Police officers are like any other public servants. They are expected to offer services to the public equally without discrimination. It is therefore professionally unethical for them to receive gratuities from individuals such as business people and other places they are assigned offer services. Giving and taking of gratuity is a slippery slope that often leads to corruption and other forms of bribery (McCartney & Steve, 2015). The police officer who accepts it is very unlikely to refuse bribe when offered in future to partake in something illegal or allow a citizen who is unlawful to go scot free with the act by bribing the officer. It results from the fact that the officer has received a gratuity and wants to earn extra income for offering additional services.
Additionally, by receiving a gratuity, the law enforcement officer is compromised. He or she is expected to give the gift giver or the person offering the gratuity other offers in future. The police officer will have created a relationship with whoever offers the gratitude, and they will be expected to be on their side in case of a need for future service. Moreover, an officer who gives their services at a discount is likely to be unfair when offering their services to other citizens. The police will be expecting additional payments before giving other services which are not part of their job description (McCartney & Steve, 2015).
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Being that law officers are just like any other public officers will corrode public confidence if they accept gratuities. It is thus professionally unethical and should be discouraged by their governing agencies. Police get paid to treat everyone equally and protect public property. They should therefore not accept any form of gratuity.
References
Mc Cartney, Steve. (2015). Ethics in Law Enforcement. Victoria, British Columbia: BCampus. Retrieved from http://opentextbc.ca/ethicsinlawenforcement/
