Defining Police Ethics: Theories, Issues, and Conduct

Introduction

Various happenings in the recent past have ignited debate about the issue of police ethics, particularly in relation to the behavior and conduct of law enforcement officers. Documented cases of police misconduct have included, but are not limited to, evidence tampering, assault, false arrest, and police brutality. One of the more recent cases of police misconduct was the death of George Floyd. Subsequent investigations of this high-profile event indicated that there were numerous Minneapolis Police Department policy violations by the officers involved in the arrest. Yet another recent incident was a rape allegation against an NYPD officer. Incidents such as these warrant discussions revolving around the relevance of ethical behavior within the police force.

This discussion concerns itself with police ethics. In so doing, it will not only offer a comprehensive definition of police ethics, but also take into consideration how the various ethical theories proposed in the past could be applied to the diverse situations that law enforcement officers encounter in the course of executing their mandate.

An Overview of Police Ethics

From the outset, it is worth noting that there is no single universally assigned definition for the term ethics. Various meanings have been assigned to the term over time. However, from a broad perspective, ethics could be conceptualized as the various moral concepts and propositions that shape or direct the conduct or behavior of a person. More specifically, Kaptein (2011) defines ethics as the various standards of conduct that guide human interactions and prescribe conduct in terms of various virtues, obligations, and responsibilities. This is the definition of ethics that will be embraced in this text.

According to Westmarland and Conway (2020), the terms "police integrity" and "police ethics" have in the past been used synonymously. More specifically, the authors are categorical that in the realm of law enforcement, police ethics relate to the ethical guidelines as well as formal police practices that law enforcement officers operate within in the performance of their roles — and in efforts to instill and maintain public trust. To a large extent, police officers wield a great deal of power and authority. Thus, like all other persons who hold great power, police officers are expected to serve and behave in a manner that does not result in the abuse of that power.

Ethical Issues in Law Enforcement

In the course of executing their roles and duties, police officers often grapple with a wide range of ethical issues. It is important to note that some of the ethical issues and dilemmas that police officers encounter on a daily basis apply uniquely to law enforcement. It is also worth noting that in comparison to other developed nations, the United States has a rather poor record of police ethics (Schwartz, 2020). Recent examples of police misconduct in the country include the deaths of George Floyd and Walter Scott, the shooting of Philando Castile, and the Rodney King beating. There have also been documented cases of witness tampering and systemic corruption.

Although the violations highlighted above could be assessed by focusing on the individual officer, there is also a need to embrace a macro perspective of those violations and instances of misconduct. In so doing, one could assess what the violations indicate about a police department as a whole. For instance, in the case of George Floyd, was Derek Chauvin — the police officer accused of killing Floyd — a mere symptom of a larger problem at the Minneapolis Police Department? Is there a possibility that the Minneapolis department condoned police brutality and racial bias? Another question of relevance is whether there were defects in the department's hiring process that resulted in a failure to detect Chauvin's character flaws before he was hired. This last query is of great relevance from a virtue ethics theoretical perspective, as discussed later in this text.

Westmarland and Conway (2020) indicate that police officers possess significant authority as well as power, and there exists a real possibility for those powers to be misused or abused. Examples of misconduct on this front include, but are not limited to, the use of excessive force, unjust or unfounded searches and seizures, deprivation of freedom, and the planting of evidence. The clearly prescribed powers, as well as the discretionary powers that law enforcement officers exercise, can reinforce unethical conduct. Indeed, some have argued that law enforcement officers possess too much power that has, to a large extent, been deployed disproportionately — against the most vulnerable in society rather than the rich and powerful (Slavinski and Spencer-Suarez, 2021).

Conclusion

In the final analysis, the relevance of ethical behavior cannot be overstated in law enforcement. By virtue of the authority and power they wield, police officers are expected to be morally upright and embrace integrity in all aspects of conduct. However, in some scenarios, the right course of action may not be clear to a police officer — particularly given that some decisions must be made within a short period of time, and consulting with supervisors may not be a viable option. Furthermore, the law enforcement code of conduct adopted by various police departments does not necessarily cover decision-making in all situations.

This paper has defined police ethics and highlighted a theoretical framework for understanding them, drawing on utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics. Ethics has also been discussed from the perspective of conformity, examining how conformity bias, personality, and cultural differences shape officer behavior. It is hoped that this discussion sets the stage for further exploration of the nature and conduct of law enforcement ethics.

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