PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT AND POLICE EHTICAL STANDARD

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A. INTRODUCTION
Professional conduct and ethical standards and a high degree of honesty are more
essential for officers and members of PNP than for any member of the society. This is so,
because, they are entrusted with the enforcement of the rules, regulations and ordinances created
by City/Municipality and the laws of the land created by the Congress that guide the conduct of
society. A policeman’s violation or infraction thereof, or his failure to enforce it, dishonor the
law and the authority he represents.

All members of PNP shall abide and adhere to the provisions of Code of Professional
Conduct and Ethical Standards. Toward this end, a truly professional and dedicated law enforcer
shall be develop in promoting peace and order, ensuring public safety and enhancing community
participation guided by the principle that all public servants must at all times be accountable to
the people.

They shall serve with utmost responsibility, integrity, morality and efficiency with due
respects to human right and signify as hallmarks of a democratic society. They shall at all times
bear faithful allegiances to the legitimate government, support and uphold the constitution,
respect the duly constituted authority and be loyal to the service.

Definition of Terms:

1. Neglect of Duty or Nonfeasance – is the failure to perform an act which one is obligated or permitted
to do either by law or directive due to omission or failure to recognize the obligation.

2. Irregularities in the Performance of duty/ Misfeasance- is the improper performance of some

act, which might lawfully done.

3. Malfeasance – is the intentional commission of a prohibited actor intentional unjust

performance of some actof which the party had no right.

4. Misconduct – is the wrong doing or violation of departmental procedures.

5. Incompetence – it is the manifestation of lack of adequate ability and fitness for the
satisfactory performanceof police duties. This has reference to any physical intellectual
quality the lack of, which substantially incapacitates one to perform the duties of peace
officer.

6. Oppression – an act of cruelty, severity, unlawful execution, domination, or excessive use of

authority. The exercise of the unlawful powers or other means, in depriving an individual of
his liberty or property against his will, is generally an act of oppression.

7. Dishonesty – is the concealment or distortion of truth in a matter of fact relevant of one’s

office, or connected with the performance of his duties.
8. Disloyalty to the Government – Consist of abandonment or renunciation of one’s loyalty to
the Government of the Philippines, or advocating the overthrow of the government.

9. Violation of Law – Presupposes conviction in court of any crime or offense penalized under
Revised Penal Code or any special law or ordinance.

10. Corruption – is a forbidden acts involving misuse of office for gain.

11. Favoritism – is the unfair “breaks” to friends or relatives (nepotism).

12. “Rotten Apples” – are either weak individuals who have slipped through screening process or
succumbed to the temptations inherent in police work or deviant individuals who continue
their deviance in an environment that gives them ample opportunity.

13. Deviance – behavior inconsistent with the norms, values or ethics.

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TYPES OF POLICE DEVIANCE:

1. Police Gratuity – is the receipt of free meals, services or discounts.

Chiseling – is when an officer is quite blatant in about demanding free services.

2. Police Shakedown – is when the police officer extorts a business owner for protection
money.

3. Police Perjury – is usually a means to effect an act of corruption, leaving out certain
pertinent pieces of information in order to “fix” a criminal prosecution.

4. Police Brutality – is defined as excessive force, name calling, sarcasm, ridicule, and
disrespect.

When citizen charges police brutality they maybe referring to number of things,
including:
• command to move or go home
• field stops and searches
• threats or implied violence
• prodding (sundutin) with night stick or approaching with pistol
• the actual use of physical force

5. Police Profanity – refers to the use of obscene and profane (walang galang) language.
 6. Misuse of Confidential Information – this normally involves the jeopardization of
ongoing investigations by leaking information to friends, relatives, the public, the press,
or in some cases directly to the criminal suspect or members of their gang.

SEX ON DUTY OR DUTY RELATED

1. Traffic Stops – to get closer look at a female or information about her.

2. Fox Hunting – stopping college girls to get the I’ll do anything routine.
3. Voyeurism – window peeping or interrupting lovers lane couples.
4. Victim Recontacts – consoling victims who have psychological needs.
5. Opposite Sex Strip Searches – touching and/or sex with jail inmates.
6. Sexual Shakedown – letting prostitutes go if they perform sex acts.

B. LAW ENFORCEMENT CODE OF ETHICS

As a law enforcement officer, my fundamental duty is to serve mankind; to safeguard life

and property; to protect the innocent against deception, weak against oppression or intimidation
and the peaceful against violence or disorder; and to respect the constitutional rights of all men,
liberty, equality and justice.

