Running Head: THE FUTURE AND CHALLENGE TO POLICE ETHICS
The Future and Challenge to Police Ethics
The Future and Challenge to Police Ethics
Introduction
Ethics is the action taken against what is considered bad and action taken for what is considered good with moral adherence and obligation. The ethics in a community is a desirable discipline for all persons; the citizens are expected to evade any form of ill-mannered behaviour including taking action personally. The police are expected also to play a similarly important role of serving and respecting the citizens’ rights. The ethics in relation to the police a thing placed into consideration in this paper as they are faced with several issues like discretion, decentralization and ethics also in relation to training and recruitment.
Ethics has basis on what is wrong and right in relation to the human being in a society. They can similarly be termed to as norms or the accepted cord of behaviour in the community.
The police in the past have been put in several procedures to try and improve their skills and expertise which are coherent with the police work (Loewenthal A. Milton, J.D., 1981). Similarly to the nature of the police, the development code of ethics has been placed at an extreme low priority. However, taking a look at corruption, more stress has been kept in the public eye.
Future of police ethics
The police require easier and faster methods to try and solve the several cases they face. The use of technology like forensics, surveillance technology, data grams and also investigative work are forms of technology applied by the police to try and solve these problems faced in the community level. The use of technology is however not providing any fruitful benefits as, according to the Montreal Police Department, the number of cases solved by the use of technology is way smaller. This however brings to doubt the application of technology in policing duties tin enforcing ethics to the community.
The police are required to be in close contact with the citizens for a complete trust by the citizens. This does not cancel out technology but a better way of finding the problems faced by the citizens without having to wait for the misdemeanor to occur that’s when the investigation is done (Manning K. Peter and Wong Kam, 2005.). As one may see, this is a more preventive measure than the methods named earlier which solves the problems as they occur.
The police are set to undergo stringent training and education on how to handle the citizens as most of the police do not receive training and education on matters relating to ethics. This is the core of the norms to be developed in a society. For a bright future the police require important changes in the philosophy and their organisation
Challenges of ethical policing
The ethical policing faces an adverse nature of challenges; these challenges are attributed to two factors which are; the decline in the political and social isolation in relation to the departments of the police as well as their individual selves (Nelligan J. Peter and Taylor W. Robert, 1994). Secondly are the reducing levels of control freedom accrued to the individual officers at the lower-level.
Political influence in the ethical policing is an inevitable evil; the police should be in a position to respond in a positive way to political interference as they carry out their duties.
The community on the other hand has lost its initial where they were fully in control of the community members’ norms. The local elite have weakened their influence and now are busy pursuing their own desires. Community policing is of the opinion that the police are to put down their role of upholding the law and add to their duties the role of addressing social issues in the community. This will most definitely bring cooperation, cohesion and just in the society at large. With the different views upheld by the political elite and the community elite on the right form of order and community policing, narrow opinion on this matter may bring uncooperative community members, conflicts between the political class and the social elite (Heffernan C. William, 1982). The police on the other hand have been reknown with its abuse of power accorded to them by the law. They frequently are reported to have engaged in corruption cases.
Issues related to the role played by the political class in the policing of the community have come to light. With proper following of the model of community policing there should be a well knowledgeable, trustworthy as well as quite popular police force running.
There is an additional decline of the isolation of the police in the social arena; this is an added ethical challenge of the community. The isolation of the police in their places of work has led to a huge gap between the community and the police. The police are a figure that is feared and association to with it is kept at an extreme low. According to the community policing, the police is model of the “beat cop” is to be set for a return. The assigning of police officers to a community for security or other reasons should be done for long periods and not just on sequential basis (Peak J. Kenneth, Grant B. and Glensor W. Ronald, 1998). This is set be more productive as there will be better communication, decline in apathy, they will be more trusted and easier understanding of the problems faced by the community. This may on the other hand lead to the growth of reception of gifts and gratuities by the police officers.
There is the challenge presented in terms of performing discretion. When the citizen passes information to a police officer he or she is supposed to act in a way that will not present a reaction but a proactive being is to be availed. This may however lead to an increased information flow to the police creating an overload. If the police are skilled and experienced about their communities they are set to go in depth to access the various crimes. They will ultimately learn the relevant ways of handling the citizens’ cases.
Conclusion
Police ethics is relevant in the community for a crime free society, the brutal police; corrupt police among others are set to end with application of the ethics of policing. The community is set to be a better place. The future is already here if the ethics are followed.
References
Heffernan C. William, 1982. Criminal Justice Review. Sage Publishers. Retrived on 15th March 2011 from http://cjr.sagepub.com/content/7/1/28
Loewenthal A. Milton, J.D., 1981. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Police: Professionalism-Law and Ethics. Sage publishers. Retrived on 15th March 2011 from http://ccj.sagepub.com/content/10/1/59
Manning K. Peter and Wong Kam, 2005. Police Quarterly: Police Studies Past and Present. Police Quarterly. Retrived on 15th March 2011 from http://pqx.sagepub.com/content/8/1/44
Nelligan J. Peter and Taylor W. Robert, 1994. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice: Ethical Issues In Community Policing. Sage publishers. Retrived on 15th March 2011 from http://ccj.sagepub.com/content/10/1/59
Peak J. Kenneth, Grant B. and Glensor W. Ronald, 1998. Police Quarterly: Ethical Considerations in Community Policing and Problem Solving. Sage Publishers. Retrived on 15th March 2011 from http://pqx.sagepub.com/content/1/3/19
