Police Ethical Conduct Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Police Ethical Conduct - Research Paper Example The ethical codes of conduct of the police or the law enforcement officers have a significant role to play in the work of the police. One of the primary reasons requiring such ethical code is that the public, in general, would not accept a police department that is corrupted. The concept of ethics in this regard is associated with corruption, failure to act, gifts, and gratuities. In the recent times, in several countries including the United States, the corruption levels of the police officers have increased to great extents. Such corruption examples include officers not acting on criminal activities, acceptance of bribes, providing information that may put at risk an enquiry to issues or suspects of the investigation, involvement in the mission of a crime, making complaints that are fake and initiating actions by the court, failure to bear witness precisely, and forgery of police reports or official declarations for search or arrest warrants (Stering, 2004, p.37). The need for ethi cal police conduct is essential since if one police officer gets corrupted, it has a significant effect on other officers as well. In general, the public has a belief that the police are involved in corrupt activities and that they try to protect each other in their personal interests. However, police officers have been found to be proud of their profession and they tend to have values for the integrity and respect that are associated with their work. Generally, they try to perform their activities professionally and without being involved in corruption, such involvements meaning exception (Stering, 2004, p.37). The present study thus focuses on the ethical codes of conduct of the police officers also discussing the causes behind officers undertaking unethical decisions. Police Ethical Code of Conduct: The Law Enforcement Code of Ethics was in the beginning considered as an oath of a police officer rather than as an established code of ethics. However, there was an aspiration of hav ing an oath of office that could be used for graduation ceremonies. This desire led to the creation of a separate code of ethics and conduct for the law enforcement officers and the police.