ethics test
community policing
A model of law enforcement that creates partnerships with the community and addresses underlying problems rather than simply enforcing the law
Albert Bandura
Albert Bandura (born 1925) described how the successful use of rewards is related to the child's age. As the child matures, concrete rewards and external sanctions are replaced by symbolic and internal controls, such as one's conscience(Bandura, 1964). Eventually Bandura described the individual as not simply a passive recipient of rewards, but rather, as an active participant in the construction and meaning of rewards (Bandura, 1969, 1971). In this view, individuals are active, not passive; self-reflective, not merely acted upon; and self-regulating, not merely controlled by external forces. Bandura's later work revolved around his development of the concept of self-efficacy and moral identity. Self-efficacy can be defined as the individual's feelings of competence, and this sense is developed by comparing the self to others. The idea of a moral identity is composed of moral agency, which involves intent, anticipation of consequences, and self-regulation; and moral efficacy, which is the belief that one can successfully decide to act in moral ways
Developmental theories
Approaches to behavior proposing that individuals have normal growth phases in areas such as morality and emotional maturity
Developmental theories
Approaches to behavior proposing that individuals have normal growth phases in areas such as morality and emotional maturity.
Ethical Issues
Difficult social or policy questions that include controversy over the "right" thing to do.
Professional Courtesy
One practice not included in the typologies above is called "professional courtesy," which refers to the practice of not ticketing an officer who is stopped for speeding or for other driving violations. Obviously officers do not ticket everyone they stop. They often give warnings instead, and that is a legitimate use of their discretion. Whether to ticket or give a warning should depend on objective criteria, such as the seriousness of the violation
subjective approach
Subjective refers to personal perspectives, feelings, or opinions entering the decision making process. ... Investors should approach investing purely objectively and make their decisions based on hard analysis of the facts.
Knapp Commission
The name Serpico continues to elicit two different reactions. For some, it represents the epitome of an honest and brave man who stood against corruption at great risk to self. For others, it represents a "rat," a man who turned his back on his friends, and, for some officers, to be called a "Serpico" is a serious insult.
bounded ethicality developmental theories
This concept refers to the cognitive structuring whereby decisions are interpreted using variables that do not include ethics; for instance, companies evaluate decisions based only on economic factors rather than whether or not the action is moral.
Gratuities
are items of value received by an individual because of his or her role or position rather than because of a personal relationship with the giver. The widespread practices of free coffee in convenience stores, half-price or free meals in restaurants, and half-price dry cleaning are examples of gratuities. Frequently, businesspeople offer gratuities as a token of sincere appreciation for the police officers' work. Although the formal code of ethics prohibits accepting gratuities, many officers
the Oath ofHonor
displayed in the Quote and Query box). This oath, developed by a committee of the IACP, is offered as a shortened version encapsulating the contents of the Code of Ethics.
A professional code of ethics
exists for most professions. For instance, doctors pledge allegiance to the Hippocratic Oath, lawyers are taught their professional code ofresponsibility, and psychiatrists subscribe to the code promulgated by their professional organization. In fact, having a professional code of ethics seems to be part of the definition of a profession, along with some form of self-regulation (Sykes, 1989). A code of ethics helps engender self-respect in individual officers; pride comes from knowing that one has conducted oneself in a proper and appropriate manner. Further, a code of ethics contributes to mutual respect among police officers and helps in the development of an esprit de corps and common goals. Agreement on methods, means, and aims is important to these feelings. As with any profession, an agreed-upon code ofethics is a unifying element. A code can help define law enforcement as a profession, for it indicates a
The so-called "Big Five
extroversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness) have been the target of enough studies to indicate that they are reliable measures of personality and, of those, conscientiousness seems to be the most relevant to job performance. Conscientiousness is related to the degree of organization, control, and motivation one has and has been related to being organized, reliable, hard working, self-governing, and persevering. There has been very little research done to determine if the trait accurately measures police performance success, and resea
Economic corruption
includes any activity wherein a police officer uses his or herposition to acquire economic benefit illegally or against policy. Gratuities can be aminor form of economic corruption if they are against policy. Graft includesbribery, kickbacks, and "pads." The Knapp Commission identified grass eaters(police who passively take advantage of opportunities) and meat eaters (policewho actively commit crimes). Abuse of authority is not for economic gain. Itincludes physical or psychological abuse of the citizenry or violations of policyand/or law in the performance of one's duties (e.g., excessive force, ignoringevidence, coercive interrogation
Abuse of authority
involves officers' misuse of the power and authority inherent in their positions. Barker and Carter (1994) and Fyfe and Kane (2006) discuss police abuse ofauthority which can be summarized as follows: • Physical abuse—excessive force, physical harassment, retaliatory brutality • Psychological abuse—disrespect, harassment, ridicule, excessive stops, intimidation, deception in interrogation • Legal abuse—unlawful searches or seizures, manufacturing evidence, perjury, planting evidence, hiding exculpatory evidence
United States v. Russell,
manufactured methamphetamine using an essential chemical provided by an undercover federal agent. The chemical is difficult to acquire, and without the chemical it is impossible to manufacture the drug.
