Ethical Model for Law Enforcement Administrators (From Ethics in Criminal Justice, P 95-102, 1990, Frank Schmalleger, ed. -- See NCJ-121656)

• NCJ Number: 121661
• Author(s): H W Metz
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 8 pages
• Sale Source: Wyndham Hall Press, Inc.
• Publication Type: Guideline
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article deals with the ethical concerns of police administrators and officers in this post-Watergate age.

Abstract

Presently, moral dilemmas and decisions faced by local, State, and Federal law enforcement officers and the corresponding predilections and actions by top and middle managers go far beyond the "Rotten Apple Theory." Six actions police administrators could take in improving the ethical climate of their departments are: (1) establishing realistic goals and objectives; (2) providing ethical leadership from the top; (3) establishing formal (written) codes of ethics; (4) providing a whistle-blowing mechanism; (5) disciplining violators of ethical standards; and, (6) training all personnel in law enforcement ethics. (Author abstract modified)