ethics in policing essay

9 steps to keeping your cop ethics in check

If complacency can kill us physically, what role does ethical complacency play in ending a police officer’s career.

Developing an ethical survival mindset has the potential to save your reputation, your career and your life.

Photo/Pixabay

The PoliceOne Academy features a one-hour “ Ethics in Law Enforcement ” course. This one-hour course outlines the importance of ethics training and ethical leadership, and reviews how each leadership decision in a police department has an impact. Visit the PoliceOne Academy to learn more.

By Kevin Earl

We often read about police officers who destroy their careers through ethical lapses that make us ask, “What the hell were they thinking?” The answer is they were not thinking with an ethical survival mindset.

Going home safely to our families and loved ones is the priority for all law enforcement personnel, and the need for officer survival training is clear. However, are we preparing ourselves on a daily basis for ethical survival? If complacency can kill us physically, what role does ethical complacency play in ending careers? These are the questions that only you – the officer – can answer.

What is ethical survival?

Survival is defined as continuing to live or exist, typically in spite of an accident, ordeal or difficult circumstance. An officer survival mindset focuses on a cop’s physical and mental safety and survival. This mindset is built through training, field experience and personal practice.

Ethical survival takes a different approach from officer survival, as it is aimed at saving an officer’s career. Ethical survival focuses on personal accountability, a conscious recognition of potential ethical challenges, and the development of personal ethical strengths required to overcome the adverse and unusual ethical dilemmas police officers encounter. This definition is predicated on an acceptance that officers are fallible and, over time, can become complacent in their ethical preparation .

The numbers don’t lie

The need for an ethical survival mindset is clear when you compare the number of officers killed annually to the number of officers entered into the National Decertification Index.

In 2011, 71 law enforcement officers nationwide were killed feloniously . In the same year, over 1,350 officers were entered into the National Decertification Index .

We need to look at ethical survival in the same way we address line-of-duty deaths: What can we learn from these incidents and how do we prevent ourselves from making the same mistakes?

How to improve ethics in policing

Developing an ethical survival mindset is critical for career survival, as being complacent about ethics could end your police career. Here are 9 easy steps to follow taken from suggestions made by police officers during ethics training courses.

1. Engage in ethical pre-planning

We play the “when/then” game when training for officer survival. We can apply this same process to ethics, preparing ourselves ahead of time for potential ethical challenges. It is impossible to plan for every possible scenario, but ethical preparation improves our chances of ethical survival.

2. Avoid ethical complacency

The Below 100 training program stresses that cops should not be complacent about officer safety; we need the same focus to prevent ethical complacency, which can kill your career the same as a bullet.

3. Consider the consequences

Clearly understand and fear the consequences of police misconduct . The internet is full of websites that provide information on how police officers get in trouble and the consequences they face (loss of career, jail and prison, and embarrassment for themselves and their families). Examine these stories and consider how you would act under the same set of circumstances. Keep in mind that cops do not fare well in prison.

4. Put up ethics reminders

Placing ethics reminders where you will see them keeps ethical conduct in the forefront of your mind. The Law Enforcement Oath of Honor , Code of Ethics and other short ethical reminders are ideal. Small cards with values such as integrity, legacy and accountability are easy to create.

5. Remember your meaning and purpose

Ask yourself: What was my ethical purpose in entering law enforcement , and am I living that meaning and purpose today? This question gets you thinking about your current ethical state of mind and areas of improvement.

6. Think, and then act

Many acts of misconduct occur when an officer is confronted by an unexpected ethical challenge. Unlike an immediate officer safety decision, you can usually slow down to make an ethical decision. When you are not certain what to do, stop to consider your options. Think it through. Phone a friend. Get help in making the decision. Remember you are not alone in this profession and a moment of consultation with a supervisor or trusted peer may prevent you from making an ethical mistake with far-reaching consequences.

7. Set high ethical standards

This is a personal focus on your own ethical standards. We need to develop our own personal integrity (also called “moral fortitude”). This includes staying focused on ethical best thinking, not compromising our ethics and refusing to act unethically. Set high ethical standards for yourself and never lower them.

