Abstract In today’s world there are many issues facing the criminal justice system. Some of these issues include police corruption, use of excessive and deadly force, pursuits, and deviance. The media influences public opinion and there is concern over the morality, and ethics of our public leaders. (DeShon, 2000) The criminal justice system has two neglected and important issues of integrity and truth; the oath of office and the code of ethics. (DeShon, 2000) In many agencies the impact these two issues have on our communities are not fully understood. Public distrust for many criminal justice professions is prevalent. (DeShon, 2000) Perhaps, the problem of public cynicism can be corrected if criminal justice professionals received continuing education and training regarding their oath of office and the code of ethics they are to live up to. (DeShon, 2000) Oath of Office Many members of our government and criminal justice system must take a sworn oath before they are authorized to perform the duties of the office they are about to step into. (DeShon, 2000) Not all individuals working in the criminal justice system are required to take an oath, For example; attorneys in Michigan must take an oath, (State Bar of, 2011) yet in the state of Texas all that is needed is a notarized statement of recommendation from another attorney. (United States District, 2011) Meaning of an Oath The oath taken by those working in the criminal justice field holds obligations and responsibilities the average businessperson or citizen does not have to abide by. (DeShon 2000) It is a promise in the making and on its solemn pledge stands the collateral of an individual’s reputation. (Conley, 2011) It is a solemn declaration o...
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International Department of Chiefs of Police, (2011). Ethics training in law enforcement Alexandria, Virginia: Retrieved from http://www.theiacp.org/PoliceServices/ExecutiveServices/ProfessionalAssistance/Ethics/ReportsResources/EthicsTraininginLawEnforcement/tabid/194/Default.aspx
http://www.theiacp.org/PoliceServices/ExecutiveServices/ProfessionalAssistance/Ethics/ReportsResources/EthicsTraininginLawEnforcement/tabid/194/Default.aspx
O'Connor, T (2010). Topics in Police Ethics, MegaLinks in Criminal Justice. Retrieved February 25, 2011 from http://www.drtomoconnor.com
Raffenburg, J (2010) The Oath of Office Retrieved February 6, 2011 from http:/ / www.newswithviews.com/ Raffenburg/ jim101.htm
State Bar of Michigan, (2011). Lawyer's oath Lansing, Michigan: Retrieved from http://www.michbar.org/generalinfo/lawyersoath.cfm
Banks, C. (2013). Criminal Justice Ethics: Theory and Practice, Edition 3. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
The job of a law enforcement officer sometimes can be tough. Officer are sometimes plagued with situation that test their ability to enforce the law and maintain order. Police officers today face a constant battle to maintain higher ethical standards. This mission becomes tougher each day when one considers the importance of fighting terrorism, drugs, human trafficking,
Officers are known as public servants, they are held at higher standards than everyday citizens. According to Wyatt-Nichol & Franks(2009) when officers behave unethically, it is a violation of public trust and damages the image of law enforcement everywhere (p. 40). Officer should receive in-death training of cases that make headlines within the newspapers or media. For example, the Freddie Gray or Eric Garner case could be used in scenarios with the steps taken to avoid any ethical dilemmas they could possibly run into. Updated training should be conducted every 6 months for ethics alone in addition to the yearly training that’s already in place. The civilian review board can recommend more training of officers that engage in unethical behavior or misconduct. Intense training, followed through with morals is important factors to avoiding the civilian review board and their process in reviewing investigations against officers. When all training officers receive has been overlooked and failed to comply. Police officers should be held accountable for their actions, through training officers learn to understand their position and need within the community. Although training is offered yearly and on an as need basics, officers are held to a high standard within their community. Some tend to lose sight of their mission of daily duties which are to maintain order and
Cheeseman, K., San Miguel, C., Frantzen, D., & Nored, L. (2011). Everyday Ethics for the Criminal Justice Professional. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press.
