For this project in Ethics and Character in Law Enforcement, two subjects in the field of Law Enforcement were interviewed for this project concerning Ethics and Character in Law Enforcement. They were asked a series of 5 questions relating to the subject of Ethics in the field of Law Enforcement those questions were:

Do the interviewees feel that police are more ethical today, or were they more ethical ten years ago?

Why do police officers become involved in misconduct?

Do the interviewees feel that there is enough training offered in ethics at the police academy level? If not, why is that?

Should ethics training be offered as an on-going process for law enforcement officers?

Do the interviewees feel that education and/or training in ethics would reduce incidents of police corruption?

The two subjects the I have selected are not related to me or known personally to me, they were selected as peers of a friends that I know in the law enforcement field.

Subject number one, who for the purposes of this project, I will refer to as Will. Will works for the Indiana Department of Corrections as a correctional officer. Will is male, 36 years old, and has been a correctional officer for 15 years. Will has a high school education.

Subject number two, who for the purposes of this project, I will refer to as Grace. Grace is a deputy sheriff for a county in Michigan. Grace is female, is 30 years old, and has been a deputy sheriff for 6 years. Grace has a 2-year degree in Criminal Justice from a community college. Before receiving training as a deputy Grace worked in private security.

Both interview subjects agreed to participate and provide candid answers provided their identity was not to be revealed. Both subjects agreed that it would be permissible to publish their title, agency, sex, and approximate ages. Both subjects were given the knowledge that this interview would be submitted for academic credit at Kaplan University, and published on the website which chronicles my criminal justice education at Kaplan University -  www.computer-forensic-technician.com. Both interviews were conducted over the phone.

On question #1, Do the interviewees feel that police are more ethical today, or were they more ethical ten years ago?

Will, the correctional officer from Indiana, thought that police, and other law enforcement professionals were just as ethical as they were 10 years ago. Will said he believed the largest ethical problem in corrections is prisoner abuse and that problem has remained consistent during his career as a correctional officer for the past 15 years.

Grace, the deputy sheriff from Michigan, thought that law enforcement officers were more ethical then they were 10 years ago. She says that in her department regulations have been recently established which discourage law enforcement officers from accepting discounts from local restaurants, and other businesses. Some but, not most of those in her department have followed the new department regulations in that respect. Grace also believed that since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 that police agencies have been more careful to respect civil rights of citizens including those of new immigrants.

On question #2, Why do police officers (law enforcement professionals) become involved in misconduct?

Grace, the deputy sheriff from Michigan, thought that law enforcement officers are given duties and responsibilities that without supervision can easily exploited for financial gain, and other temptations that civilians may not run across on a day to day basis. I asked Grace for some specific examples, she said she could only generalize that sometimes officers seize money, or drugs and without proper controls it would be tempting to use these items for personal gain instead of turning them over as evidence.  She thought this was more likely to be a greater problem with smaller agencies that do not assign patrol officers to work with a partner or have resources to better manage evidence.

Will, the correctional officer from Indiana, said “the inside of a prison is a completely different world”. I asked him what he meant by that. He elaborated that correctional institutions have a culture of violence, not only among the prisoners but also among the correctional officers. Specifically he stated that, “You know, it wouldn’t be too much cause for concern if an offender accidentally fell down some stairs.”

On Question #3, Do the interviewees feel that there is enough training offered in ethics at the police academy level? If not, why is that? And Question #4 Should ethics training be offered as an on-going process for law enforcement officers?

Will, the correctional officer from Indiana couldn’t remember receiving much training on ethics and believed that such training wouldn’t have much of on impact inside correctional facilities.  Will stated, “I was told that having (sexual) relations with offenders was a felony, and also warned against bringing anything to work that make be taken and used as contraband., and told specifically not to give offenders anything, not so much as a cigarette.”. Will said that those things were brought up because of specific problems that have occurred in the past.

Grace, the deputy sheriff from Michigan remembers specific initial training involving ethics but says that there is no ongoing training other than that of introduction of new policies. Grace thinks that ongoing training might be beneficial.

On question #5, Do the interviewees feel that education and/or training in ethics would reduce incidents of police corruption?