8. Be a role model

New officers watch senior officers and FTOs to see how they handle situations and decisions that pose ethical dilemmas. Positive ethical role models can shape younger officers, who are the future of our profession. Be that role model.

9. Make the decision to act ethically

You need to make a conscious decision to act ethically regardless of the circumstances. Refuse to act unethically, and support this with your behavior and actions.

Ethics is an intensely personal and, in many ways, a sensitive topic for police officers. Developing an ethical survival mindset has the potential to save your reputation, your career and your life. Leave a legacy of professionalism and ethics to pass on to those you influence. Protecting our communities as police officers is a calling, a privilege and an honor. Remember all who have come before you, and uphold the high standards they have set.

About the author Officer Kevin Earl has served for the past 20 years with the Washoe County School District Police Department in Reno, Nevada. He is certified as a master instructor through the California POST Instructor Development Institute, and has completed the Ethics Instructor Certification Course through the National Institute for Ethics. Kevin is currently completing his Ph.D. in Public Service Leadership through Capella University. His dissertation topic focuses on the effects of peer officer relational and ethical leadership on the ethical climate within law enforcement organizations.

• Palo Alto University

Ethical Issues in Law Enforcement

Police ethics encompass moral values and professional standards in law enforcement. Ethical values in policing include allegiance, honesty, loyalty, and courage. The law enforcement ethics code was written in 1957 and requires adherence by those individuals upholding the law. However, this code can often create ethical issues or dilemmas for officers. 

When Do Issues Arise?

Modern day ethical issues in law enforcement.

• Off-Duty Life
• Necessary Force
• Acting Impartially

Off-Duty Life:

Police officers are held to a high standard in their personal lives to reflect the integrity of their professional position. Law-enforcement personnel are under constant scrutiny, and their profession relies on the public's trust. Therefore, even when they are not working, they must maintain a high level of ethical and socially acceptable behavior. They must strictly abide by the law even after their workday ends. Officers must lead by example on and off duty. 

Necessary Force:

The Black Lives Matter movement highlights society's widespread concern over the use of excessive force by police officers. Failing to act quickly or acting too swiftly and escalating a situation at hand are real possibilities and can place the officer and civilian at risk of danger. Therefore, law enforcement must have sharp critical thinking skills. When questioning a police officer's ethics, we question their decision-making skills. When an officer's professional decision-making is challenged, the perception of diminished integrity and a lack of trust and respect for our police are at risk. For more information on the use of force, check out our training on Police Use of Force: What Psychologists Need to Know , presented by Mark Zelig, Ph.D., ABPP, in partnership with the American Board of Police and Public Safety Psychology (ABPPSP).

Acting Impartially: 

Officers may be limited in their ability to uphold the law by following specific procedures. For example, an officer is aware of domestic violence but has no court-acceptable evidence to pursue the case. In addition, officers who work and live in small towns and frequently deal with the same people make it a challenge to be impartial. Finally, an officer may struggle when they are forced to act in the best interest of the state rather than an individual and make an arrest for a minor act that could result in imprisonment, fines, job loss, and a damaged social reputation, or more. Research has found that perceptions of biased policing were consistently related to worsened legitimacy across adolescence and into young adulthood.  

Assumptions and stereotypes are ubiquitous in modern-day society. These assumptions cause unfair racial or ethical profiling in everyday life. Although profiling has been a significant facet of policing for a long time, officers use their discretion and judgment to decide the best and most appropriate course of action based on individual cases. Officers should not make decisions based on biases; however, decisions are made in split seconds, and at times, unconscious beliefs and widespread societal opinions may take over. 

Mental Health Care for Police Officers:

The pressure and stress of a law enforcement career can impact officers’ lives and health. Due to the shame and stigma surrounding getting mental health care, police officers are not eager clients. It takes a lot for them to seek help and very little to turn them off. Understanding police culture and how it can affect individuals, couples, or families is beneficial as a clinician working with law enforcement personnel. There are differences and similarities between first responders and mental health professionals, and effective clinicians know what it takes, personally and professionally, to create strong therapeutic alliances. For more information, check out our on-demand professional training program on Cultural Diversity and Cultural Competence in Police & Public Safety Psychology presented by Joel Fay, PsyD, ABPP & Ellen Kirschman, Ph.D., in partnership with The American Board of Police and Public Safety Psychology (ABPPSP).

