every day with varying levels of difficulty that can change with…

    • 660 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Police Corruption
    • 2346 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Police Corruption

    With great power comes great responsibility. As police officers begin going through their training they soon realize the great power they will soon possess. As history and documented facts have shown us, many of them show great control and responsibility. On the other hand, there are a small percentage of officers who take advantage of their control and become corrupt. This brings scrutiny and lack of trust in police departments nationwide. Police corruption refers to police personnel who use their position and authority for personal rather than public benefit (1). Ever since the idea of rules and regulations came about in the early 1900’s, led by August Vollmer, there have been law personnel who were chosen to enforce those regulations. The majority of officers do their job the way it should be done, but there are a hand full who abuse their power. There are many different types of police corruption. Gratuities, bribes, thefts and burglaries, and narcotic arrests are the most common. Police corruption is work-related law breaking. This happens in every profession. The two main elements of police corruption are the misuse of authority and personal gain. Policing provides many opportunities, temptations, and conditions for corruption. Police corruption is a major issue in policing that must be reduced.…

    • 2346 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Police Ethics and Deviance
    • 1125 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Police Ethics and Deviance

    Ethics and the police is a subject that most people are interested in. When people use the words ethics and police in the same sentence, people usually think of police deviance, police corruption, misconducts such as drug and alcohol abuse, sexual violence, domestic disputes, and violence within families. Most common subjects people most associate with police ethics is police brutality, police deception, and abuse of their authority. Police officers in the United States are given tremendous authority and wide latitude in using that authority. In addition, to the average citizen, the police are the most visible symbol of not only the United States criminal justice system but also the United States government. (Wadsworth, 2005)…

    • 1125 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Ethical Law Enforcement
    • 1359 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Ethical Law Enforcement

    2. What are the most important facts? Which facts have the most bearing on the ethical decision presented? Include any important potential economic, social, or political pressures, and exclude inconsequential facts.…

    • 1359 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More