a continuum of force
of-force approach that allows proportional force to the suspect's resistance, with increasing levels of force by the officer in direct response to escalating resistance of the suspect (Walker, 2007). Policies regarding Tasers have been suggested by the International Association of Chiefs of Police
, preventive policing
problem-solving policing, predictive policing, and intelligence-led policing exist in a confused mix of approaches and terminology that indicate where policing is going in the twenty-first century. Problem-solving policingarises naturally out of community-based policing whereby neighborhood problems are identified and dealt with, often in partnership with community members. Predictive policing focuses on sophisticated data gathering and analysis; geographic analysis is used to identify where criminal events are likely to occur based on where offenders have struck in the past. Intelligence-led policing is a managerial philosophy whereby data analysis and intelligence are used for objective decision making designed for crime prevention (Ratcliffe, 2008). The approach emphasizes the use of confidential informants, offender interviews, analyzing incident reports and calls for service, surveillance, and community sources of information. Another element of intelligence-led policing is the attempt to reduce the "turf warfare" of various divisions of police departments that get in the way of information sharing, so that, for instance, cities would be broken into geographic units instead of divided into vice, organized crime, major crimes, and so on.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
promulgated the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics and the Canons of Police Ethics, and many departments have used these or adapted them for their own agencies. More recently, the IACP has endorsed the Oath of Honor (displayed in the Quote and Query box). This oath, developed by a committee of the IACP, is offered as a shortened version encapsulating the contents of the Code of Ethics.
The most common pre-employment screening tool that is used by law enforcementagencies
the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI or its subsequentversions); (Arrigo and Claussen, 2003; Dantzker and McCoy, 2006)
The terms grass eaters
to describe New York City police officers who took advantage of their position to engage in corrupt practices. Accepting bribes, gratuities, and unsolicited protection money was the extent of the corruption engaged in by grass eaters, who were fairly passive in their deviant practices.
blue lies
used to control the person or to make the job easier in situations where force could be used). Barker and Carter (1991, 1994) described accepted lies (used during undercover investigations and sting operations), tolerated lies ("necessary evils," such as lying about selective enforcement), and deviant lies (used in the courtroom to make a case or to cover up wrongdoing). As discussed in Chapter 5, these lies, sometimes called
• determines what people ought to do and defines moral duties based on ethical systems or other means of analysis.
• 1) acts (rather than beliefs) that are • (2) human and • (3) of free will • (4) that affect others
internal affairs model
• A review procedure in which police investigators receive and investigate complaints and resolve the investigations internally.
Graft
• Any exploitation of one's role, such as accepting bribes, protection money, or kickbacks.
informants
• Civilians who are used to obtain information about criminal activity and/or participate in it so evidence can be obtained for an arrest.
police subculture
• Police typically form a homogenous social group. • They have a uniquely stressful work environment. • They participate in a basically closed social system.
ethical dilemmas
• Situations in which it is difficult for an individual to make a decision, either because the right course of action is not clear or because the right course of action carries some negative consequences.
Normative ethics
• determines what people ought to do and defines moral duties based on ethical systems or other means of analysis.
Oath of Honor
(displayed in the Quote and Query box). This oath, developed by a committee of the IACP, is offered as a shortened version encapsulating the contents of the Code of Ethics.
