03: Police Ethics and Professionalism

TACTICAL COMMANDERS COURSE

 Learning Objectives

1. Be able to define ethics as it relates to police

conduct
2. Discuss and identify ethical standards used to
judge police conduct

Learning Objectives

1. Be able to define ethics as it relates to police

conduct
2. Discuss and identify ethical standards used
to judge police conduct

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 Learning Objectives (Cont.)

3. Define responsibility as it relates to the conduct

of police
4. Identify the elements of police professionalism
5. Describe the relationship between police conduct
and the perception of police professionalism

Learning Objectives (Cont.)

3. Define responsibility as it relates to the

conduct of police
4. Identify the elements of police
professionalism
5. Describe the relationship between police
conduct and the perception of police
professionalism

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 Police Ethics and Professionalism

• The relationship between

the quality of police
conduct and the level of
professionalism is
directly proportional

Police Ethics and Professionalism

• The relationship between the quality of

police conduct and the level of
professionalism is directly proportional

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 Ethical Standards for Police

• Are they adequate?

• Who sets them?

Ethical Standards for Police

• Are they adequate?

• Who sets them?

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 The Will of the People

• Through the constitution

• Through the laws of the land
• Through the politics of government
• Through the bureaucracy of police management

The Will of the People

• Through the constitution

• Through the laws of the land
• Through the politics of government
• Through the bureaucracy of police management

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 Expression of the Will of the People

• Demands to be treated with respect and dignity

• Insists on guarantees of privacy in their homes
• Expects due process when arrested
• Finds excessive force and brutality abhorrent and
intolerable

Expression of the Will of the People

• Demands to be treated with respect and dignity

• Insists on guarantees of privacy in their homes
• Expects due process when arrested
• Finds excessive force and brutality abhorrent and
intolerable

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 Who sets the Standards of Police
Conduct?
• Police legal advisors
• Government liaison officers
• Community relations experts
• Public information officers

Who sets the Standards of Police Conduct?

• Police legal advisors

• Government liaison officers
• Community relations experts
• Public information officers

03: Police Ethics and Professionalism 8

 Who Judges Police Conduct?

• Government officials
• Organizations and special interest groups
• Individual citizens
• Criminals in the system because of police
intervention

Who Judges Police Conduct?

• Government officials
• Organizations and special interest groups
• Individual citizens
• Criminals in the system because of police
intervention

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 Who Judges Police Conduct? (Cont.)

• The police themselves

• Management and
supervisors
• Through boards of inquiry
• Front line officer’s peer
group

Who Judges Police Conduct? (Cont.)

• The police themselves

• Management and supervisors
• Through boards of inquiry
• Front line officer’s peer group

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 Ethics

• Study of standards, judgment, and quality of

human behavior
• Examination of choice of accepting or rejecting
responsibility for one's own conduct

Ethics

• Study of standards, judgment, and quality of

human behavior
• Examination of choice of accepting or
rejecting responsibility for one's own
conduct

03: Police Ethics and Professionalism 11

 Who is Responsible?

• Individual officers who committed the acts

• Supervisor of officers who committed the act
• Managers who approved or condoned the act
• Police institution as a whole

Who is Responsible?

• Individual officers who committed the acts

• Supervisor of officers who committed the act
• Managers who approved or condoned the act
• Police institution as a whole

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 “Only Obeying Orders”

• Invalid justification for

unethical or
immoral conduct
• Personal responsibility for
personal conduct

“Only Obeying Orders”

• Invalid justification for unethical or

immoral conduct
• Personal responsibility for personal conduct

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 Ethics and Professionalism

• The quality of conduct

and professionalism is
generally established
through the perceptions
of the citizens who
are being policed

Ethics and Professionalism

• The quality of conduct and professionalism is

generally established through the perceptions
of the citizens who are being policed

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 Attributes Applied to Police

• Competence – (or incompetence)

• Honesty – (or dishonesty)
• Humaneness – (or brutality)

Attributes Applied to Police

• Competence – (or incompetence)

• Honesty – (or dishonesty)
• Humaneness – (or brutality)

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 Attributes Applied to Police (Cont.)

• Bravery – (or cowardice)

• Impartiality – (or prejudice)
• Lawfulness – (or lawlessness)

Attributes Applied to Police (Cont.)

• Bravery – (or cowardice)

• Impartiality – (or prejudice)
• Lawfulness – (or lawlessness)

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 Elements Contributing to Professionalism

• Experience
• Diversity of assignment
• Training (both formal and on-the-job)
• Formal education and schooling

Elements Contributing to Professionalism

• Experience
• Diversity of assignment
• Training (both formal and on-the-job)
• Formal education and schooling

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 Elements Contributing to Professionalism
(Cont.)
• Raise skill levels among most officers
• Guarantee better performance at all levels
of policing
• Increase the ability to make better judgments

Elements Contributing to Professionalism

(Cont.)
• Raise skill levels among most officers
• Guarantee better performance at all levels
of policing
• Increase the ability to make better
judgments

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 Summary

In summary, we have discussed the following in this

module:
• Ethics, as it relates to police conduct
• Ethical standards used to judge police conduct
• Responsibility, as it relates to the conduct of police
• Elements of police professionalism
• The relationship between police conduct and
perception of police professionalism
Summary

In summary, we have discussed the following in this module:

• Ethics, as it relates to police conduct
• Ethical standards used to judge police conduct
• Responsibility, as it relates to the conduct of police
• Elements of police professionalism
• The relationship between police conduct and perception
of police professionalism

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 Questions

Questions
?
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