Defining Police Ethics

Abstract

Owing to the power and authority that law enforcement officers wield, it could be argued that honesty and integrity are some of the most crucial attributes of a police officer. This is more so the case given that failure to embrace the basic tenets of ethical behavior could result in abuse of power and loss of public trust and confidence in law enforcement. Indeed, to a large extent, in the absence of ethical conduct on the part of its officers, the police force as a whole is likely to be ill-equipped to address the various challenges that bedevil the society today. It is for this reason that there is need to initiate a discussion revolving around what police ethics entail. Most specifically, in seeking to advance the ethical conduct agenda in the police force, we should ask ourselves; what exactly is police ethics? Although most police departments have clear cut standards, systems, and structures that seek to outline and enforce ethical conduct, not all scenarios in the operational context lend themselves to those standards. It is for this reason that there is need to take into consideration how various ethical theories could be applied to the diverse situations that law enforcement officers are likely to encounter in the course of executing their mandate.

Introduction

Various happenings in the recent past have ignited the debate about the issue of police ethics. This is more so the case in relation to the behavior and conduct of law enforcement officers. Documented cases of police misconduct have been inclusive of, but they are not limited to; evidence tampering, assault, false arrest, police brutality, etc. One of the more recent cases of police misconduct was the death of George Floyd. Subsequent investigations of this high profile event indicated that there were numerous Minneapolis Police Department policy violations by the officers involved in the said arrest. Yet another recent incident was a rape allegation against an NYPD officer. Incidents such as these warrant discussions revolving around the relevance of ethical behavior within the police force. This discussion concerns itself with police ethics. In so doing, it will not only come up with a comprehensive definition of police ethics, but also take into consideration how the various ethical theories that have been proposed in the past could be applied to the diverse situations that law enforcement officers encounter in the course of executing their mandate

Discussion

An Overview of Police Ethics

From the onset, it would be prudent to note that there is no assigned definition for the term ethics. What this means is that in the past, various meanings have been assigned to the said term. However, from a broad perspective, ethics could be conceptualized as the various moral concepts and/or propositions that shape or direct the conduct or behavior of a person. More specifically, Kaptein (2011) defines ethics as the various standards of conduct that guide human interactions and prescribe conduct in terms of various virtues, obligations, and responsibilities. This is the definition to ethics that will be embraced in this text. According to Westmarland and Conway (2020), the terms police integrity and police ethics have in the past been used synonymously. More specifically, the authors are categorical that in the realm of law enforcement, police ethics relate to the ethical guidelines as well as formal police practices that law enforcement officers operate within in the performance of their roles and in efforts to instill and maintain public trust. To a large extent, police officers have a great deal of power and authority. Thus, like all other persons who wield great power, police officers are expected to serve and behave in a manner that does not result in the abuse of the said power.

Ethical Issues

In the course of executing their roles and duties, police officers often grapple with a wide range of ethical issues. It is important to note that to a large extent, some of the ethical issues and dilemmas that police officers encounter on a daily basis only apply to law enforcement. It would also be prudent to note that in comparison to other developed nations, the U.S. has a rather poor record of police ethics (Schwartz, 2020). Some of the recent examples of police misconduct in the country are inclusive of the George Floyd death, Walter Scott death, Philando Castile shooting, as well as Rodley King Beating. There have also been documented cases of witness tampering and systemic corruption. Although the violations highlighted above could be assessed by focusing on the main actor, there would be need to also embrace a macro perspective of the said violations and instances of misconduct. In so doing, we could, for instance, assess what the violations indicate about a police department as a whole. For instance, in the case of George Floyd, was Derek Chauvin the police officer accused of killing Floyd a mere symptom of a larger problem at the Minneapolis Police Department? Is there a possibility that the Minneapolis department condoned police brutality and racial bias? Yet another question of relevance in this case is whether there were hiring process defects on the part of the police department which resulted in the failure to detect Chauvins flaws before he was hired. This last query is of great relevance from a virtue ethics theoretical perspective, as has been highlighted elsewhere in this text.

Westmarland and Conway (2020 indicate that police officers possess significant authority as well as power. There exists a possibility for the said powers to be misused and/or abused. There are also plenty of opportunities for the abuse and/or misuse of the said powers and authority. Examples of misconduct on this front could be inclusive of, but they are not limited to; the use of excessive force, unjust or unfounded searches and seizures, freedom deprivation, planting of evidence, etc. The clearly prescribed powers as well as the other discretionary powers that law enforcement officers exercise could reinforce unethical conduct. As a matter of fact, there are those who have in the past argued that law enforcement officers possess too much power that have to a large extent been deployed disproportionately i.e. against the downtrodden in society, and not necessarily against the rich and powerful (Slavinski and Spencer-Suarez, 2021).

Ethics from a Theoretical Viewpoint

In some scenarios, law enforcement officers are required to make decisions within milliseconds. Further, regardless of the ime taken to make crucial decisions, there exists a possibility that the motivations and appropriateness of such decisions could be analyzed going forward...

This, according to Germar, Albrecht, Voss, and Mojzisch (2016), relates to the tendency of persons to embrace or adopt the behavior of others. It is for this reason that as the authors further indicate, even when it comes to ethical decision making, people are likely to mimic those around them. We could tie this particular assertion to the behavior and conduct of police officers to the extent that if the police department condones unethical conduct, then most officers are likely to be influenced into adapting their good or ethical values so as to conform to the departments standard of misbehavior.

ii. Personality

Personality has also been linked to likelihood to conform. This is to say that even in those scenarios or instances where there is significant pressure to conform, there are likely to be cases of nonconformity that could be attributed to personality differences. Dullas, Yncierto, Labiano, and Marcelo (2021) point out that various studies have indicated that individual behaviors as well as outcomes could be predicted, to a great extent, by personality traits. According to the authors, personality traits could be conceptualized as an individuals behavior towards the environment, models of thought, as well as methods of perception (Dullas, Yncierto, Labiano, and Marcelo, 2021). Dullas, Yncierto, Labiano, and Marcelo (2021) further observe that personality traits play a huge role in how we respond to events or experiences deemed stressful. With this in mind, this happens to an issue of great relevance in as far as police recruitment is concerned. This is more so the case given that the wrong personality traits could largely be predictors of unethical conduct on the part of individual candidates. Standard personality tests could, thus, be designed for the purpose of being deployed in recruitment efforts.

iii. Cultural Differences

There also appears to be a correlation between culture and conformity. This is to say that some cultures report greater levels of conformity than others. For instance, Canter and Youngs (2016) point out that a recent study indicates that that persons obtain the psychological resources that direct their decisions from the cultural perspectives they have internalized. The authors also indicate that in comparison to collectivistic cultures, individualistic cultures are likely to be less conforming. From a police ethics perspective, the implication of these findings is that cultural differences ought to be a factor in decisions relating to training. This is, however, an issue that ought to be approached from a social-psychological perspective.

Conclusion

In the final analysis, it should be noted that as has been clearly highlighted in this write-up, the relevance of ethical behavior cannot be overstated in law enforcement. By virtue of the authority and power they wield, police officers are expected to be morally upright and embrace integrity in all aspects of conduct. However, in some scenarios, the right course of action may not be all too clear to a police officer. This is more so the case given that some decisions have to be made within a short period of time, and consulting with seniors may not be a viable option. Further, the law enforcement code of conduct adopted by diverse police departments does not necessarily cover decision making in all situations. This text has defined police ethics and highlighted a theoretical framework for police ethics. Further, ethics has…