IN THE LINE OF DUTY
SPECIAL ISSUE
FACT SHEET
COPS AND ETHICS
Program Length 30:00
IN THE LINE OF DUTY is produced exclusively as an interactive sharing
resource for the law enforcement community. No commercial use or access to
the public at large is permitted without the authorization of L.O.D., Inc. This
program contains actual video of real police incidents with no reenactments or
simulations. The program is protected by copyright. Reproduction in any form is
strictly prohibited without authorization from L.O.D., Inc.
The material included in this program is designed for informational purposes
only. IN THE LINE OF DUTY makes no representation regarding the
effectiveness or appropriateness of any action or technique depicted herein. It is
not intended to replace or supersede existing training policies or guidelines of
individual law enforcement agencies.
In the Line of Duty Training videos have received POST approval for
continuing education credit for training in the following states:
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New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina,
Tennessee, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming
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OVERVIEW
There is no debate on the need for law enforcement to abide by stringent rules of
ethics and integrity in the performance of duties. There have been far too many
media reports in recent years about various violations of ethics and trust on the
part of law enforcement officers. While 99.9% of all law enforcement officers are
highly professional, ethical and committed to performing public service at the
highest possible level, those who choose a path of brutality, corruption or deceit,
taint every honest officer. The public is more likely to draw its impression of law
enforcement from one bad cop than from thousands of good ones. That is why
the International Association of Chiefs of Police has declared that, “Ethics is the
greatest training and leadership need in law enforcement today…”
Police must meet and abide by the highest ethical standards to maintain the
public’s trust. That is the purpose of this video; to reinforce the need for the
highest ethical standards.
This video presents ethical situations faced by real law enforcement officers and
both their positive and negative response. It focuses on real-world situations,
the response, and the consequences. Not all of what is included is flattering to
law enforcement. It is from these situations that we hope to reinforce the need
the ethical response. While several individual incidents are examined and
analyzed, six separate scenarios are included for your own discussion and
analysis at the end of the tape. Trainers, please take note that the tape can be
stopped at any time to discuss any situation presented.
Ethics
A set of principles of right and proper conduct
The following subjects are those most frequently found in the media in reports
about cops involved in unethical situations.
Brutality---Officers must determine when firmness becomes brutality.
Discrimination---They must recognize their own prejudices and recognize when
challenging a minority becomes discrimination.
Excessive Force---They must understand when force is justified, and when it is
excessive.
Corruption---They must understand how to enforce the laws they are sworn to
uphold.
Dishonesty and Deceit---Officers must understand that these qualities make
them undesirables in law enforcement
Character---Law enforcement officers must understand that they will ultimately be
judged by the quality of their character and their ability to make the right
decisions when faced with a small bribe to an offer of a sexual favor.
Knowing Right from Wrong---It’s just that simple. Everyone knows what is right
and what is wrong. The ethical choice is up to every officer.
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Major points made in this video.
1. Individual departments must set their own standards. (A model Code of
Ethics is presented below)
2. We usually don’t get something for nothing.
3. Today’s media will latch on to any story involving officer wrongdoing.
4. Officers have been caught in compromising situations by surveillance
video, news video, amateur video and video from their own cruisers.
5. It you are caught doing something wrong, it can end your career, disgrace
you among friends and family, and, if there’s video, put you on the evening
news.
6. Officers would do well to think of their every action as being on video tape
and perform as if their supervisor or family were viewing it.
7. If you violate the ethical code you taint every other police officer
everywhere.
8. Officers who steal, no matter how little, are no better than the thieves they
arrest.
9. Officers who discover a fellow officer or partner breaking the rules must
find a way to deal with it. Otherwise, they are no better than the offender.
Epilog
Not every contingency can be covered in a Code of Ethics. Things all officers do
every day can be subject to an ethical decision, from moonlighting, to writing a
report, to passing along confidential information as a favor to a friend or relative.
Officers should consider the ethical consequences of everything they do on and
off-duty. Supervisors are well advised to remember their duty to deal with any
unethical situations they encounter. If they do not, they too run the risk of ruining
their careers.
