NCJ Number
163968
Date Published
1996
Length
26 pages
Annotation
This chapter examines the role of professional codes of ethics in crisis intervention practice for police officers and social workers.
Abstract
A review of the crisis intervention literature shows that a great deal of attention has been given to the duties of police officers and social workers. Central to the purpose of this chapter are the roles and responsibilities embodied in professional codes of ethics and their relationship to crisis intervention practice. A number of other issues are explored, such as the role of education and training in effective crisis intervention. Discussion topics are restricted to crisis intervention for crime victims. The chapter concludes with an examination of ethical considerations as these relate to crisis intervention within policing and social work. The chapter advises that professional codes of ethics provide insight to the public and direction to professionals as to roles and responsibilities that must be fulfilled in the wake of a crisis event. Some codes of ethics are explicit in their charge, while others require interpretation. The law enforcement code of ethics implicitly suggests that police officers are crisis interveners; for example, service to the community, a fundamental duty of law enforcement officers, may logically include crisis intervention. Likewise, the axiom that stipulates the duty of law enforcement officers to protect the innocent against deception, the weak against oppression or intimidation, and the peaceful against violence and disorder could be characterized as intervention; therefore, the law enforcement code of ethics embodies the nature, purpose, and duties of police work, of which crisis intervention is a component. Chapter discussion questions, simulated exercises, appended Law Enforcement Code of Ethics, the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics, and 49 references