Ethics in law enforcement are critical. Police officers must perform their jobs in a responsible, ethical, and efficient way to control crime and police communities. Due to public scrutiny, law enforcement officers must safeguard the public’s trust to perform their jobs effectively. Lastly, as law enforcement personnel are held to a higher standard than professionals in other vocations, police agencies must follow and uphold a strict code of ethics. 

Police officers must understand how to resolve the dilemmas during their careers. Solutions must be founded on social ethical principles to prevent:

• Suspicion of behaviors indicating bias
• Social group dominance/supremacy
• Espousing intolerance of or hostile action against a person or group because of actual or perceived characteristics

The public holds police officers to a high standard. Therefore, police ethics are separate from police department policies and procedures, ensuring that officers make decisions that do not break public trust and diminish credibility. Nevertheless, ethical decision-making is necessary so that law enforcement personnel will select a course of action that will yield the least harm to all parties involved. 

Amanda Beltrani

Amanda Beltrani, Ph.D., is a licensed forensic and clinical psychologist. She obtained a master’s degree in forensic psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She then earned a doctoral degree in clinical psychology with an emphasis in forensic psychology at Fairleigh Dickinson University. She completed an APA-accredited internship on the forensic psychology track at New York University-Bellevue Hospital. Dr. Beltrani has published over 15 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters on competency to stand trial, clinical assessment and decision making, serious mental illness, and barriers to implementing evidence-based practices. Currently, she is a staff psychologist at Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center in New York City. She works on a secure ward, conducting forensic psychological evaluations for the Courts as well as treatment and intervention programs for patients with various psychological and legal issues. In addition, Dr. Beltrani works part-time for CONCEPT Continuing & Professional Studies, providing new or aspiring mental health professionals with information about various aspects of practice to elevate their career and professional fulfillment.

Latest Business of Practice posts

Pseudologia Fantastica: Layers of Deceit

Compulsive lying, also known as pathological lying, mythomania, or habitual lying, is a condition where individuals habitually convey falsehoods,

March 15, 2024

What is Catharsis?

Catharsis theory posits that the process of purging strong or suppressed emotions, often referred to as "venting," has the potential to alleviate

March 12, 2024

Demystifying Pregnancy Symptoms in Men: Separating Fact from Fiction

Pregnancy, a biological journey predominantly associated with women, has stirred intriguing discussions around the possibility of men experiencing

February 29, 2024

Subscribe to our newsletter

Stay up-to-date on the latest trends, with new content shared twice a month.

Languages/Accessibility

Law Enforcement Code of Ethics

The IACP adopted the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics at the 64th Annual IACP Conference and Exposition in October 1957. The Code of Ethics stands as a preface to the mission and commitment law enforcement agencies make to the public they serve.

As a law enforcement officer, my fundamental duty is to serve the community; to safeguard lives and property; to protect the innocent against deception, the weak against oppression or intimidation and the peaceful against violence or disorder; and to respect the constitutional rights of all to liberty, equality, and justice.

I will keep my private life unsullied as an example to all and will behave in a manner that does not bring discredit to me or to my agency. I will maintain courageous calm in the face of danger, scorn or ridicule; develop self-restraint; and be constantly mindful of the welfare of others. Honest in thought and deed both in my personal and official life, I will be exemplary in obeying the law and the regulations of my department. Whatever I see or hear of a confidential nature or that is confided to me in my official capacity will be kept ever secret unless revelation is necessary in the performance of my duty. 

I will never act officiously or permit personal feelings, prejudices, political beliefs, aspirations, animosities or friendships to influence my decisions. With no compromise for crime and with relentless prosecution of criminals, I will enforce the law courteously and appropriately without fear or favor, malice or ill will, never employing unnecessary force or violence and never accepting gratuities.

