Police Ethics Paper

This memo serves as a notice of pending changes in the operation of officers within the State police. I will discuss the results of a report received regarding questionable conduct of certain officers within the department, which include: planting of evidence, lying in court, and falsifying police reports. I will then set forth expectations for how officers should exhibit ethically sound conduct in their policing starting immediately. Moving beyond typical command-and-control methods of leadership allows for innovation in communication techniques. (Perry & Kouzes, 2010). When some officers are questioned about their questionable behavior in relation to doing their jobs, many gave the justification that it was excused or acceptable because it was in furtherance to removing dangerous criminals off the street. This is often labelled as “noble cause corruption”, that is, if breaking the law is the only option remaining for in the ultimate goal of protecting citizens, then it is ok. “Noble cause corruption is an ends-orientated approach to an ethical dilemma and that law en-forcement officials will utilize unethical, and sometimes illegal, means to obtain a desired result.” (Bayley, 2010, p. 3) Northouse (2010) explains that leadership consist of how the leadership affects followers. When one instance of corruption is overlooked, it creates an atmosphere of consent that is difficult to undo. …show more content…
In many cases, these suspects are low-income and poorly evidence and don’t feel they have the skills to question evidence presented against them. If they are not able to obtain a qualified attorney that is knowledgeable in ways to question information provided by the police, this can seriously undermine the suspects right to a fair