Importance of Ethics in Law Enforcement
The solid moral standards that must permeate and direct the entire police force should be exemplified by the individuals who work in frontline patrol. On and off the clock, patrol officers working in high-risk areas must have an unshakeable moral compass. Recruits need to exhibit this characteristic, and the police academy should feel free to assist in improving any areas in which it is lacking if required.
Professionals in law enforcement should always ethically conduct themselves. The public depends on law enforcement to uphold the law ethically and professionally while also carrying out their duties properly. This is necessary for lowering the crime rate and maintaining the safety of communities. In general, regions with law enforcement agencies that conduct their day-to-day operations ethically see a reduction in the amount of crime that occurs and an increase in the level of trust between the police and the general population. As cultures develop, it becomes more difficult to find answers to questions and problems connected to ethics and ethical behavior, and setting standards for these topics also becomes more complex.
As a result of the public’s propensity to scrutinize every action taken by law enforcement, the field is forced to alter its rules, processes routinely, and even day-to-day ways of operation to accommodate the public’s growing interest in these spheres of activity. The public has a very different perception of law enforcement officials than they would have of a prospective investor or business partner (Davis, 2022). Law enforcement personnel must always behave professionally and perform their duties effectively. They must have a policy of ethics and a code of conduct and adhere to both closely. When it comes to executing laws, having ethics means behaving morally regardless of whether or not anybody is looking.
Some questionable things the police do cause a rift between the police and the general public
The first dubious behavior is corruption inside the police department. Finding a solution to the decades-long issue of pervasive corruption inside the police force has been challenging. This problem has existed for many years. People who do not wish to obey the law often give money, favors, promises, and prizes to the police officers who capture them after they have been apprehended for breaking the law (Rivera-Cuadrado, 2021). Unfortunately, some members of the general public have been caught on camera giving bribes to law enforcement personnel in return for private information that assisted them in gaining an advantage over their rivals even though they were in the wrong. The plaintiff suffers as a result since this prevents them from receiving the justice they rightly deserve. The locals are concerned because they believe those who disobey the law have the edge over the police officers who will collect money from them since the cops are corrupt. Even if they have attempted to receive assistance from the authorities, many individuals choose not to discuss their issues because they do not feel the authorities can assist them.
When conducting an arrest, the police often employ excessive force, which is the second most disturbing thing they do. In very unusual circumstances, the police may be unduly harsh with suspects. Certain police officers routinely engage in highly dishonorable behavior, such as beating and hitting suspects (Rivera-Cuadrado, 2021). Because the police have much leeway in deciding how much force to use during an arrest, it is difficult for suspects who were handled too forcefully to achieve justice when they feel they were treated unfairly. People are terrified of the police because they are seen as strong in their ability to enforce the law. Because of this, it will be difficult for them to develop friends inside the law enforcement community. Even though the law mandates that law enforcement use the same force as suspects, this is not the case in practice. Instead, officers often resort to using excessive force and foul language when interacting with individuals. This immoral behavior decreases the likelihood that people will trust law enforcement.
Third, the police often engage in racial profiling, which is particularly problematic when treating black people since they are seen as the most dangerous of all persons. The practice of racial and ethnic profiling is not going away anytime soon, and the police often target persons of color because of their race or ethnicity (McLean et al., 2022). People no longer trust the police because they utilize racial profiling to unjustly target people of color for little infractions and arrest them with force. This causes people to lose faith in the police. When someone is forced to comply, a chokehold may sometimes be employed. Because of the way that they interact with people of color, many members of minority groups see the police as their adversaries rather than their guardians, even though the criminal does not present a danger to the authorities.
References
Davis, B. (2022). The Ethics of Policing: New Perspectives on Law Enforcement. Edited by Ben Jones and Eduardo Mendieta. New York: New York University Press, 2021. 311p. $99.00 cloth, $35.00 paper. Perspectives On Politics, 20(1), 330-331. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1537592721003777
McLean, K., Stoughton, S. W., & Alpert, G. P. (2022). Police uses of force in the USA: A wealth of theories and a lack of evidence. Cambridge Journal of Evidence-Based Policing. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41887-022-00078-7
Rivera-Cuadrado, W. (2021). Crafting charismatic cops: Community policing and the faulty reputations paradigm. Social Problems. https://doi.org/10.1093/socpro/spab054
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