Verified Document

Police Ethics Capstone Project

Law Enforcement Areas of Interest Law Enforcement Moral Code of Ethics:

Although various police departments have individual rules and morals based upon the community in which they live, there are universal morals and ethics which police officers must be held up to. There are always unwritten or unspoken laws of morals and ethics regardless of the society in question. Members of law enforcement are tasked with protection of the innocent and in finding out which members of the society have broken laws in order to punish them appropriately for their actions (International 2013). Because of the high station they fulfill in the community, police officers must possess high moral character and behave in the most ethical manner that is possible. Both on-duty and off-duty officers must conform to the highest moral standards, thereby ensuring that they will be unable to be touched by scandals such as bribery or other means of coercion. If this is not the case, then the police cannot possible expect average citizens to conform to...

Investigation into morals and ethics can include drug and alcohol abuse, past or present criminal activity associated with law enforcement agents, and potential deficits such as debt or familial issues which might lead an officer to be vulnerable to negative influences.
Police Brutality:

The issue of police brutality has severely undermined the faith people have in the American police force. A simple investigation into public opinion shows that a majority of the citizenry feel antagonistic or distrustful of police (Geller & Toch, 1996). Until recently incidents of brutality were highly underreported and the assertion of a victim of police brutality was dismissed. This led to the arrest, conviction, and even execution of innocent people. Although underreported, such instances were never as largely conducted as has been historically assumed. Now, incidents of brutality even if there is no likelihood that the allegation is true, are investigated but this is still considered insufficient as they…

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited

Gallagher, C., Maguire, E.R., Mastrofski, S.D., & Reisig, M.D. (2001, Oct). The public image of police. International Association of Chiefs of Police. IACP: Alexandria, VA.

Geller, W. & Toch, H. (1996). Police Violence: Understanding and Controlling Police Abuse of Force. Yale UP.

International Association of Chiefs of Police. (2013). Model policy on standards of conduct.

IACP: Alexandria, VA.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now