NCJ Number
134402
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 59 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1992) Pages: 30-35
Date Published
1992
Length
6 pages
Annotation
A 1991 survey of police executives in Florida revealed that sheriffs and police chiefs were aware of the many ethical dilemmas facing their officers. They indicated that drug use, alcohol abuse, conduct prejudicial to the department, financial temptation, and dishonesty while protecting other officers led to termination more frequently than use of force.
Abstract
Management for ethical behavior can be categorized as administration and policy, pre-hire, initial training, field officer training, and in-service training. Ethical behavior must be a primary goal of the department's administration; this commitment must be documented by written evaluation of officers, training memos, and in-service courses. Selection of the best possible recruits should include a background check consisting of, inter alia, a credit check, written test aimed at predicting ethical behavior, and even polygraphs and psychological tests. Education is also a predictor of ethical behavior. The training and education that lead to an officer's certification are crucial to both ethics and risk management. Effective teaching of ethics depends on drawing answers from the students, integrating ethics with other behaviors, and helping students to create and internalize their own moral codes. The Florida survey indicated that police executives consider field training one of the most important ways of establishing and maintaining ethical behavior among officers. These teaching methods apply equally well for in-service training. Ethics should be addressed on a regular basis and be integrated into other in-service courses. 5 notes