NCJ Number
163691
Date Published
1996
Length
337 pages
Annotation
Police ethics are examined in terms their relationship to basic concepts of moral theory and political philosophy and in terms of professional ethics, personal ethics, and organizational ethics.
Abstract
The text argues that the police role is most satisfactorily considered as a form of social peacekeeping. It notes that police trying to fulfill that role often find themselves caught between the real and the ideal, between competing factions and groups, and between the public they serve and the culture of their own organization. The text next raises the issue of whether the police role and its specific challenges gives police certain moral prerogatives that common morality would avoid. Further sections focus on institutional culture and individual character, police discretion, police use of force, the use of deception, entrapment, gratuities and police corruption, issues related to public roles and private lives, authority and accountability, ethics and codes of ethics, and ethical challenges for police management. Chapter notes and author and subject indexes