Article 9 Gifts And Favors Analysis

Article 9- Gifts and Favors
This canon states that peace officers can never accept any gifts or favors under any circumstances. The understanding that peace officers hold a very high and powerful position within society is the driving force behind this canon. Article nine is in place to eliminate the opportunity for a peace officer to be provided with favors or free items and in turn expected to perform extra duties or even enhanced duties. This article has been in contention for years and continues to create issues, problems, and concerns for both the officer and the community he or she serves. There are two sides to this coin; one in which views this canon as finite and absolute in its meaning and interpretation, and another that acknowledges …show more content…
As a new officer coming into the department I currently work for I was excited driven and willing to undertake anything task that my supervisors, agency, or the public asked of me, I was ready to serve. After two years on the job primarily working the night shift I became disengaged with the process of policing and the justice system all together , as I entered into my third and fourth year under the same working conditions my cynicism with the public in which I served and the department in which I worked became overtly apparent to both my supervisors coworkers and family. I had become disgruntled with a justice system that I viewed as failing, a community, that didn’t appreciate the work I performed, and family and friends that just didn’t understand what it took to be an officer. After finishing my fifth year as a road officer it was clear to me that I needed a change I only saw the negative aspects of the job and could not appreciate and remember the reasons why I chose my career. All of these factors where contributing to my change in attitude toward my profession, I needed something to enrich my experience as an …show more content…
The CPA has taken a thorough and unique approach to these canons by infusing the Biblical code of ethics via the Ten Commandments and The Law Enforcement Code of Ethics. The CPA’s code of ethics is primarily based on a deontological theory of ethics; it evaluates through most of the canons what an officer’s duty is to him or herself, the profession, and the public. Canons six, seven, nine, and eleven invoke a utilitarian perspective to these ethical codes. The primary difference between these canons is that there is a personal aspect to these rules. These canons address an officers personal life, interaction with the public and the overall attitude of an officer, all of which a personal and humanistic in nature. The Utilitarian approach is what drives these canons, the idea that the good of the most people is more important than the individual good that can come from less ethical actions. The canon that the CPA subscribes to is built under the fundamental foundation of the universal law enforcement code of ethics, the biblical code of ethics, and the police code of ethics that establishes a rule, and baseline for ethical behavior among Christian law enforcement professionals that utilizes and transcends the Christian faith to a universal code of