Ethics and diversity in criminal justice

Ethics

Police Ethics

Police Department Ethics

Ethics are a sticky situation that most people, no matter what their occupation, have to deal with. When it comes to a job like that of a police officer, it is an even more important consideration. Police have the power and backing to take life away from the individuals they pursue. Officers daily make decisions that can seriously affect their lives and those of the public. Thus it is important to understand the overall ethics of the force.

In general, police are as ethical as anyone else. They have the same concerns and needs as any citizen, but their job entitles them to more power than the average person. If an officer does not have a secure moral compass, they can easily make decisions that will endanger the public. Case in point is Officer Matt Paul. His actions were many times seen as overly aggressive, and this was not just toward the public, but toward fellow officers also (Byron, 2011). However, this seems to be a fairly isolated case.

An officer is tasked with protecting and serving the public. This means that the police protect citizens from people who break the law, on any level, and that they are on hand to assist citizens also. The serve part of the motto often comes in the form of assisting stranded motorists and the occasional "kitten-stuck-in-a-tree" incident.

The public understands that officers are tasked to protect and serve, but there is also a realization that the pressure of the job and an unethical stance can lead to corruption. A report by Lewis Kamb (2006) at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer tells the story of a number of officers who have been convicted of crimes, but continue to be eligible for pension money. This does not necessarily come under the guise of corruption (such as was evident in the character Sullivan in the movie "The Departed"), but it is definitely an oversight on the part of the department. The subculture among the police encourages loyalty to one another and an officer can be blackballed by his or her fellow officers for telling on a colleague. The fact that police officers have literally gotten away with murder is well documented, and there are likely many cases that will always be completely unknown. However, officers are likely to be less likely to be unethical or criminal when their every action is captured on tape.

All of these elements of unethical and criminal behavior by police officers were depicted in the Martin Scorsese (2006) directed film "The Departed." The action follows the dealings between the Boston police department and the Irish mob in the city. Although there is a highly regarded cast for the movie, the two main characters Costigan (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) and Sullivan (played by Matt Damon) are the focus of the story. Both are police officers, but they are on opposite sides of the law. Costigan is an officer who is undercover with the mob, and Sullivan informs the mob about what the police force is doing to thwart them. Costigan remains true to his ethics and morals although he is called to witness some horrific events. Sullivan seems to have few ethics; his main motivation is personal gain (Pitt, et al., 2006).

The movie depicts all of the problems which plague many forces across the United States to a lesser degree. Sullivan is completely disloyal to the force and he tries in every way to undermine their attempts to arrest the mob offenders. He is a highly placed informant who has access to all the information needed by the mob. The sub-culture of the police department is also on view as the pressure from daily interaction with the criminal element and fear causes a type of camaraderie most cannot attain. The culture is similar to that of troops who fight together in a combat situation.