ETHICS IN LAW

ENFORCEMENT
Presented by : Dr. Delon Fraser Created by
Superintendent K. Simon
 AIM
To allow Law Enforcement Officers to:
 Become more sensitive to Ethical Issue in Law
Enforcement.
Development technique to make better professional
and personal ethical decisions using the (Code of
Ethics)
Apply information and skills learned to scenarios
representative of ethical dilemmas in law enforcement
and community Policing.
Analyze a variety of conflict of interest situations, while
applying sound decision making strategies.
 INTRODUCTION
Ethics is our greatest training and leadership need today and into the
next century. In addition to the fact that most departments do not
conduct ethics training, nothing is more devastating to individual
departments and our entire profession than uncovered scandals or
discovered acts of officer misconduct and unethical behavior .

This workshop seeks to explains ethical issues, questions and

problems relevant to Law Enforcement. Emphasis will be placed on
recognizing theses ethical issues applying personal and professional
decisions making skills, explaining the consequence of ethical and
unethical behavior evaluating Law Enforcement Officer (LEOs) code
of Ethics (Standing Order 12) and analyzing the roles of moral
maturity and personal character in the professional life of LEOs
 OBJECTIVES
Participants will:
 Become more sensitive to nature and presence of ethical
issues in law enforcement and community policing
 Review the meanings of basic ethical terms and concepts
 Discuss the consequence of ethical and unethical actions
by Law Enforcement Officers.
 Understand the importance of personal moral maturity
and individual character in the professional lives of Law
enforcement Officers.
 Become more familiar with the study stages of moral
development ( Lawrence Kohlberg & James Rest)
Analyze the importance of personal character by discussion
(good people, good Officers)
Discuss various levels of personal Character necessary for
consistent moral behavior.
 demonstrate techniques for making better professional
and personal ethical decisions (Code of Ethics)
Further develop critical thinking skills and learn how to
better use theses skills in making ethical decisions
 Become familiar with different models used for decision
making.
 Evaluate the code of professional conduct (Standing Order
No. 12)
Analyze a variety of conflict of Interest situations while
applying sound decision making strategies.
Understand the various categories of conflict of interest,
apply possible resolutions and ethical decision making
tools while identifying the wisest course of action for
specific scenarios.
 Apply the information and skills learned to deal with
ethical issues in law enforcement scenarios attempting to
find the justified the wisest course of action.
Create an example while working together of an ethical
dilemma and use logical decision making skills to suggest
the wisest solution to the scenario put forward.
What is Ethics; why is it important or is it?
What is it
 A Process of understanding yourself better, why you tend to
believe , think and act the way you do .

 Ethics is learning how to choose the wisest course of action in

difficult situation

 It is vital and necessary that can save your career and retirement,
make your job easier and can help restore public trust in Law
Enforcement Officers.

 Perishable skill since it requires continuous training and honing ,

just like driving and shooting.
 What it isn’t
Ethics is not indoctrinations – the intended goal isn’t
to make everyone the same, its about character and
decision making

Ethics is not intended to change you in fact no one can

change you only you can change yourself .

Ethics is not an assumption that your moral are

flawed. It is to help basically good people learn to
make the best choices and decisions.
 Components of Ethical Behavior
(James Rest )
Moral sensitivity
Moral judgment
Moral motivation moral character

Moral Sensitivity – the ability to recognize the

presence and nature of ethical issues and awareness
that a situation represents an ethical problem and that
it requires an ethical decision.
Moral Judgment – the ability to make right ethical
decisions, to determine the morally correct and wisest
course of action . This requires the use of critical thinking
skills and the ability to priorities competing ethical
principles and values.

Moral motivation – the desire to do the right thing and to

be a good ethical person.

Moral Character – possessing the maturity, courage and

discipline to follow through and do what you know is right
in situations of strong temptation and or/ great pressure
from others.
 What is expected from LEO’s
The world needs men and women
Who cannot be bought
Whose words are their bond
Who are larger than their skill (vocation)
Who do not hesitate to take chances
Who will not loose their identity in a crowd
Who will be honest in small thing as in even greater ones
Who will make no compromises with wrong doers
Whose ambitions are not confined to their selfish desires
Who will not follow the bandwagon
Who do not believe that shrewdness and cunning are
the best qualities for winning success.

