Introduction-If It's Legal, It Ethical?

Introduction-If It’s Legal, It’s Ethical?? Right? I consider Ethics, in the realm of the professional world, to be an active, continuous, on-going process that should be taught to all personnel hired into an agency and then requiring them to complete yearly training classes. This is not going to ensure that personnel do not conduct themselves in an immoral or unethical manner, but it does send the message that the agency promotes proper behaviors and holds them accountable when they break the proper rules of conduct, both through enacted laws that prohibit certain actions and through administrative investigations at the agency level. I have been a civil servant for twenty one years in the law enforcement profession, fifteen as a mixture …show more content…
However, the one or two percent that breaks that trust looks extremely bad due to the fact that we take an oath of loyalty to serve our citizens, and when these small minority of individuals operate in an unethical manner, it looks and seems worse to the community because of the vow we take. For example, a small agency within Shelby County hired a police chief with little experience and knowledge concerning law enforcement. The small agency had little to no oversight by civilian authority, and within three years, the Police Chief was indicted on several charges stemming from violating persons constitutional rights through allowing excessive use of force, abuse of power, operating an auto theft operation on minorities within the community, failure to manage and supervise personnel, violation of the state’s Canons of Ethics laws, along with fraternizing with female employees and using city monies for personal gain. This is one extreme example of lack of institutional control and a top administrator not creating an ethical climate for agency employees. When a climate such as this is allowed to operate in such a way, it creates a negative working environment for employees, it sends a bad message to the community, and when top administrators are not held to the same standard as subordinate employees, it diminishes the respect and adherence to agency policies by those who work there. Another example of this is a personal experience of mine. I have worked for an administrator who operated in a manner that always benefited his agenda. He operated in a fashion that that held to the “do as I say and not as I do” philosophy. He conducted numerous investigations on employees who he deemed a threat to him, without proper authorization from top administrators, and did so to smear their good name and further