Questions
1. Does your department have a code of ethics and do you abide by it 100%
of the time?
2. Do you abide by the same ethical standards on and off the job?
3. Have you ever made an ethical mistake? If so, what did you do about it?
4. Do you talk about ethics with fellow officers?
5. If you became aware of an ethical violation by a partner or other
colleague, what would you do?
6. Discuss the damage one officer gone bad can do to a department or law
enforcement in general.
7. Have you ever yielded to personal prejudice or bias in the performance of
your duty?
8. Discuss the various forms of temptation law enforcement officers face and
how they should deal with them
9. When your adrenaline is running high, how to you keep yourself from
overreacting?
10. Can training help officers maintain high ethical standards?
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Scenarios:
Scenario # 1 A national report indicates that women
tend to feel they are likely to be stopped,
harassed and even assaulted by police
officers much more than men. Ask
yourself, have you ever stopped anyone
because of the way he or she looked?
Scenario # 2 You have worked the 3 to 11 shift and
have arrested a DUI suspect. It requires
working overtime. You finished at
12:15, but tell your supervisor that you
worked until 1:00. Is there an ethical
issue here? What is it?
Scenario # 3 You become aware that some of your
fellow officers are involved in shaking
down immigrant storekeepers. The
practice seems widespread and involves
several veteran officers in various
districts. How many ethical issues are
involved? What would you do? What
are the variables? Who is affected?
Scenario # 4 An officer pulls over a DUI suspect. The
suspect drives away. The officer follows
and apprehends the suspect, cuffs him,
then manhandles him by banging his
body across the hood of a cruiser.
Other officers do nothing. Is there an
ethics violation? What, if anything,
should the other officers be doing.
Scenario # 5 You’re working the morning shift. You
back your cruiser into a fence, causing
damage to the rear bumper. You can
report it. You can tell the next officer
using that vehicle. You can say
nothing. What do you do? What are the
variables? What are the ethical issues?
Scenario # 6 You have worked the late shift. You and
some fellow officers decide to meet after
your shift in a remote location for a “lot
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party” to hash over the day’s activities.
One officer buys beer, another brings
some female acquaintances. All officers
are in uniform. Are there ethical issues
here? If so, what are they? If not, why
not?
The following is a model Law Enforcement Code of Ethics as written by the
International Association of Chiefs of Police. If your department does not have a
formal code this may be useful to you in developing one.
As a law enforcement officer, my fundamental duty is to serve the community; to
safeguard lives and property; to protect the innocent against deception, the weak
against oppression or intimidation and the peaceful against violence or disorder;
and to respect the constitutional rights of all to liberty, equality and justice.
I will keep my private life unsullied as an example to all and will behave in a
manner that does not bring discredit to me or to my agency. I will maintain
courageous calm in the face of danger, scorn or ridicule; develop self-restraint;
and be constantly mindful of the welfare of others. Honest in thought and deed
both in my personal and official life, I will be exemplary in obeying the law and
the regulations of my department. Whatever I see or hear of a confidential nature
or that is confided to me in my official capacity will be kept ever secret unless
revelation is necessary in the performance of my duty.
I will never act officiously or permit personal feelings, prejudices, political beliefs,
aspirations, animosities or friendships to influence my decisions. With no
compromise for crime and with relentless prosecution of criminals, I will enforce
the law courteously and appropriately without fear or favor, malice or ill will, never
employing unnecessary force or violence and never accepting gratuities.
I recognize the badge of my office as a symbol of public faith, and I accept it as a
public trust to be held so long as I am true to the ethics of police service. I will
never engage in acts of corruption or bribery, nor will I condone such acts by
other police officers. I will cooperate with all legally authorized agencies and their
representatives in the pursuit of justice.
I know that I alone am responsible for my own standard of professional
performance and will take every reasonable opportunity to enhance and improve
my level of knowledge and competence.
I will constantly strive to achieve these objectives and ideals, dedicating myself
before God to my chosen profession . . . law enforcement.