Grace, the deputy sheriff from Michigan believes that education and training in ethics would in fact reduce indicants of corruption. Specifically Grace said that, “There are somethings that are clearly right and wrong, and others things that seem trite but, need to be discussed for someone to realize that they are wrong”. Grace also said that, “and then again there are some people who just can’t get it though their thick heads – where all the training in the world couldn’t help”.

I asked Grace if there has ever been any instances of planting evidence, racism, or outright fraud and corruption that she has been aware of in her agency. She said that there are always accusations of planting evidence or racial targeting – most people caught in the act will cry foul. She believed that there has not recently been documented evidence of any major ethical problems.

Will the correctional officer from Indiana believed that education and training and ethics wouldn’t stop corruption. He believes that if a person is morally corrupt at their core, that eventually they will give into corruption no matter what type of training they have received.

I asked Will, “In the case, what to you think the answer is then, to prevent corruption?”. He thought for a while and replied, “Well, I think the only way to prevent it (corruption) would be stricter enforcement, and harsher penalties.”

What I have taken from these interviews is that ethics isn’t really something that can be taught. Each individual had their own value system. However, this isn’t to say that ethics should be a part of training for law enforcement positions. In fact such an education should be mandated.

Each person entering the law enforcement profession should know specifically know what the law says and what department regulations are on issues that don’t have a clear right or wrong. Take for example the subject of the means justifying the end. It would be clear to me that manufacturing evidence or even stretching the truth a little is wrong.

However, a perspective law enforcement officer might believe that such acts are justified and permissible. Up front discussion of these issues may be head off possible ethical problems.

Many police departments including the agency that Grace works for have begin implementing department policies, that start at preventing the slippery slope from occurring. Those policies discourage officers from accepting discounts from restaurants and other business establishments.

Police officers now also receive training on sexual harassment, racial sensitivity, and a myriad of other issues that have in the past plagued law enforcement agencies.

I also determined from these interviews that there can be vast differences in the criminal justice system between different agencies. Also perhaps, because the two subject in these interviews were at different points in the criminal justice process – law enforcement and corrections.

It’s hard to tell if the additional training in ethics, and new departmental policies is indeed paying off. From the interviews I conducted I believe that it is making some impact, but perhaps not as much as we can hope for.

Perhaps the answer to the problem of misconduct and other ethical concerns with law enforcement includes not only additional training and education on the topic of ethics but, also as Will suggested, tougher penalties. I also believe that increased supervision would lead to greater accountability.

Also, from the interviews I got the impression from both Grace and Will that ethical issues tend to be addressed after they occur. For example several citizens complain about a certain officer who is targeting a certain racial group – if internal affairs found the incidents to be true, them training in racial sensitivity might occur.

There is also the concern from my interviewees that “over-training” or political correctness may hinder a law enforcement officer in their duties. The climate has gotten so that there is a lot of “red tape” so to speak to catch the bad guy. Of course a climate where civil rights violations would be tolerated is worse. The issue is a fine line – and certainly there have been instances of both too much “red tape” and the other extreme which is a violations of an individual’s civil rights.

My discussion with Will, brought up some issues. Do convicted felons have civil rights? What civil rights do they have in prison or do they not have any rights. That is more or less a question of law. Certainly, they have a right to be safe from violence, of that from other prisoners, and correctional officers. However, I feel that the criminal justice system does little to protect prisoners from violence. If the argument comes down to a prisoner who had a fight with a prison guard, no matter what it is going to be assumed the prisoner was fully responsible, and that any actions taken against him or her was necessary.

In conclusion, I have learned that training and education in ethics are important, along side that training should come better supervision and controls like the use of a checks and balances system for one sole person would not be responsible for safeguarding evidence.

References

Delattre, Edwin. (2002). Character and Cops: Ethics in Policing. Washington D.C.: The AEI Press.

APA Citation:
Smith, Nathan. M. (2006). Ethics and Character in Law Enforcement: Interviews.
Retrieved September 8, 2008, from http://www.computer-forensic-technician.com/wordpress/ethics-and-character-in-law-enforcement-interviews/.