In more extreme cases, officers may obstruct justice and lie under the oath to save themselves or a fellow officer from discipline and prosecution (Holbert & Rosa 69). Despite police not taking fault in their actions and going against the oath, it gives government official a bad reputation in the moto of protecting and serving their
Decision some officers make compromise their loyalty, to the community they swore to protect. It is a stressful situation when deciding to be loyal to the job or to fellow officers. “Many departments have officers swear an oath to serve and protect without allowing personal feelings, prejudices, animosities, or friendships influence their actions”, however, the code exists (Lawrence, 2015). Not the code of ethics or the code of honor, but the “cop code”, which bonds unethical officers to a code of silence to protect each other.
A Critical Assessment In defining police ethics, ethical policing and police ethics are not synonymous or interchangeable connotations to or for one another. Aside from establishing a police role independently from establishing any definition of ethics or police ethics, the semantics tend to complicate the defining process. Some of these complications include, but are not limited to, sociological aspects, psychological conditions, or philosophical reasoning. Examples of sociological complications include historical, political, cultural, or economic aspects. Some psychological examples include one’s ability to discern sociological implications from other implications; namely, the condition of post-traumatic stress disorder, hydrophobia, or even weary dreams. Lastly,
Walker, S., & Katz, C. (2012). Police in America: An Introduction (8th Edition ed.). New York:
For years police corruption has been a major problem in American society but where is the line between moral and unethical police corruption, many modern movies address this vary issue. Some films portray how types of police corruption can have a positive influence on society, while others show the dark side of police corruption. Many law enforcement agents join the criminal justice with the basic idea of “justice for all,” however, most of them do not realize that the nice guy doesn’t always win. Even though there are vast amounts of movies which specifically address police corruption we will use three main movies for our argument today, mostly LA Confidential, however, also Training Day.
Police Officers Oath of Office and Code of Ethics, A Question of knowledge Richard W. Deshon (2000) retrieved from: www.emich.edu/cerns/downloads/papers/PoliceStaff/
Within our police system in America, there are gaps and loopholes that give leeway to police officials who either abuse the authority given to them or do not represent the ethical standards that they are expected to live up to by society. Because of the nature of police work, there is a potential for deterioration of these ethical and moral standards through deviance, misconduct, corruption, and favoritism. Although these standards are set in place, many police officers are not held accountable for their actions and can easily get by with the mistreatment of others because of their career title. While not every police abuses his or her power, the increasingly large percentage that do present a problem that must be recognized by the public as well as those in charge of police departments throughout our country. Police officials are abusing their power and authority through three types of misconduct known as malfeasance, misfeasance, and nonfeasance and these types are being overlooked by management personnel who rarely intervene even though they know what is happening. Misconduct is wrong because it violates rights and causes people to be wrongly accused of crimes or be found not guilty and set free when they are still an endangerment to other people. The public needs to be educated on what is happening in the police system in hopes that someone will speak out to protect citizens from being violated by police officers.
Time may pass and personal morals may change, but one of the strengths of the United States of America is its unwavering dedication to justice. Throughout time, this country’s methods and laws have grown and adapted, but the basis of the law enforcement’s work has remained the same: the safety and interest of the people.
It is often said that power brings corruption, but in reality it is an individual’s lack of character, self-discipline, and integrity that leads to corruption. Law enforcement can bring many temptations on the job, and maintaining an up most level of personal integrity can often times be very difficult. The very nature of the job surrounds officers with all of the bad things that society, produces. There can be an endless amount of training and rules put into place to try and deter officers from committing unethical acts, but in the end it really just comes down to the specific individual and their willingness to do the right thing.
Criminal Justice professionals are in positions of power and exercise power and authority over others. Therefore, it is important for them to study ethics because they must be aware of the ethical standards needed in making critical decisions involving discretion, force, and due process. It is also a fact that criminal justice professionals who exercise power and authority over others can be tempted to abuse their powers.
Rich, Martin. “An Analytical Look into Police Ethics.” FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. Vol.80. Issue 5. May 2011. 11-17. EBSCOhost. Web. 12 Nov 2013