I will keep my private life unsullied as an example to all/ maintain courageous calm in the
face of danger; scorn or ridicule; develop self restraint and be constantly mindful of the welfare
of the others. Honest in thought and deed in both my personal and official life. I will be
exemplary in obeying the laws of the land and regulations of my organization. What ever I see
or hear of a confidential nature or is confided to me in my official capacity will be kept ever
secret unless revelation is necessary in the performance of my duty.

I will never act officiously or permit personal feelings, prejudices, animosities or

friendship to influence my decision; with no compromise for crime and with relentless
prosecution of criminals. I will enforce the law courteously and appropriately without fear or
favor, malice or ill, never employing unnecessary force or violence and never accepting
gratuities in return.

I recognize the badge of my office as a symbol of public faith and accept it as a Public
trust to be held so long as I am true to the ethics of police service. I will never engage in acts of
corruption bribery, nor will I condone such acts by other police officers. I will cooperate with all
legally authorized agencies and their representatives in the pursuit of justice.

I know that I alone is responsible for my own standard or professional performance and
will take every reasonable opportunity to enhance and improve my level of knowledge and
competence. I will constantly strive

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to achieve these objectives and ideals, dedicating myself before God to my chosen
profession…..Law Enforcement.

“AS A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER, MY FUNDAMENTAL DUTY IS TO SERVE

MANKIND”

The gist of this passage is contained in two words: “duty and service”. Too often we
forget that law enforcement is not just a job for which we are hired as one would hire a laborer or
tradesman. It involves a sworn duty. Some progressive police department now require that its
officers reaffirm their oath each year in an effort to drive home the message that is contained in
this sworn oath. And to again remind the officer of the essential relationship between his job and
the free society in which he lives.

The word “serve” denotes the denial of one’s own pleasures and desire for the good of the
person or persons to be served. Service involves dedication and sacrifice of the giving of one’s
self. These are words that many find hard to swallow in this present day and age but the job of
professional law enforcement requires a special creed of man.

Professional law enforcement has no place for the officer whose philosophy of life is
“what is it for me?” In our present “awakened” society the crooked or dishonest law
enforcement officer is finding it increasingly more difficult to really profit from his job in a
material way. He is rapidly becoming as out-ofplace as a horse and buggy on a modern freeway.

“TO SAFEGUARD LIVES AND PROPERTY; TO PORTECT THE INNOCENT AGAINST

DECEPTION,
THE WEAK AGAINST OPPRESSION OR INTIMIDATION; AND THE PEACEFUL
AGAINST VIOLENCE OR DISORDER”

We must, however, understand some of the limitations that are present in a truly
democratic society. In such a society as ours, this task can often be a difficult one, because
protecting the rights of the individual means also protecting the right of the criminal. This is
sometimes a hard pill for law enforcement officers to swallow.

Because of this, some officers stray politically to the far right in an effort to either seek a
system where their job would be made easier, or to better protect the society that they have sworn
to serve. It is easy for an officer to become bitter when he has continually witnesses the ends of
justice thwarted by red tape politics and technicalities of the law. The more truly idealistic he is,
the more frustrated he can become, especially if he lacks a philosophy or understanding of his
true purpose in the society which he serves. Why must the idealistic officer suffer so? When a
good carpenters does his best, in building a fine house, one that can be seen and admired be all,
he can stand back and look at his job with a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction. The
same applies to an artist or anyone in the skilled trades. Why not, then the policemen? Why
must a good policeman, who works hard for the ends of justice, see the products of his work so
often crumble at his feet?
 The answer is both simple and complicated. It is simple in that the policemen, unlike the
tradesman, works not with objects, but with people, wonderful and yet fallible people.

It is complicated in that the most unpredictable of all commodities, with which a person
can work, is man itself. It is the policeman’s relationship with people that necessitate that law
enforcement becomes a profession.

There is a lesson to be learned from the legions of officers before us who suffered so
greatly from broken spirits. The lesson is that our satisfaction in law enforcement must come
from doing our job to the best of our abilities, and not be dependent upon the final outcome of
our cases.

“TO RESPECT THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS OF ALL MEN TO LIBERTY

EQUALITY AND JUSTICE”

Respecting the rights of others is not of man’s natural qualities. It seems to be part of his nature
to suspect and persecute those who are in any different from him self. There is no perfect justice
on this earth, nor will there ever be, because man is not all knowing “nor” is he himself perfect.
Still we must strive for a form of

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justice that represents our ultimate capability. This involves not only great effort on the part or
very-person in the community, but individual sacrifices as well.

