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According to the textbook, there three ethical dilemmas in law enforcement such as the officer did not take the appropriate actions, officer finds the appropriate action is difficult to do, and officer seen breaking the law was very tempting. Law enforcement professionals are held to a higher standard due to their ability to make arrest and to ensure the public safety. The perception of law enforcement professionals to the public is law enforcement professionals losses their credibility to keep the public safe. The media plays a major role by revealing the mistrust and misconduct of law enforcement professionals.
There is a increased of skepticism among the public regarding the integrity of law enforcement professionals. In an article, Ethics in Law Enforcement, it states “The oath of office lays the groundwork for instilling ethical behavior, but it doesn’t stop there. To help guide officers toward ethical decision making, most agencies codify those practices that they hope to promote and those they expect officers to avoid. Within an agency’s code of ethics are specific provisions promoting the safeguarding of lives and property, the importance of avoiding bias ND the understanding that the badge is a symbol of the public trust.
In short, the code of ethics requires that officers are not only prepared to enforce the law, but to follow it. They are called to be examples to the public and to demonstrate the right way to behave, rather than the entitlement mentality they are so often accused of exhibiting. ” From my perspective, when an law enforcement professional breaks the law, they destroy the public trust and degrade the general mission of of the law enforcement in local communities.
Every agency executives, chief, or leader set the tone for what constitutes acceptable behavior, however, who cross the ethical lines face appropriate consequences. One way to identify ethical issues is to educate law enforcement professionals on the issues and understand the consequences. Each law enforcement professionals take an oath to be honest, upstanding citizen and promised to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.. Also they promise to follow the rules, whether they agree with them or not. Ethical Issue in Criminal Justice By morphophonemic