Is it ethical or unethical…that is the question. First off, what is “professional courtesy?” In law enforcement professional courtesy is when an on-duty officer pulls over an off-duty or retired officer for some traffic violation and lets him go, by not issuing a ticket or arresting him. The central ideal behind this behavior is that cops have to stick together, to look out for each other. In a profession that yields little respect from the general public officers should support other officers, not try to bring them down. This subject has many perspectives however, and each officer, depending on his life experiences and personal values, feels differently about this ethical dilemma.
The police personality fosters and “us vs. them” mentality that cops are always the good guys and everyone else is a potential bad guy (The Brotherhood). There is a subculture in Police work that in some cases can carry severe penalties towards officer’s if they were to “rat” on another officer. This subculture code of “Don’t give up another cop” has been described as the code of silence, or the blue curtain of secrecy (Pollock 119). In this subculture police officers are often ostracized or deemed unfaithful to the badge if they were to turn on another officer and testify against them during an investigation. Police officers must trust other officers to back them up in a struggle that could potentially be a life or death situation.
Although police officers stand for peace, there are many countries where people view police not as the hero but as the villain. Even in safe, developed countries like Canada and the United States, acts of police misconduct have occurred. For these reasons, police officers should not be allowed to carry firearms. Eliminating guns won’t eliminate police misconduct; however it will take some power away from them but that can be good because they will also be gaining power this way. It sounds confusing but when people see a man with a gun, no matter what side of the law he is on, they will get intimidated and possibly fear him.
After reading the report, I chose Glen Woodall. I found this case to be very interesting, as situations like this happen all the time. Wrongful convictions,not only hurt the one that's being accused, but it hurts the person's family as well. In the eye of the public, if your arrested for a crime, then your an outsider, no matter how you may have contributed to your community. But a lot of people remain steadfast in their innocence.
This policy was the exact opposite of his license obligations that stated he was to report any crimes and felonies he saw. The policy forced David to into a moral dilemma where he had to choose whether to abide by Blue Mountain’s rules or to obey the police unit’s rules. As an employee David had a moral obligation to his company as well as to the other stakeholders. David`s had a responsibility to be loyal to his company as well as to keep the other stakeholders safe. In this situation the policy was unethical because it risked the safety of all other stakeholders and enabled criminal
The fact that officers know that illegally obtained (but true) evidence will quite possibly be thrown out, and therefore dangerous criminals will be freed, will encourage them to follow the proper procedures. (Woodfin, 2009) In addition, there are already several exceptions to requiring a warrant, such as “stop-and-frisk”, airport and school searches, voluntary searches, and emergency situations (Scheb, 2008) While these arguments supported the continued use of the exclusionary rule, there are also many argue against its value to our criminal justice system. One of the most
It is usually recommended that any career use honesty as a quality, but it is extremely important that criminal justice professionals have honesty as well. Law enforcement is occasionally known for being corrupt, and it is so important for our law enforcement officers to be truthful on all applications, reports, and everyday work. This provides for more efficient and trustworthy public servants. The most important reason for honesty is simply to ensure that the innocent stay that way and are not caught in the lies of the accusers. Criminal justice professionals play an important role in the court system, and if they lie on accusations and evidence, the innocent become victims of the dishonesty.
Secondly, this group shares a common way of life. They share similar dangers, setbacks, and rewards that outsiders rarely see outside of the movies. Thirdly, these dangers foster an "us against them" mentality not just against criminals but politicians, bureaucrats and concerned citizens who are perceived as impediments to enforcing the law. Police administrators and the law specify the broad parameters within which officers operate, but the police subculture tells them how to go about their tasks, how hard to work, what kinds of relationships to have with their fellow officers and other categories of people with whom they interact, and how they should feel about police administrators, judges, laws, and the requirements and restrictions they impose. The effects of formal pressures and the pressures generated by the police subculture often lead police officers to experience a great deal of stress in their occupational, social, and family lives which can result in cynicism, burnout, and retirement, as well as other of physical and emotional ailments (Miller 45).
Unethical Police Operations As long as there have been professional law enforcement agencies, there has been some measureable amount of police corruption. Most police officers uphold the honor and dignity of their position, however there are a percentage of officers who can always be relied upon to violate the trust of the public they serve. Like any disease or infection, corruption must be detected and removed immediately before it spreads and compromises the entire mission of the department in which it exists. The extent of corruption within American law enforcement agencies varies from department to department by type and level of corruption. Types of corruption include the acceptance of gratuities, disregarding “inconvenient laws,” role malfeasance, bribery, property crimes, criminal enterprise, denial of civil rights, and violent crimes.
Everyone would like to think that police officers are all good and upstanding citizens in order to serve and protect, but there are corrupt police officers everywhere. Corruption has been an ongoing problem amongst the police enforcement for centuries. A police officer who is committed to their job will expose criminal activity and put a halt to crime. A corrupt police officer will cover up and partake in criminal activity. Corrupt police officers are dishonest and a disgrace to the entire police enforcement.