One of the greatest areas of fault among police officers generally, is not so must a
prejudice against the criminal. For example, an officer soon learns from experience that a certain
group of persons is often responsible for the majority of the crimes committed such an offense.
Such a prejudice could lead to the faulty conclusion that he is the guilty person. This soon leads
to a general feeling or prejudice against all those who have been convicted of prior offenses, and
an almost subconscious refusal to accord them the same right that the Constitution provides for
all persons.

Our present laws are such that they provide as fair a deal as is humanly attainable to all
person subjects to that law. Many officers feel that our system of jurisprudence is too lenient,
and helps the criminal at the expense of society as a whole. In many cases this is true. One
alternative to this would be to have one for “good” citizens, and another for “criminals”. The
problem is one who is to decide which person comes under which category. Prior convictions
alone cannot be used for qualification. To allow soon change our form of government into a
totalitarian system.

Another alternative would be a “protective” society in which the people would be

accorded a high degree of protection, but in return would have few personal rights. This would
be the old Roman philosophy of “Salus Populi est Suprema Lex” (The safety of the people is the
supreme law). Personal rights and public protection are on opposite ends if a fixed scale. If we
increase one, we decrease the other. When our society is threatened by a state of emergency, one
of the first steps in protection is restriction. An example of this is the application of curfew hour.
If no one is allowed on the property of another and protection is afforded to him. However, such
conditions are certainly not very conductive to a free democratic society.

“I WILL KEEP MY PRIVATE LIFE UNSULLIED AS AN EXAMPLE TO ALL”

One of the first things that a law enforcement officer must learn is that he has no private
life. Every citizen should be entitled to his own private life yet when a person accepts the calling
of law enforcement, as a voluntary measure, he must be willing to offer his privacy as a sacrifice
to the good of the community which he serves. If a law enforcement officer could hide from his
neighbors the facts that he is a policeman, then his private life could be his own. This, however,
is impossible. If a policeman has a family, his occupation will become known in the
neighborhood within a few days at the most. If he is single, and keeps to himself, he may keep
the secret a little longer, but if he is engaged in active law enforcement within his community, it
is inevitable that his neighbors will become aware of it. Once this is known, he will become the
Object of constant observation.

Many will be watching the officer, hoping to observe some irregularity that will further
justify their negative feelings towards “cops”. Others will watch in hopes of catching the officer
committing some traffic violation so that they can accuse him and all policemen in general of
hypocrisy. This will help justify their own misdeeds concerning traffic violations for which they
feel they were unjustly given tickets.

Another great danger in this area is that of the officer’s personnel morals. An officer
spends a great deal of time dealing with moral degenerates and persons of little conscience. If he
is not constantly on guard these people can have a negative influence on him. Female offender
and female friends of offenders are often willing to offer their bodies to police officers in hopes
of receiving some leniency should they or their friends be arrested. Since most police officers
work at nights, they come in contact with women who also work at night, such as car hops café
waitresses, bar maids, theater usherettes and similar occupation of being promiscuous, and it is
very easy for a law enforcer to be blackmailed, which can have a negative effect in the struggle
for professional recognition. The citizens of a community are very alert to transgressions of a
moral nature, and they will quickly withdraw their needed support of any law enforcement
agency in which the selfish desires of its officers betray their professional calling.

“MAINTAIN COURAGEOUS CALM IN THE FACE OF DANGER, SCORN OR

RIDICULE AND
DEVELOP SELF RESTRAIN”
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Most officers are prepared to face physical danger and the public expects it. This is due
to the fact that when most people think of police work, they think of high- speed chases with
guns blazing and similar situations in which the officer’s life is in constant danger.

Fortunately, the aforementioned danger amounts to but a small fraction of the officer’s
work routine. The threat for which he is not prepared and on which can affect him greatly, is
public scorn or ridicule. There is no doubt that some officers have taken the job because of a
need for the power of an authoritative position. It comes as quite a shock to them that the badge,
uniform and gun mean very little unless there is a man behind them. Respect must be earned. It
can not be bought with a badge and a uniform.

In a democratic form of government, a police officer is a public officer and as such is a

servant to the community. Instead of being above reproach or ridicule, he must expect to receive
his position, as part of his job. It is not easy to control one’s temper when being subjected to
unnecessary and unsatisfied scorn or ridicule. Punching the perpetrator in the mouth will hurt
him physically, but psychologically he will sense victory in that he knows that he “got to the
officer”. Nothing will hurt him more than being ignored. Through practice, even the officer
with temper can learn to control it. For the professional law enforcement officer it is “must”.
When subjected to scorn and ridicule,, it often helps just to consider the source.

