This paper explains issues that shape the role of ethics in policing. Police ethics involves hard choices as well as avoiding violations of basic moral standards. Police officers will inevitably face ethical issues concerned with questions of right and wrong. Moreover, the authority that is given to police officers in order to protect the public presents the temptation to abuse the power given to them. .
This paper is meant to explain the rule-of-law and how it represents societal standards that define police duties and responsibilities. Additionally, the two types of problems that are encountered in police ethics is explained as issues that center around integrity and problems that involve harder choices in law enforcement which require additional ethical analysis. Police corruption is further explained through personalistic, institutional, and a systemic approach. This is witnessed in the example of the hiring of Miami police officers in the early 1980s. Finally, efforts to prevent police corruption are described with a concentration at the beginning of an officer's career with continual training throughout. .
Ethics in Policing.
The original conception of the police forces' role in society emphasizes the need for police to obtain community support in order to perform policing duties. There are three issues that have shaped the role of ethics in policing: styles of policing, the police as an institution, and police culture. The study of police ethics highlights the importance of the roles and responsibilities of the police, specifically the power of discretion afforded to them. Police decisions can affect life, liberty, and property of individuals within the community and must maintain a high moral code. All of these factors point to the centrality of fostering ethical standards in policing.
"Effective law enforcement in a democratic society is possible only when the police honor basic standards of integrity (Heffernan, 1982).
