Ethical Dilemmas In Law Enforcement Essay

My first interviewee officers jack Davidson, patrolman from Somers point police department. When interviewing Patrolman Davidson, I found the following to be his impressions of the police force in general. Officer Davidson spoke of why ethics and character are important in the field of law enforcement. His response was that ethics and character go hand in hand. In law enforcement it seems that there are so many reasons to do the right thing. The reasons began with public opinion and also should include their influence on the youth who will be growing up to be citizens of the city, state, or country. If a police officer does not behave with

This research will look at data collected by multiple surveys and field research that has been carried out over the past decade. The data that is collected will be able to give us a better look at the amount of media the public consumes and what their perceptions are on police brutality. This proposal will review the research and data collected by others who have previously studied this topic and outline a new study. Prior studies have examined the media’s effect on the public’s perception on how effective the police are. The proposed study will attempt to look deeper into how much the media truly effects how often the public perceives that misconduct and brutality incidence occur among police forces.

Police officers are trained to read, write and analyze numbers. They are also trained how to handle firearms, identify non-lethal weapons, use defensive tactics effective, conduct search and seizure, driving techniques, investigate criminal acts and the laws of arrest, but how many police take a course on ethical conduct or learn the meaning of sworn oath? Some police officer feel ethics is not important and training is of low – priority. Law enforcement officers take oaths creates an ethical landmine. Officers have to weigh their personal values against colleague demands that may develop a hostile environment and cause ethical issues to flourish. When police officers demonstrate unethical practices, negative issues occur. Corruption scandals are painful reminders that officers need more

“Ethical issues regarding corruption and off-duty behavior have become an increasing challenge in criminal justice” (Writing, 1999-2013). Within the criminal justice system, ethics can be complicated by the moral implications of actions. Differences in cultures and different circumstances can affect the individual moral compass. However, all departments of criminal justice operate by a certain code of ethics and by certain standards. But those standards and ethics often become challenged due to issues relating to police brutality, off duty conduct and corruption that we hear about all of the time through the media.

Police officers shall conduct themselves with integrity and moral values, whether on or off duty, in accordance with the Constitution of the United States.

Racial profiling is an example of police brutality, which is defined by Gross and Livingston (2002) as “the practice of some officers of stopping motorists of certain racial or ethnic groups because the officer believe that these groups are more likely than others to commit certain types of crimes” (p.1413). Therefore, individuals are treated unfairly by law enforcement solely based on their race. This type of mistreatment is unmerited and ultimately a violation of an individual’s rights. However, in many instances the courts do not find it a violation of their civil rights based on the fact that racial profiling is difficult to prove. Often, prosecutors are disinclined in bringing forth a case against officers on this particular matter. Officers are permitted to stop and search individuals and their vehicles whenever there is reasonable suspicion, however, there has been studies that prove that some law enforcement officers restrict these rights primarily to minority groups. Bowling and Phillips found that although there was no formal monitoring of use of these powers, it was concluded that it was particularly heavy use of these powers against ethnic minorities, largely of young black people (as cited in Sharp & Atherton, 2007, p. 747) . In several cases, officers argue that they reasonably pulled an individual over for other probable grounds such as: traffic violations, suspicious behavior, etc., with race never being an

As a police officer, the major objectives are to maintain order, enforce the law, protect one’s property, and to save lives. In addition, police are divided into two roles based on how they perform their duties. The two roles of a police officer are a public servant and a crime fighter. A police officer whose role as a public servant is to serve all types of people, as well as criminals. Public servants regularly provide advice and make judgments as to the degree of risk they should take with the public. Many decisions involving risk are relatively easy to make, but others are complex and significant consequences (Kernaghan and Langford, 2016). These risks may involve using force and the consequences could be media backlash or a potential termination. Public servants abide by the oath and uphold the integrity and honor of the organization as an officer. Also, public servant officers like to play it safe because they like to be known as ordinary citizens who like to go home to their

Recently, law enforcement agencies across the country have come under increased scrutiny for their questionable tactics, specifically regarding use of force situations. Tragic outcomes resulting from police and citizen interactions have emphasized the significance of building strong, cooperative relationships between local police departments and the communities that they have sworn to protect. To build and maintain community trust, it is necessary for those in leadership positions to create an environment in which ethical behavior is expected of all employees regardless of their position or rank. The city leaders for the City of Virginia Beach, VA, realize and appreciate this idea and the notion that the integrity of their police department directly correlates to the level of community trust.

According to Webster’s Dictionary, ethics is defined “as the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation” (Merriam-Webster Online). This concept is prevalent in the world of police work since police officers are supposed to be the “good” in whatever is considered a “bad” situation. Many police departments offer training in ethics during the time in which a cadet is in the police academy and after officers are put on the streets, which is called in-service training. It is the hope that while this training is available to officers, that they hold a basic code of ethics within themselves which

At the beginning of the video, the spokesperson indicates that ninety-five percent of criminal cases enter pleas and never go to trial. With such a large amount, it is inevitable that innocent people will enter the criminal justice system. The individuals in society expect prosecutors and defense attorneys to act ethical at all times, however, this video highlights misconduct that likely occurs everyday. We see numerous examples of ethical issues and dilemmas throughout the entirety of the video, which can lessen the public's faith in the criminal justice system when these problems are brought to light.

Ethics, or moral conduct, are of major importance in the Criminal Justice field today. If the police force condoned unethical behavior, there would be very little, if any, justice being served. Official police misconduct is any “objectionable actions taken by police officers in connection with their official duties, which can lead to a miscarriage of justice”. (wikipedia.com). However, “police misconduct may include a broader range of misconduct, reflecting the high standards that we expect of police officers. Unlike official misconduct, police misconduct can apply to off-duty behavior as well as conduct on the job”. (clc.qld.gov.au).

Not everyone will agree with every decision an officer makes, especially when a person is the one receiving a ticket or going to jail. Although officers are not perfect, they are expected to make perfect decisions by those very citizens. Police men and women aren’t often displayed correctly through social media networks or news broadcasting. More often than not, social media networks show a small clip of an incident which misleads citizens of an incident in which an officer was involved in making a decision. Officers are reactionary and react to things that are displayed in front of them.

One of the worst things a lawman can do is base a decision off what others think rather than what they are trained for. Law enforcement can be easily influenced by their surroundings. Police officers are targets, they stand out in the publics’ eye. Either for moral doings or immoral doings, either way, they are noticed. Being an obvious target automatically gives people a view of officers.

First, if news stations are being biased against officers, they usually then will hesitate in using necessary force. A survey done said that 86% of the officers in big departments have become less willing to stop and question suspicious persons. They feel this way because of high profile incidents reported on news stations. It also showed that 85% of the officers were more hesitant to use necessary force. 95% of officers have become more concerned with their safety. We need to fix this so that the people who keep us safe can also feel safe and have hope that they can return to their families after their shift is over.

Interactions between police and the public is based how respectful each group is towards each other. However, research also shows that sometimes an officer's conduct and actions are critical to perceptions of police legitimacy. Having good communication skills as well as listening to citizens instead of controlling authority to scare them is the correct response without being cynical to the situation. For example; Officers are more likely to profile predominately minority areas and ultimately will make the most traffic stops in these areas which will determine most of their decision making (Petrocelli et al, 2002, p. 8). Police who are patrolling these areas will always be suspicious in their surroundings because it is a dangerous job and they