NCJ Number
84696
Journal
Criminal Justice Review Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1982) Pages: 28-35
Date Published
1982
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Two approaches can be used in teaching police ethics: one teaches officers how to recognize basic values and the other uses ethical analysis to discuss moral issues.
Abstract
The first approach can be applied in police academies by example and by direct instruction. It is relevant to police training because police must honor basic standards of integrity and because they face problems that call upon their ability to know which practices are questionable and which are not. The second alternative is important because police face hard choices concerning moral standards. Police administrators encounter ethical problems when selecting targets in undercover operations, when allocating manpower, when determining use-of-deadly-force policies, and in other aspects of their work. Similarly, the patrol officer may be faced with violating moral standards by participating in a strike or an illegal search and seizure operation. Both approaches are relevant to police training. Overall, the best strategy for stimulating reflection on hard choices in professional life is to foster the development of an appropriate literature of applied ethics. Footnotes and 31 references are supplied.