Ethics in Law enforcement

br Police Ethics 1

Police Ethics

A brief look into ethics involved in policing Police Ethics 2

For every profession , there is an associated code of ethics , which dictate the norms for the practice of that particular profession . Thus we have business ethics and medical ethics to guide professional in the relevant fields . These guidelines are ethical codes , based on moral reasoning , formed to deliver the good (product or service ) through proper means . Sometimes the codes of ethics are formed and evaluated with respect to relevant laws and sometimes with respect

to moral laws Police ethics is applying the above principles to policing . It should be noted here that police ethics is considerably under developed compared to medical or business ethics . This is mainly because of the misunderstanding of the need of police ethics . Law and ethics are different perspectives that are relevant for professions

The lifeline of law and for any society is obviously its police force . Only when the police are seen to be righteous , the people would have respect and confidence on them . The public would be willing to cooperate and help police personnel , only when they remain trust worthy It is therefore very important for the police personnel to command the respect and goodwill of the people , to function effectively . The public-police relationship is vital , for maintaining law and , and this relationship can be strengthened only when police conduct themselves in appropriate manner . Every police officer must realize that they need to be law-abiding citizens too , and serve the society with an unbargained commitment and desire (Proctor , 1997 . Members of the police department have to adhere to a code of morality or ethics , if they have to win and retain the trust and respect of the society they serve . It is only when they act in an unfair or Police Ethics 3

inappropriate manner , compromising on their responsibilities and values that they fall low , in public esteem

High ranking officers in police department have powers and privileges given to them , to help them to perform better in their duty of service to the public . When these are misused , used with bias , or unused for reasons of personal interest then they defeat the purpose for which they were established . In doing so , the relevant officers have used their power and privileges to harm the society , instead of using it to help society . Police department personnel should avoid relationships that can be interpreted as being unfair or partial . They should realize that accepting gifts and favors are not too far from direct bribes , as these too must carry a sense of gratitude and obliging . Favors particularly , keep flowing out for any police staff , either on duty or off duty . Small time favors that don 't look bad include free transport low pricing , meals and refreshments , and home-based delivery /services Even if the officer accepts these with a mindset of not going to oblige or go out of the way to repay the favor , the provider of the...