I recognize the badge of my office as a symbol of public faith, and I accept it as a public trust to be held so long as I am true to the ethics of police service. I will never engage in acts of corruption or bribery, nor will I condone such acts by other police officers. I will cooperate with all legally authorized agencies and their representatives in the pursuit of justice.

I know that I alone am responsible for my own standard of professional performance and will take every reasonable opportunity to enhance and improve my level of knowledge and competence.

I will constantly strive to achieve these objectives and ideals, dedicating myself before God to my chosen profession… law enforcement.

Related Content

Ethics policies.

A number of Model Policies from the IACPs National Law Enforcement Policy Center address or are related to ethical conduct.

These policies are summarized and...

• Read more about Ethics Policies

Ethics Reports

• Protecting Civil Rights: A Leadership Guide for State, Local, and Tribal Law Enforcement
• Police Leadership in the 21st Century (May 1999)
• Police Accountability and ...
• Read more about Ethics Reports

Ethics Training

Training Keys

Police Ethics: Problems and Solutions, Parts I and II 

This two-part Training Key®   examines  the  nature  and  importance of police ethics and discuss some of the factors that...

• Read more about Ethics Training

Police Professional Standards, Ethics, and Image Committee

• Read more about Police Professional Standards, Ethics, and Image Committee

#475 - Police Ethics: Problems and Solutions - Part I

This is Part One of a two-part Training Key®. In this first part, we examine the nature and importance of police ethics and discuss some...

• Read more about #475 - Police Ethics: Problems and Solutions - Part I

Scroll to preview content. Please sign in to read and get access to more member only content.

• Architecture and Design
• Asian and Pacific Studies
• Business and Economics
• Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
• Computer Sciences
• Cultural Studies
• Engineering
• General Interest
• Geosciences
• Industrial Chemistry
• Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies
• Jewish Studies
• Library and Information Science, Book Studies
• Life Sciences
• Linguistics and Semiotics
• Literary Studies
• Materials Sciences
• Mathematics
• Social Sciences
• Sports and Recreation
• Theology and Religion
• Publish your article
• The role of authors
• Promoting your article
• Abstracting & indexing
• Publishing Ethics
• Why publish with De Gruyter
• How to publish with De Gruyter
• Our book series
• Our subject areas
• Your digital product at De Gruyter
• Contribute to our reference works
• Product information
• Tools & resources
• Product Information
• Promotional Materials
• Orders and Inquiries
• FAQ for Library Suppliers and Book Sellers
• Repository Policy
• Free access policy
• Open Access agreements
• Database portals
• For Authors
• Customer service
• People + Culture
• Journal Management
• How to join us
• Working at De Gruyter
• Mission & Vision
• De Gruyter Foundation
• De Gruyter Ebound
• Our Responsibility
• Partner publishers

Your purchase has been completed. Your documents are now available to view.

The Ethics of Policing

New perspectives on law enforcement.

• Edited by: Ben Jones and Eduardo Mendieta
• X / Twitter

Please login or register with De Gruyter to order this product.

• Language: English
• Publisher: New York University Press
• Copyright year: 2021
• Audience: College/higher education;
• Other: 20 b/w illustrations
• Keywords: historic injustice ; lethal force ; Ferguson ; law enforcement ; legitimacy ; police ; race ; technology ; ethics ; abolition ; effective ; lawful ; public good ; reconstruction ; reform ; evidence-based practices ; medicine ; political legitimacy ; professional ethics ; police culture ; organizations ; incentives ; danger ; masculinity ; guardian policing ; warrior policing ; militarization ; role morality ; war ; administrative rules ; killing ; prioritization of life framework ; SWAT ; portals ; race-class subjugated communities ; political knowledge ; American democracy ; qualitative methods ; power ; citizenship ; Angela Y. Davis ; Erica Garner ; police violence ; protest ; American South ; racial terror ; slave patrols ; truth and reconciliation ; Nazi Germany ; predation ; Second World War ; totalitarian ; cynegetic power ; drone ; surveillance ; data ethics ; predictive analytics
• Published: July 20, 2021
• ISBN: 9781479803750

