Integrity as the Major Challenge in the Police Force
The police executives are facing significant challenges in the 21 st century, ranging from the incorporation of culture within the police unite to maintaining integrity, which is the core of police image in society. Integrity is a value that is critical for the police department ( Owens et al., 2016). In the 21 st century, honesty is one of the leading challenges the executive offices are facing. In the current century, there are many cases which suggest that ethics and integrity in the police force is a significant issue. Police Brutality has taken its toll in the 21 st century with people of color on records for police mistreatment and harassment. Also, the police officers are on records for a corruption scandal on many occasions ( Owens et al., 2016). There are many cases where the police officers have engaged in different criminal offenses and have escaped because of the code of silences they have created which bound them together preventing them from reveals when one of them makes a mistake that should be punishable. Besides, there are many cases where the police officers have covered people in power by protecting them and choosing not to reveals enough evidence to put them behind bars because of their social status. According to different research on police harassment and brutality, nearly one out of ten people of color face police harassment based on their color ( Owens et al., 2016). In this sense, it has reached a time where the public has lost confidence in the police force due to lack of integrity as suggest by their actions.
The elephant in the house for the executive police officers is that they need to cultivate a culture of integrity among the police officers and the subordinates ( Owens et al., 2016). Due to the numerous cases of police misconduct such as corruption, harassments and concealing cases, the executive police officers have a task of creating a culture that will enhance integrity among the police force and restore the public trust in the polices force ( Owens et al., 2016). They need to have a strategy to reduce runaway corruption in the police department. Further, they also need to eradicate the culture of the code of silence among the police officers which has been extended to the society by concealing some cases which are critical for the criminal law sector ( Owens et al., 2016). Furthermore, they need to come up with strategies to curb the police harassment cases mostly among the minority group in society. Unless leaders address these critical matters, the problem of lack of integrity in the police force will persist.
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Breaking the “Code of Silence” in the Police Force
The code of silence is a prevalent matter in the police force. The police officers have bound that they form during their work relationship. The bond between the police officers is usually strong that breaking it is often a challenge for some officers. In this case, it is the bond between these individuals that creates the code of silence ( Porter & Prenzler, 2016). The system of calm in the police force is a situation where a police officer chose not to reveal the misconduct done by another officer within the same police department or unit ( Porter & Prenzler, 2016). As executive police officers operating in the 21 st century, it is critical to understand why some officers would choose to jeopardize the act of integrity by concealing the wrongs done by another office. Research studies in this area try to reveal some of the reasons as to why the code of silence is usually the option for some officers. The first reason is the bond between the officers. Such studies reveal that police officer has a strong relationship between them that comes due to the work culture and nature ( Porter & Prenzler, 2016). These individuals carry out dangerous missions together and thus, forms a strong bond beyond the work. In this case, it is usually a great challenge to break the relationship. Furthermore, other officers also fear being viewed as the bad cop in the group when they spill the bean. Such issues create a culture where the offices cannot reveal any information when their partners or colleagues are involved in any act that jeopardizes integrity ( Porter & Prenzler, 2016). The challenge to the executive officers is how to break the code of silence. There are many ways of cracking the code of silence, as discussed below.
The core to crack the code of silence in the police force is to create a culture of integrity. Creating a culture of integrity implies that the police executive must enhance the culture of accountability among the police officers. The culture of accountability will demand that each officer take the responsibility both at an individual level or collectively. In this case, it will be the duty of each officer to be accountable for any wrong doings ( Porter & Prenzler, 2016). Further, there can be inspection and audit on the police misconducts and their level of integrity. The inspection will reveal cases of integrity that may increase the culture of silence within the police departments. Besides, the executive office should have in place investigative agencies whose task is revealing minor and significant discipline offenses and punish those who chose to keep silent instead of revealing mistakes due to the bond that exists among them ( Porter & Prenzler, 2016). Moreover, rotating the police officers will be another significant step toward cracking the code of silence. As explained before, the system of silence comes about due to the bond that exists among the officers. Breaking this bond will thus be an excellent strategy to eliminate the culture of silences. When leaders shuffle police officers from one police unit to next, they do not get that chance of creating a strong bond that can jeopardize the act of integrity.
Organization culture
The police executives are the leader in different police organizations. In this sense, they create a culture that enhances integrity among the police officers. Organization culture is what directs the organization’s operation. Culture defines how people behave in an area where they work. In the case of the police department or institution, culture defines how they behave towards each other and to the public ( Blumberg, Giromini & Jacobson, 2016). With regards to integrity in the police force, culture is critical. First, culture helps in breaking the code of silence. When there is a culture of transparency and accountability within the police units, it becomes easy to pinpoint different mistakes made by various officers. It makes it easy to find a solution ( Blumberg, Giromini & Jacobson, 2016). Furthermore, organization culture begins from recruitment policies. During the recruitment, the leaders need to emphasize the culture of integrity. These include integrity training and education to help them understand what integrity is and why honesty is one of the essential facets of police forces ( Blumberg, Giromini & Jacobson, 2016). Besides, an organization culture which emphasizes Soliciting community input through citizen review boards, ombudsmen, or community problem-solving initiatives is critical, which enhances the trust and unity between the community and the police officers. Inspection and audits are other cultures which can also be critical as far as the matter of integrity in the police force are of concern.
In conclusion, it is evident that integrity is a threat to the police force. A negative culture such as the code of silence is one of the factors which seem to be fueling lack of integrity as far as the police force is concerned . In this sense, it is the burden of the executive personnel within the managerial positions in the police force to cultivate a culture that favors integrity in such institutions.
References
Blumberg, D. M., Giromini, L., & Jacobson, L. B. (2016). Impact of police academy training on recruits’ integrity. Police Quarterly , 19 (1), 63-86.
Owens, E., Weisburd, D., Alpert, G., & Amendola, K. (2016). Promoting officer integrity through early engagements and procedural justice in the Seattle Police Department.
Porter, L. E., & Prenzler, T. (2016). The code of silence and ethical perceptions: Exploring police officer unwillingness to report misconduct. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management , 39 (2), 370-386.
