Police Ethics: Learning, Dilemmas, and Misconduct

Introduction to Police Ethical Development

In Chapter 4, "Learning Police Ethics," Lawrence Sherman describes the process by which individuals decide to become officers of the law and how new officers develop their moral and ethical orientations. Ethical decision-making in law enforcement is influenced by a wide range of factors, both formal and informal. Textbooks provide formal training and objective — even absolute — ethical guidelines, whereas senior officers and peer pressures provide a less formal but equally viable and powerful set of ethics. The process of socialization that all officers undergo greatly impacts the development of professional ethical standards. Rookies are usually confronted with difficult personal conflicts between the formal and informal sets of rules.

Sherman also describes the intersections between the moral and occupational aspects of being a police officer and outlines several stages of career development: choice, introduction, first encounter, and metamorphosis into a full-fledged group member. The entire process results in a total transformation of the individual's self-concept and identity. The choice to become a police officer is often based on socioeconomic factors, even more than personality. The introduction to the career involves recruitment, lectures, classes, coursework, and group discussions.

Next, the first encounter for officers is usually mediated through Field Training Officers (FTOs), who demonstrate through hands-on experience the day-to-day realities of being a police officer. These realities illuminate the differences between textbook and practical learning. The first encounter typically involves a reality check, shock, and self-consciousness on the part of the rookie officer. Finally, the individual metamorphoses into a member of the subculture, developing interdependence with colleagues and loyalty to fellow officers. Frequently, the public comes to be viewed as the enemy.

Sherman also describes the value conflicts that arise on the job, including the ethics of use of force, racial conflicts, and contingencies such as level of danger and social pressures. Situational justifications, called apologia, are an integral part of being an officer. In sum, learning ethics is not a clear-cut or smooth process but rather a complex and difficult one.