Who are not ashamed to stand for what is truth when it

is not so popular

Who can stand up and say no when the world says yes

“These are the people we call LEO’S”

 Why do Ethics Matter?
1. We are always held to have higher ethical standards by the
community and the courts.
2. The media always have its eyes on the LEOs
3. Your actions set example for other officers and for the
community
4. To protect your job and career
5. Its easier to do your job when other trust you
6. It helps to prevent bitterness and burnout later in your career
7. Shame over ethical scandals
8. Public trust is vital to Law Enforcement
9. You have to live with your guilt
10. You don’t want to shame and embarrass your family and
friends
Oath of Office
An Oath is a solemn pledge someone makes when he
sincerely intends to do what he says.
Motto
Mission statement
Oath(GPF)
 I … swear…truly serve…state ..in office of …..in the GPF.
Without favour, affection,malice or ill will.
I …. Preserve public peace through my power ..against
offences.
Obeyance of authority … subjection to regulations.
Discharge duties according to law through gods grace.
Basic terms and concept used in Ethics
 Ethics – the reasoned study of what is morally right and wrong, good
and bad. The logical search for the best ethical principles to live by.

 Ethical Principles- general statements of moral behavior , how

people should act under normal circumstance.

 People should treat others as they would want to be treated

themselves.

 People should respect the right of others

People should be honest

People should sacrifice their own interest for the needs

of others (being human )

Ethical Issues – situations and actions that raise

questions of moral right and wrong , topics that raise
honest moral debate.
Personal Attitudes and Ethical Behavior
Idealist
Frustrated
Defiant
Resign
Aware
Decisive
Commitment
 Continuum of Compromise
What it is ?
 Unethical behavior
 One of the most detrimental consequences of unethical behavior is the
subjecting of an agency to civil litigation , this comes in may forms
 Excessive force
 Racial discrimination
 Sexual discrimination
Defending against such allegations both drains an organization
financially and it usually has a long term reputation effect in many
case, stigmatizing the agency forever.
These forms of litigation are more than tempting to the media, a
single incident of unethical behavior can take you from one of the
most respectable organization to one of the least respected, literally
overnight. E.g Agricola incident and as recent Fish shop Incident.
 Personal Character and Moral
Development
When people are unethical, its almost never because
they don’t know what the right thing to do is . They
know but they just don’t want to do it. In a very real
sense, ethics is less about doing the right thing than it
is about being the right kind of person. Our ethical
behavior is based almost entirely on what kind of
ethical character we have developed and how morally
mature we are.
 Habits of highly Effective LEOs
(Steven Covey)
Be proactive
Begin with an end in mind
Put First things First (keep away from procrastination)
Think win win (reciprocity)
Seek first to understand then to be understood
Foster team work
Sharpen the saw ( health)
 Categories of Police Character
(Edwin Delattre)
Bad Character

The weak Character

The self-controlled Character

The excellent character

“ the view”
 Moral Development
Lawrence Kohlberg and James rest
Before officers can behave ethically, they recognize the
morals at stake in the situation, understand the
principles and values involved, and choose the proper
course of action. To explain the reasoning process Mr.
Kohlberg developed the most influential theory of
moral development.
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Stage 4
Stage 5&6
 Lawrence Kohlberg believe that moral development proceeds along three
highly predictable, invariant levels, termed pre-conventional, conventional
and post conventional with each organized into two distinct stages. According
to him at each stage people employ increasingly sophisticated explanations and
problem solving strategies to address moral dilemmas.
 At this simplest level of reasoning, the pre-conventional, external
consequences guide individual’s sense of the right and wrong punishment is
stage 1 and self interest in stage 2. At t his point they possess no internalized
values or rules to guide behavior
 As people progress to the conventional level, they determine right and wrong
based on social expectations (stage 3) and the desire to maintain social order by
following laws and showing respect for authority (stage 4). They determine
moral reasoning through conformity to social rules, norms, and expectations.
 Finally at the post conventional level, people judge morality based on the desire
to protect the basic liberties of all members of society. In stage 5 individuals
only uphold legal principles that promote fairness, justice, and equity, by stage
six, they follow self-selected ethical and moral principles that encourage
respect for human life, equality, and human dignity. It these internal principles
conflict with societal laws, the self chosen principles reign supreme.
While officers stages’ of moral development obviously
impact their on the job behavior, most adults determine
proper behavior as well as moral implications of those
actions, after they observe other group members . This
especially rings true in unfamiliar or ambiguous
circumstances, which often describes the situation of
newly assigned officers.
 Methods used in Ethical decision-Making
for law Enforcement
Bell, Book & Candle method

Does this action sound good - Bell

Is the action consistent with official laws, rules and

policies - Book

How will this action be view by others when expose to

the light of day - Candle
 This model is a modified version of the A.C.T model,
developed originally by the Institute for American and
Internal Law. (A.S.C.T)
A- ALTERNATIVES
S- STAKE HOLDERS
C- CONSIDER THE CONSEQUENCE
T- TELLING THE STORY
 CONCLUSION
Law enforcement officer must safeguard the public's
trust to perform their jobs effectively. Because ethical
conduct greatly impacts public trust, law enforcement
agencies must closely examine their policies, reward
systems and training to ensure that their agency
fosters a culture of firm ethical values.

Thank you
Course Evaluation