Introduction
Law enforcement professionals face a hot of ethical issues that require them to make moral decisions based on the cultural values and ethics. Police officers work in an environment that requires more dedication, risky, and with mixed reactions and trust from the public (National Institute of Justice, 2016). As such, the profession requires that law enforcement agents understand inherent cultural values and ethical standards that will allow them to make effective moral choices for the benefit of their careers and better service delivery to the public. Imperatively, this paper explores cultural values and ethical standards required in policing in a diverse and challenging work environment.
Historical Review
The need for cultural values and ethical standards in policing has a historical basis as these aspects are considered to be critical in a diverse society like the one in the United States. History demonstrates that police officers have always faced close and critical scrutiny because of historical events where the law enforcement agents were accused of using brutal force on innocent people. For instance, the Civil Rights Movement period is a time when confrontation between law enforcement agents and the public were common. Therefore, law enforcement agents continue to battle a lack of confidence from the citizens because of their management of past confrontations and brutal force on minorities.
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Impact
Roufa (2019) asserts that law enforcement officers live in a fishbowl due to increased public scrutiny of their work, by both those close to them like families and friends as well as strangers and the general public. The increased scrutiny of the law enforcement agents is due to two conflicting situations; either because people are cynical and believe that they can catch the officers make mistake or they want to see good role models and effective leaders in these officers. Imperatively, either way, the officers are expected to be beyond reproach in their public as well as private lives. It is on this basis that the cultural values and ethical standards are essential in policing.
In a recent study by the Pew Research Center, most police officers believe that the public does not understand the risks and challenges involved in their jobs because of a cynical attitude or due to the increased scrutiny where the bad conduct of one officer is viewed as the general behavior of the entire profession. The implication is that cultural values and ethical standards are a fundamental part of ensuring that the public understands the law enforcement officers (Morin et al., 2017). Decisions to confront and arrest a violent offender or suspect may require a look at the ethics and cultural values that exist in the community or society.
Ethics offer the theoretical basis for the principles of moral conduct and sustain both the limits of morality and the ways for officers to have clear thinking concerning real life choices when they face ethical dilemmas in the execution of their duties (Porter & Prenler, 2016). Officers confront many different issues that provoke public reaction; right from theft, use of excessive force, and treatment of minorities in police custody, abuse of authority and misuse of public resources. Imperatively, with the requisite knowledge and application of both cultural values and ethical standards, officers can tackle these issues in ways that will inspire and enhance public confidence as well as trust in their efforts to provide security and secure all people.
Values are defined by culture and universally applicable in all situations. Cultural values are the concepts, conduct, and actions that are essential to all in a certain culture. These are approved and acceptable norms and behaviors that individuals; especially those entrusted with responsibilities, must practice and apply in their professional duties. As such, values offer the basis for an individual to understand ethics and make decisions based on their situations. Societal values include integrity, honesty, kindness, compassion, justice, and sympathy. Ethics entails doing what is right and distinguishing the good and the bad, right or wrong (National Institute of Justice, 2016).Consequently, law enforcement professionals deal with ethical situations that call on them to understand and apply critical values in making the right decisions in their duties and activities. When law enforcement officers fail to do what is viewed as right by the public, especially when they act in a blatantly wrong manner, they violate the ethical standards in policing, and erode public trust. By doing this, they degrade their ability to work with and within the community and effectively discharge their mission as well as attain their goals. Adherence to the set and expected cultural values and ethical standards is an essential component in allowing the police officers to attain their overall goals in modern policing.
Future
Police officers are expected to demonstrate and practice ethical standards and cultural values that are identified and held by society; right from the moment that one is recruited into the service. Again, law enforcement agents like the police are guided by a subculture which may have a different way of looking at what is defined as good or bad by society (National Institute of Justice, 2016). The strong subculture that permeates policing should be the basis for the officers to nurture and demonstrate their ethics and moral values in the conduct of their duties. For instance, a subculture that promotes cultural and professional values like empathy, integrity, teamwork, and perseverance as well as sympathy resonates well with ethical standards and cultural values engrained in society in regards to policing in communities. With a strong subculture that supports officers in tackling professional and personal challenges at work, police officers can translate the same to the public so that they develop collaborative relationships that are critical to effective policing. Police organizations should be guided by explicit values as opposed to the implicit values that may resonate within their distinct subcultures. Whether crime fighting or community policing, law enforcement agents must be guided by cultural values and ethical standards that depict their professional image and aimed at fostering a positive public reputation in the long term.
Normative ethics is a critical component to making ethical decision in the criminal justice system. The central tenet of this approach is that an officer’s conduct should consider the moral issues and one must act in a moral way based on logic to select the proper way of behaving (Porter & Prenler, 2016). Therefore, in all situations, law enforcement officers should be guided by the tenets of ethical relativism; particularly cultural relativism when applying ethical standards or making decisions. The implication is that cultural values in the society should guide policing decisions and actions based on the organization’s subculture. Consequently, ethical pluralism and its principles must be used in different situations by the law enforcement officers. For instance, the principle of understanding requires policing agents to know the meaning of ethical standards in different culture; especially in a multicultural setting like the United States (Porter & Prenler, 2016). Secondly, as they deal with suspects from diverse cultural backgrounds, officers need to practice tolerance and thirdly, stand against any evil or what is not acceptable by the vast majority. Fourthly, law enforcement agents must appreciate the principle of fallibility and learn from their weaknesses as well as other cultures so that they expose their shortcomings.
Conclusion
It is evident that law enforcement officers have a responsibility to demonstrate that they are adhering to the expected cultural values and ethical standards. The oath of office has provisions that implores on the officers to protect, uphold and defend the constitution. The oath also mandates them to behave in an ethical manner to reflect the cultural values expected by the public. As a result, they should behave soberly, avoid any aggression and offensive exploits, discharge their duties honestly and with integrity and obey their seniors. The officers are expected to be part of the solution to public problems and act honorably in a manner that inspires public trust and confidence. It is critical that law enforcement officers respect cultural values and uphold ethical standards in the execution of their duties as well as responsibilities.
References
Morin, R., Parker, K., Stepler, R. & Mercer, A. (2017 January 11). Police Culture. Retrieved from https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2017/01/11/police-culture/
National Institute of Justice (2016). Police Integrity and How to Improve it. Retrieved from https://www.nij.gov/topics/law-enforcement/legitimacy/pages/integrity.aspx
Porter, L. E. & Prenler, T. (2016) "The code of silence and ethical perceptions: Exploring police officer unwillingness to report misconduct", Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management , Vol. 39 Issue: 2, pp.370-386, https://doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-10-2015-0108
Roufa, T. (2019 January 24). Ethics in Law Enforcement and Policing. Retrieved from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/ethics-in-law-enforcement-and-policing-974542
