Running head: REFLECTION ON ETHICS AND EFFICIENCY IN LEADERSHIP 1

Reflection on Ethics and Efficiency in Leadership

LEPS 599

Juan C. Espinoza

University of San Diego

Weebly Link:

https://jcespinoza.weebly.com/
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The University of San Diego Law Enforcement and Public Safety Leadership Master’s

Program emphasizes the need for effective, but more importantly, ethical leadership. Leadership,

as well as the profession of law enforcement, must be based of stable moral principles in order

for to be effective in practice. Furthermore, law enforcement agencies are expected to be a

reflection of the communities they serve, as such they receive implicit consent of the people to

be governed. Failure to meet the moral and ethical standards of their community will inevitably

result in the agency losing credibility, buy-in, and support of the people. In using tools of ethical

leadership, such as effective communication, transparency, and active partnership with the

community, law enforcement can ensure adherence to commonly accepted best practices and the

adoption of a moral, ethical culture within the profession. Promoting not only the acceptance, but

the embracing, of moral and ethical practices will lead to the flourishment of law enforcement

through establishing mutual trust and collaboration with the people it serves.

The thematic program learning objective of ethical and efficient leadership is reflected in

my work by addressing issues that are contemporary to the field and deal with both theoretical

and practical applications thereof. The governing principles that regulate law enforcement are

continually and rapidly evolving, thrusting emerging issues ever to the forefront of law, policy,

and procedure. Likewise, the very nature of the job, types of activities encountered, progression

of criminality, and expectations placed on law enforcement by society expand with every passing

day. My work addresses the need for law enforcement leadership to take on issues, sometimes

before they arise, and particularly before they are allowed to compound into serious crises, with
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a focus on achieving solutions that are morally and ethically correct, while remaining within

compliance of law and policy.

The following selection of works has been chosen as a reflection of the ambiguity and

uncertainty law enforcement professionals must operate within on a daily basis. Two of the

works highlight a few important ethical principles that may be considered wildly controversial

and parallel many of the issues being argued about in city council meetings, political debates,

and public forums today. Of these two, “Release of Officer Psychological Exams” deals with the

public’s ever increasing want to obtain any and all information about law enforcement officers,

contrasting with the right of the officers to privacy, and the stance that department administration

should take in order to do right by both their department and the public. The second work

focusing on ethical behavior, “Super Body Worn Cameras,” addresses the principle “Just because

you can, doesn’t mean you should,” with regards to the reach of law enforcement authority. It

speaks to how the public trust can be violated when specific actions are not prohibited or

regulated and while permissible through law and policy, are wholly unethical and immoral.

The last work, “Forming Effective Partnerships” takes into consideration the need to

establish and nurture collaborative relationships with allied agencies in order to achieve the most

safe and efficient operation. Law enforcement agencies are expected to fulfill more roles and

handle a greater variety of issues, while simultaneously being chronically short staffed and being

expected to live by the mantra of “do more with less.” As a result, law enforcement must form

partnerships with other law enforcement agencies at all levels, social services, mental health,

non-governmental organizations, non-profits, church groups, etc. in order to have the greatest

amount of reach and efficiency in preventing crime, capturing offenders, and rehabilitating

convicted.
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References

Kilmer, Beau, Susan S. Sohler Everingham, Jonathan P. Caulkins, Greg Midgette, Rosalie

Liccardo Pacula, Peter H. Reuter, Rachel M. Burns, Bing Han, and Russell Lundberg,

(2014). How Big Is the U.S. Market for Illegal Drugs?. Santa Monica, CA: RAND

Corporation,. Retrieved from https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9770.html.

Kilmer, Beau and Kleiman, Mark A. R. (December 4, 2018). Navigating Cannabis Legalization

2.0. The Hill. Retrieved from https://www.rand.org/blog/2018/12/navigating-cannabis-

legalization-20.html.

Dills, A., Goffard, S., & Miron, J. (2016). Dose of Reality: The Effect of State Marijuana

Legalizations. Cato Institute. Retrieved from: https://www.cato.org/publications/policy-

analysis/dose-reality-effect-state-marijuana-legalizations

Muskos, P. (2008) Cop in the Hood: My Year Policing Baltimore’s Eastern District. Princeton,

New Jersey: Princeton University.

Levitt, Stephen. (February 2004). The Freakonomics of Crack Dealing. Ted. Retrieved from

https://www.ted.com/talks/steven_levitt_analyzes_crack_economics?language=en