The Ethics of Policing and Imprisonment pp 63–86 Cite as

The Ethics of Policing: A Feminist Proposal

• Julinna Oxley 4  
• First Online: 28 September 2018

1948 Accesses

1 Citations

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Ethics and Public Policy ((PASEPP))

This chapter uses a feminist lens to articulate the central problems facing policing today: (a) a decayed sense of trust in law enforcement, (b) the cultural influence of toxic or hegemonic masculinity, and (c) policing practices that perpetuate racial, gender, and social oppression. A normative model of feminist policing based in care ethics, called the community protector model, is proposed as the solution to these problems. Feminist care ethical policing values actions of caring justice—not just law and order—and identifies care and concern for others as the most rational basis for law enforcement. Finally, this model is applied to the issues in policing today, and the chapter shows how it can be used to create new protocols, change cultural gender norms, improve communication, replace authoritarian structures with community-based, interactive and educational ones, decrease discriminatory policing practices, and build soft power in law enforcement as a resource for engaging with citizens.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution .

Buying options

• Available as PDF
• Read on any device
• Instant download
• Own it forever
• Available as EPUB and PDF
• Compact, lightweight edition
• Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
• Free shipping worldwide - see info
• Durable hardcover edition

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Bibliography

Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness , The New Press, New York, NY, 2010.

Google Scholar  

Baier, Annette. “Trust and Antitrust,” Ethics , Vol. 96, No. 2 (Jan, 1986), pp. 231–260.

Article   Google Scholar  

Balko, Radley. Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America’s Police Forces , PublicAffairs, New York, NY, 2013.

Cherry, Myisha. “The Police and Their Masculinity Problem,” The Huffington Post, November, 26, 2014.

Collins, Patricia Hill. Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness and the Politics of Empowerment , Routledge, London and New York, 2000.

Collins, Patricia Hill, and Bilge, Sirma. Intersectionality , Polity Press, Cambridge, 2016.

Cooper, Frank Rudy. “Against Bipolar Black Masculinity: Intersectionality, Assimilation, Identity Performance, and Hierarchy,” UC Davis Law Review , Vol. 39 (2006), p. 853.

———. “‘Who’s the Man?’: Masculinities Studies, Terry Stops, and Police Training,” Columbia Journal of Gender and Law , Vol. 18, No. 3 (2009), pp. 671–742.

Crenshaw, Kimberlé. “Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color,” Stanford Law Review , Vol. 43, No. 6 (1991), pp. 1241–1299.

———. “Whose Story is it Anyway? Feminist and Anti-racist Appropriations of Anita Hill”, in Toni Morrison (ed.), Race-ing Justice, Engendering Power , Pantheon, New York, pp. 402–441, 1992.

———. On Intersectionality: The Essential Writings of Kimberlé Crenshaw , The New Press, New York, NY, 2015.

Davis, Angela. Are Prisons Obsolete? Seven Stories Press, New York, 2003.

Duck, Waverly. “The Complex Dynamics of Trust and Legitimacy: Understanding Interactions between the Police and Poor Black Neighborhood Residents,” Annals of the American Academy of Political & Social Science , Vol. 673, No. 1 (Sept 2017), pp. 132–149.

Engster, Daniel. The Heart of Justice: Care Ethics and Political Theory , Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2007.

Enloe, Cynthia. “Masculinities, Policing, Women and International Politics of Sexual Harassment,” International Feminist Journal of Politics , Vol. 15, No. 1 (2013), pp. 77–81.

Fagan, Jeffrey and Davies, Garth. “Street Stops and Broken Windows: Terry, Race, and Disorder in New York City, Fordham Urban Law Journal , Vol. 23, No. 2 (2000), pp. 457–504.

Fan, Mary D. “Panopticism for Police: Structural Reform Bargaining and Police Regulation by Data-Driven Surveillance,” Washington Law Review , Vol. 87 (2012), pp. 93ff.

Gale, Mary Ellen. “Calling in the Girl Scouts: Feminist Legal Theory and Police Misconduct,” Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review , Vol. 24 (January 2001), pp. 691ff.

Gilligan, Carol. In A Different Voice, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1982.

