The police officers encounter ethical dilemmas in their operations where they have to choose between good and evil. Every officer has distinct qualities, character, and morals that are garnered from their life experiences. The sources of the integrity of the police include parents, teachers, and friends who modify their personality.
This paper will focus on the experiences that the police agents face when carrying out their operations. Police encounter ethical dilemmas when undertaking their responsibilities in spite of having different professional skills. The common issues that the officers face in ethical dilemmas are related to the methods they use to carry out their duties. The choices that the police officers make are considered to be unethical, improper and are handled in a wrong way. A new administrator can change the ways the police make their decisions.
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Background
Johnny Jones, a 27-year-old officer, is responsible for managing the undercover division. He has an experience of four years as a law administration officer. He has a wife and two children. He is collaborating with one of his colleague (Denardo) in the undercover department to receive training on this skills required in his new assignment. Jones’s partner has experience in the department whose ethical intelligence is questionable. Jones has faced ethical dilemmas in the first three years in the undercover department. He solves them situations as the other police do because he has learned the culture of the policing field. Denardo has influenced the behaviors of Jones particularly on the approaches to solving ethical challenges.
Ethical Dilemmas for Jones
Jones faces many ethical dilemmas which he must solve. The first moral dilemma that he faces is when Denardo uses insubordinate statements including the king of duties carried out in the division, the other police and managers. Jones was collaborating with a person who was envious of his position in the department. Denardo was not cautious about the language he used to communicate with Jones. Jones is faced with an ethical dilemma of whether to address the defiance of Denardo for him to get a new colleague. The problem is that Jones is unique to this department and his goal is to gain acceptance from his partners. The police are accountable for their actions. It means that the police have a specific organizational function and the person responsible for the duties as assigned by the police agency (Miller, 2014, p. 30). An ethical dilemma places a police officer in a state of applying prudence. Jones addressing his moral dilemma will be influenced by elements such as personal perception of the code of ethics, institutional association and they type of insult (Kargin, 2011, p. 533).
The second ethical dilemma that Jones encountered is when they went with his colleague on a Monday night in a committee that took place in a bar. The police officers were undertaking their responsibilities and drinking beer at the same time. The law administration officers hold their meetings at the bar for them to get a chance to drink. The bills of the bar are met by the police agency, and they claim it is part of the investigation. Jones was in a dilemma of whether to report his colleagues which can lead to the termination of his job.
The other ethical dilemma is that Jones is facing is isolating his household. Jones has a wife and is a father to two children, but his duties at work have denied his family responsibilities. Jones has been choosing to carry out his workplace duties rather than his duties as a husband and father. He has been going out with his female colleagues at the bar and taking alcohol. Jones has been implementing the policing behaviors in solving and handling situations in the family. His responses have complicated his interaction with his family. Jones should not be mixing his marriage affairs with work responsibilities. He does not know what he can choose that it either his family or work.
The other ethical dilemma that Jones encountered was when he went with Denardo in a meeting planned by his supervisors on purchasing drugs. Denardo kisses and holds the informant when she gets to the designated scene of the meeting. It is prudent for every police officer specifically those in the undercover division to follow the regulations. Following research carried out by Norris and Dunningham (2000), the unclear gap between the police officers and their supervisors flows in the opposite directions. The authors attested that the police could have joined the team of the informants or the informant could join the police (p. 409). A police officer from the undercover division should not have a romantic relationship with an informant. Denardo is having an intimate relationship with the informant. Jones is facing an ethical dilemma on whether he should confront his colleague.
Lastly, a new police officer requested for IAA (Internal Affairs Analysis) on the expenses of the undercover department. Jones was under investigation on the cases of costs in the department, but no formal accusations were filed against him. He encountered an ethical dilemma on whether he should continue to misuse the contingency finances or refrain from the illegal activities. Besides, Jones was insulted by the auditors until they challenged the police administrators and their regulations. Jones conduct is inappropriate, and he should be disciplined for his actions. He has same behaviors as Denardo who trained him.
Preventive Measures
The new police officer has an opportunity to prevent unethical behavior which is being carried out in the department. Firstly, he requested for the IAA to be investigated which gave notice to the police officers that inappropriate behavior will not be acceptable. Secondly, he has the potential of advocating for ethical training for police in the undercover division concerning the kind of situations they face. Thirdly, the new officer can formulate a training module for the clandestine division which would make sure that the new employees receive proper training. The other action that the new officer should take is to interrogate the undercover police officers at different intervals to examine any challenges affecting them. For instance, the problems that were faced by Denardo and passed to Jones during the training could be determined by investigatintog the department. The new officer must assign supervisors that are trustworthy in the undercover division to make sure there is proper administration specifically in the utilization of contingent finances. The department must incorporate checks as well as balances on the expenses to avoid misappropriation of funds. Lastly, the undercover police officers can get boredom as result of the stress they encounter when carrying out their responsibilities. The new officer should interchange the duties of the policemen to avoid the occurrence of the unethical behavior.
Conclusion
The police officers change their behaviors after they enroll in the police institutions. The trainers incorporate them with the policing culture which increases the unethical practices in the organizations. The law administration officers handle the ethical dilemmas using the policing culture. The undercover operations expose the police to various ethical situations. An officer’s success is determined by the way they respond to ethical challenges. The outcome of poor training has negative effects on the police officer’s work performance.
References
Kargin, V. (2011). Peer reporting of unethical police behavior . LFB Scholarly Pub.
Miller, S. (2014). Police detectives, criminal investigations, and collective moral responsibility. Criminal Justice Ethics , 33 (1), 21-39.
Norris, C., & Dunnighan, C. (January 01, 2000). Subterranean blues: Conflict as an unintended consequence of the police use of informers. Policing and Society, 9, 4, 385-412.
