Ethics and Conduct: A Report on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice

This report examines the importance of ethics and code of conduct in law enforcement, emphasizing how ethical values and behaviors govern the daily operations of law enforcement officers. It discusses the significance of ethics and integrity in making sound decisions, understanding the involvement of the criminal justice department within the rule of law, and upholding expectations within the department. The report differentiates between deontological and consequentialist theories in affecting decisions of law enforcement officers and recommends ways for officers to integrate ethics, morality, and a code of conduct in their personal and professional lives, such as fostering accountability and addressing potential ethical violations proactively. Furthermore, it identifies and discusses the responsibility to the community and to the law enforcement agency as the two most important aspects of California's Law Enforcement Code of Conduct, highlighting the need for unbiased conflict resolution and professional conduct, respectively. The report concludes that adherence to ethical codes reduces corruption and promotes moral behavior within the law enforcement board.

Running head: CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Criminal Justice
NAME OF STUDENT:
NAME OF COLLEGE:
AUTHORS NOTE:
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Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Discussion........................................................................................................................................2
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................4
References........................................................................................................................................5
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Introduction
Ethics is considered as an indispensable element in the law enforcement board as ethical values
and behaviors govern the day to day operations of the representatives of the law enforcement
board. It can be observed that if an individual is ethical in nature, they can abide by the law, if an
individual is moral, they can be ethical in nature, if an individual is moral, then they can abide by
the law but it is impossible for an individual to comply with law, ethics and moral at the same
time. This report focuses on the importance of ethical behavior and attitudes in the law
enforcement department.
Discussion
Ethics generally refers to the values and behaviors which are either perceived as good or are
perceived as bad. Therefore the application of ethics in context of law enforcement would help in
distinguishing the good from the bad and therefore ethics is considered to be very vital regarding
choosing a career in law enforcement because of the following reasons:
As opined by Rivedal (2016) in order to pursue a career in law enforcement it is greatly believed
that ethics and integrity will be a vital part of one’s career as because the presence of ethics and
integrity will help in providing knowledge regarding open and moral issues which can be
considered as important in the career in context of law enforcement.
The application of ethical values can also be considered as important regarding future career
choice in law enforcement as it will allow an individual to utilize critical thinking and analytical
skills which helps in making reasonable decision whenever required.
As stated by Shih-YaKuo (2018) the application of ethics will help an individual to understand
the involvement of the criminal justice department within the rule of law which will help an
individual to utilize authority at work where the individual will work in order to accomplish their
goals and objectives in their professional lives.
The application of ethics will also enable an individual planning career in the law enforcement
department to live up to their expectations in their department in order to uphold the rule of the
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law and as law enforcement is perceived as a noble and respected profession it is widely believed
that ethics and ethical conduct plays a decisive role in policing.
As stated by Cohen (2018) the two aspects in which ethics, morality and law differ in context of
affecting decisions regarding local law enforcement officers are deontological theories and
consequentialists theories. The deontological theory mainly focuses on the rightness of the
actions undertaken by individuals and whether the actions undertaken comply with relevant
moral obligations and duties. However as stated by MCELWEE (2015) the consequentialists
theories mainly emphasizes on the goodness of the original or expected outcomes of the actions
of the individuals. The basic framework for moral decision making is practical conclusions or
orally sound choices and actions which are the sum of moral values and principles and facts of
the issue or situation.
The ways through which law enforcement officers should make use of ethics, morality and a
code of conduct in both their personal and professional lives are as follows:
 As stated by Thaha (2016) the law enforcements officers should focus on creating an
environment of accountability in both their professional and personal lives and
accordingly erasing concept of loyalty over integrity as in various cases it is observed that
the officers of the law enforcement board acts with a belief that they are above the law
both on duty and off duty and therefore by creating an environment of accountability it
can be communicated to the officers that they are also not above the law but instead they
are held in higher standards among the general public and therefore it is their
responsibility to act accordingly.
 As stated by Stucke (2014) though the responsibility of behaving in an ethical manner,
solely depends on the individual actions undertaken by the individual officers, the law
enforcement management board too needs to take the responsibility of identifying and
proactively addressing potential ethical violations before minor issues gets transformed in
to major activities.
After verifying the Law enforcement code of conduct of the state of California in the United
States, the two most important aspect of the code which could be identified is as follows:
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Responsibility to the community- The responsibility to the community can be considered as a
vital aspect owing to the diverse climate of the region. This part of the code of California states
“services that are responsive to the majority needs and the protection of individual and minority
rights (Diller 2012). As there are people who represent various diversities and cultural
differences who reside in the state, therefore there are chances of conflicts to happen in the state
and therefore it becomes the responsibility of the attending law enforcement officer to resolve
the conflicts in an unbiased manner by not discriminating people based on cultural, economic
and ethical differences.
Responsibility to the Law enforcement agency- As opined by McDonald (2018) the
responsibility towards the Law enforcement agency describes the need for law enforcement
officers to conduct themselves accordingly at the highest level of professionalism and
recognition of ethical conduct on and off duty. This is very important from the point of view of
the law enforcement agency due to the presence of a large number of public eyes on the officers
of the law enforcement agencies due to the increased focus of the media regarding all the
activities which are conducted by the law enforcement agency and its officers and therefore they
are expected to conduct themselves accordingly as they represent the department as a whole. It is
generally observed that when the members of the law enforcement board follow all the code of
ethics, the chances of corruption reduces drastically.
Conclusion
From the above report it can be stated that ethics and morality are a vital component for the law
enforcement board and therefore the officers of the law enforcement board must display values
of ethics and moral while taking day to day decision based on the law. From the above report it
can also be stated that law enforcement board officers must act as examples of moral and ethical
behavior in the society in order to encourage the other people of the society.
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References
Cohen, G. (2018). Cultural fragmentation as a barrier to interagency collaboration: A qualitative
examination of Texas law enforcement officers’ perceptions. American Review of Public
Administration, 48(8), 886-901. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0275074017744659
Diller, P. A. (2012). THE CITY AND THE PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION. Stanford Law
Review, 64(5), 1109-1172. Retrieved from
https://search.proquest.com/docview/1026635210?accountid=30552
McDonald, L. (2018). FLETC director discusses ethics in law enforcement.TCA Regional
News Retrieved from
MCELWEE, B. (2015). The value of the virtues. Utilitas, 27(1), 61-81.
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S095382081400020X
Rivedal, K. (2016). Veteran Edgerton police officer broke department conduct and ethics
rules. TCA Regional News Retrieved from
Shih-YaKuo. (2018). Police misconduct: Comparing perceptions of the police and electronic
gaming service workers. Crime, Law and Social Change, 69(5), 657-679.
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10611-018-9770-2
Stucke, M. E. (2014). In search of effective ethics & compliance programs. Journal of
Corporation Law, 39(4), 769-832. Retrieved from
https://search.proquest.com/docview/1645390188?accountid=30552
Thaha, R. (2016). Public ethics in civil service police unit. Bisnis&Birokrasi, 23(1), 36-44.
Retrieved from
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