“WHATEVER I SEE OR HEAR OF A CONFIDENTIAL NATURE OR THAT IS

CONFIDED TO ME IN
MY OFFICIAL CAPACITY WILL BE KEPT SECRET UNLESS REVELATION IS
NECESSARY IN THE PERFORMANCE OF MY DUTY”

Some officers feel that there is a difference in that the information obtained by the doctor
and attorney is freely given with the understanding that will be confidential whereas the
information obtained as in the part of the law enforcer can be the result of many sources or forms
of investigation.

How it was obtained is really not important. The fact that it was obtained as part of the
officer’s occupation, and is usually information that he would not have otherwise obtained had
he not been in that field, is the key point.

This information should never leave the department or the person retaining it unless it is
in the interest of justice. An officer should even be careful not to reveal information to his wife.
An officer’s wife is often very tempted to reveal information of a confidential nature to her
neighbor women in an effort to show them the importance of her husband’s job, and to gain
status in the eyes of the neighbor women.

“I WILL NEVER PERMIT PERSONAL FEELINGS, PREJUDICE, ANIMOSITIES OR

FRIENDSHIP TO INFLUENCE MY DECISIONS”
 It is difficult to know which desire is strongest in some persons, to help our friends or to
hurt our enemies. Both desires are part of our human nature. Helping our friends can be very
good thing in itself, but when it involves an inequality in the administration of justice we are

defiling the oath we made to the community in which we serve. In police work, there is ample
opportunity to both hurt enemies and help friends, and it takes a person of strong character to
properly perform his duties under these circumstances. Without professional convictions, this
can be impossible.

“I WILL NEVER ACT OFFICIOUSLY”

One of the faults that is common to new officers is that they often act officiously. They
appear to the public to be over-impressed with their own importance. In a way this is natural
because it is associated with pride and a new officer is usually very proud for his is a noble
undertaking. However, a law enforcement officer must always guard against having this pride
misinterpreted by the public as being merely officious.

In most cases of apparent officiousness it is simply a matter of the officer not knowing
how to act. Most police academe greatly neglects the area of teaching officer how to act, how to
play the role that is expected of him. There are so many facts that have to be poured into the
recruit’s head, that it leaves little time for roleplaying.

The majority of the people who make contact with a law enforcer during his hour of duty
are not criminals. The majority of the people receiving tickets from an officer are normally law
abiding, upright
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citizens of the community, and they are usually embarrassed enough by being caught in a traffic
violation without being talked down to or treated like a criminal. Judges often report that a
common reason for a person appearing in traffic court is not so much to contest the facts of the
offense, but as to file a complain about the demeanor of the officer issuing the citation.

“WITH NO COMPROMISE FRO CRIME AND WITH RELENTLESS PROSECUTION OF

CRIMINALS I
WILL ENFORCE THE LAW COURTEOUSLY AND APPROPRIATELY WITHOUT FEAR
OR FAVOR, MALICE OR ILL WILL”

The term “with no compromise for crime” means that crime will not be knowingly
permitted. It does not mean that the officer must perform his duties to the “letter of the law”
without taking into consideration the “spirit of the law”. If the Code of Ethics will be examined,
nothing will be found in it to the effect that an officer must obtain convictions and send people to
prison for long periods of time. It does state, however, that he must do the best of which he is
capable, and that his actions must be ethical. No man can predict or guarantee the final results of
any action. Only God can do this, man can only be responsible for his immediate actions. If an
officer does a good job and the, criminal is released by the courts, the blame rests not upon him
but upon the courts, or the society itself.
 The modern law enforcement officer has a new motto “Be firm but fair”. He does not
have to be a “theory bound” sociologist just because he treats criminals like human beings.

Our religious teachings stress the theme that we should hate sin but love man. This
means that we may hate crime but not the criminal. For some it is easy to hate criminal, but in
due time, they will be consumed by the flame of this hatred. Some officers feel that their job is
to punish, and that in order to punish someone you must vent your anger upon them. Our present
system of criminal justice assigns no duties of punishment to the law enforcement officer. The
role of punishment belongs to the people in Corrections and Penology. Getting angry, other than
as an officer only makes his job more difficult.

The modern professional law enforcement officer let the criminal call the tune as to his
own treatment. The officer can and must be as tough as the situation demands yet there is no
personal vindictiveness in the way he treats the criminal. His tome of voice and demeanor
usually indicate that he will not be walked on, yet his actions are fair.

