Ethics played a major role in the case of the Kansas City police officers who plead guilty to charges resulting from a FBI sting operation. Because of unethical behavior the FBI became involved in an internal investigation involving officers who conspired to steal while serving search warrants. There were many contributing factors that influenced the behaviors in the case of the Kansas City Police Officers who were involved in the SCORE Unit corruption. The leaders initially contributed to the unethical behavior of the Kansas City Police SWAT officers; however, once the corruption became discovered the Chief took steps to discourage future unethical behavior. The entire corruption began with a single unethical decision which included implicit
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These officers used their position of authority to commit illegal acts for personal gain, violated the rights of citizens, and conspired to commit crimes for a long period of time. By stealing money and other valuable objects while executing a search warrant, the officers violated the trust of the citizens and the trust of their own department. The American Corrections Association Code of Ethics sets standards requiring officers to be professional in all situations and make decisions based on the welfare of the people involved without “intent to personal gain”, protects citizens from criminal activity, and refrain from allowing their personal interest from affecting professional decisions (ACA Code of Ethics, 1994). These officers showed a complete disregard for these ethical guidelines and damaged the reputation of their …show more content…
When the stealing first began, the officers who had knowledge of the corrupt activity had an ethical obligation to report the activity to a supervisor. Had one of the officers reported the behavior, the crimes would have never reached the level they did. These officers neglected to uphold the ethical oath they promised to uphold when they were sworn into their positions. Once a complaint had been filed with the Kansas City Police Department, the Chief of Police had an ethical responsibility to investigate the allegations. The Chief of Police followed his ethical responsibility by reporting the corrupt activity to the FBI and initiating an investigation (KCTV News, n.d.). When the sting operation had been completed, the Chief of Police made an unethical decision to comment on his personal embarrassment of the situation to the media. This gave the public the idea that these officers were guilty of the crimes prior to being formally charged with the
These officers used their position of authority to commit illegal acts for personal gain, violated the rights of citizens, and conspired to commit crimes for a long period of time. By stealing money and other valuable objects while executing a search warrant, the officers violated the trust of the citizens and the trust of their own department. The American Corrections Association Code of Ethics sets standards requiring officers to be professional in all situations and make decisions based on the welfare of the people involved without “intent to personal gain”, protects citizens from criminal activity, and refrain from allowing their personal interest from affecting professional decisions (ACA Code of Ethics, 1994). These officers showed a complete disregard for these ethical guidelines and damaged the reputation of their …show more content…
When the stealing first began, the officers who had knowledge of the corrupt activity had an ethical obligation to report the activity to a supervisor. Had one of the officers reported the behavior, the crimes would have never reached the level they did. These officers neglected to uphold the ethical oath they promised to uphold when they were sworn into their positions. Once a complaint had been filed with the Kansas City Police Department, the Chief of Police had an ethical responsibility to investigate the allegations. The Chief of Police followed his ethical responsibility by reporting the corrupt activity to the FBI and initiating an investigation (KCTV News, n.d.). When the sting operation had been completed, the Chief of Police made an unethical decision to comment on his personal embarrassment of the situation to the media. This gave the public the idea that these officers were guilty of the crimes prior to being formally charged with the