“I WILL NEVER EMPLOY UNNECESSARY FORCE OR VIOLENCE”

At times the use of force in the performance of one’s duties is an absolute necessity.
There is no escaping it. It is extremely difficult to judge exactly whether or not the force used in

a particular situation was necessary or not. The use of force or violence during interrogations
will often produce immediate confessions, but it should be avoided on ethical ground in that the
interrogator seldom knows with complete certainty that the suspect is guilty, and the use of force
or the “third degree” on an innocent person is certainly a miscarriage of justice as well as
violation of professional conduct. As a means of punishment for the criminal, it would be out of
place for it is not the function of law enforcement to punish criminals. This belongs to the courts
and prisons.

From a practical viewpoint, unnecessary force or violence should be avoided during

interrogations because if the judge even suspects that force was used to obtain a confession, it
would be thrown out of court, and chances are the case would be lost. It is difficult enough for
modern professional law enforcement officer to convince the courts that their methods of
interrogation were “above board’ because of the reputation that law enforcement had thirty or
more years ago. In a society that is so conscious of their rights as ours is today, the use of force
or violence as a common practice would invalidate nearly all of the confessions that reached.

“I WILL NEVER ACCEPT GRATUITIES”

The topic of accepting gratuities causes many long and hearted discussions among
modern police officers. It is one in which both ethics and relationships enter the picture.
Gratuities take two main forms first, is the gratuity given by a person with the sole intent of
receiving something in return; second, gratuity that is given solely but of a respect for law.
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Those who favor gratuities usually feel that the second form is all right but not the first.
They feel that the key to gratuities is as follows: “Will this in any way affect the proper
performance of any duties”. In other words, if the officer were to observe the person, giving the
gratuity, commit some violation whether it be an hour or day later, would be in all conscience be
able to treat him the same as a total stranger?

Those members of law enforcement who developed this code, were certainly aware of the
complexities of this particular area, but the use of the word “never” in relation to accepting
gratuities, indicated that they felt that this was a necessary and essential prerequisite to
professional law enforcement. To be truly professional we must first be ethical, we must do what
is actually describe, not merely what we would like to be desirable.

“I RECOGNIZE THE BADGE OF MY OFFICE AS A SYMBOL OF PUBLIC FAITH, AND

I ACCEPT IT
AS A PUBLIC TRUST TO BE HELD SO LONG AS I AM TRUE TO THE ETHICS OF
POLICE SERVICE”

The essence of this section is one of the most overlooked and forgotten facets of law
enforcement by the man in the field. It is this that distinguishes the difference between law
enforcement and the ordinary job. It is this that enables an officer to suffer the difficulties and
problems that make the held, at times, so frustrating and discouraging. Police administrators
would do well to place more emphasis upon the swearing-process. It should be made vary
formal and similar to the initiation of many fraternal organizations.
The chief of police should see that the recruit is not issued a badge or allowed to put on a
uniform until he is thoroughly familiar with the code of ethics and especially the above section.
He should be made to understand that he is one of the selected, and that his job is a public trust
that must be earned. The new officer should also understand that nay personal reward will not be
obtained from the public itself, for the public is a difficult master, if there is a personal reward, it
can only come for the officer himself or from knowing the true significance of the job and the
essential role that it plays in society. Perhaps the greatest reward is the selfrespect and
satisfaction that comes from the knowledge that the job was done in a truly professional manner.

“I WILL CONSTANTLY STRIVE TO ACHIEVE THESE OBJECTIVE AND IDEALS

DEDICATING MYSELF BEFORE GOD TO MY CHOSEN PROFESSION….LAW
ENFORCEMENT”

Proficiency in law enforcement involves many factors. It involves mental moral and
physical conditioning. They are all important aspects. The officer who let him self slip

physically is certainly not be able to protect society. The officer who is in good physical
condition has more confidence in his ability, and, this is sense by those with whom he deals, and
as a result he finds that it is necessary to exert authority as much as it might be otherwise.
Unfortunately, most police department requires a stiff physical agility examination before this
area is either forgotten or greatly neglected. It is left up to the individual officer to keep himself
in shape.

Another way in which the professional officer may keep abreast is to devote so many
hours each week to reading professional law enforcement books, journals or magazines that are
now available.

Since most of this reading will be on the officer’s own time, it is essential that he
develop the initiative that is so common to other professions. The Law Enforcement Code of
Ethics has been broken down and discussed in details in an effort to awaken the reader’s
awareness of the importance of the code as a means of achieving professional standing.
However, knowing and understanding the code of ethics is not enough. It must be practiced
and be reflected on the lives of police officers.