Harmon, Rachel A. “When Is Police Violence Justified?” Northwestern University Law Review , Vol. 102, No. 3 (2008), p. 1119.

———. “The Problem of Policing,” Michigan Law Review , Vol. 110 (March 2012), pp. 761ff.

______. “Why Arrest?” Michigan Law Review , Vol. 115 (December 2016), pp. 307ff.

Heiner, Brady T., and Tyson, Sarah K. “Feminism and the Carceral State: Gender- Responsive Justice, Community Accountability, and the Epistemology of Antiviolence” Feminist Philosophy Quarterly , Vol. 3, No. 1 (2017), Article 3, pp. 1–37.

Held, Virginia. “Feminist Transformations of Moral Theory,” Philosophy and Phenomenological Research , Vol. 50, Supplement (Autumn, 1990), pp. 321–344.

———. Feminist Morality: Transforming Culture, Society, and Politics , University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1993.

_____. The Ethics of Care: Personal, Political, and Global. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2006.

hooks, bell. Yearning: Race, Gender, and Cultural Politics , South End Press, Boston, p. 59, 1999.

Jaggar, Alison. “Feminist Ethics: Projects, Problems, Prospects”. In C. Card (ed.), Feminist Ethics , University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 1991.

———. “Feminist Ethics”. In L. Becker and C. Becker (eds.), Encyclopedia of Ethics , Garland Press, New York, pp. 363–364, 1992.

Kimmel, Michael. Manhood in America: A Cultural History, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2012.

Kittay, Eva Feder. Love’s Labor: Essays on Women, Equality, and Dependence , Routledge, New York, NY, 1999.

Kingshott, Brian F. “Women in Policing: Changing the Organizational Culture by Adopting a Feminist Perspective on Leadership,” Criminal Justice Studies , Vol. 22, No. 1 (March 2009), pp. 49–72.

_____. “Revisiting Gender Issues: Continuing Police Reform,” Criminal Justice Studies , Vol. 26, No. 3, (2013), pp. 366–392.

Kleinig, John. The Ethics of Policing , Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1996.

Book   Google Scholar  

———. “Legitimate and Illegitimate Uses of Police Force,” Criminal Justice Ethics , Vol. 33, No. 2 (2014), pp. 83–103.

Lebron, Christopher. The Making of Black Lives Matter: A Brief History of an Idea , Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2017.

Lerman, Amy E., and Weaver, Vesla M. Arresting Citizenship: The Democratic Consequences of American Crime Control . University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2014.

Madfis, Eric, and Cohen, Jeffrey. “Critical Criminologies of the Present and Future: Left Realism, Left Idealism, and What’s Left In Between,” Social Justice , Vol. 43, No. 4 (2016), pp. 1–21.

Miller, Eric J. “Role-Based Policing: Restraining Police Conduct Outside the Legitimate Investigative Sphere” California Law Review , Vol. 94, No. 3 (May 2006), pp. 617ff.

———. “Challenging Police Discretion,” Howard Law Journal , Vol. 58 (2015), p. 521.

Noddings, Nel. Caring: A Feminine Approach to Ethics and Moral Education , University of California Press, Berkeley, 1984.

President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. Final Report of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing . Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, Washington, DC, 2015.

Rich, Camille Gear. “Angela Harris and the Racial Politics of Masculinity: Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman, and the Dilemmas of Desiring Whiteness,” California Law Review , Vol. 102, No. 4, (2014), pp. 1027ff.

Roberts, Dorothy E. “Race, Vagueness, and the Social Meaning of Order-Maintenance Policing,” Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology , Vol. 89, No. 3 (Spring 1999), pp. 775–836.

Robinson, Fiona. Globalizing Care: Ethics, Feminist Theory, and International Relations , Westview Press, Boulder, 1999.

Sampson, Robert J., and Raudenbush, Stephen W. “Seeing Disorder: Neighborhood Stigma and the Social Construction of ‘Broken Windows’,” Social Psychology Quarterly , Vol. 67, No. 4 (2004), pp. 319–342.

Simon, Jonathan. “Racing Abnormality, Normalizing Race: The Origins of America’s Peculiar Carceral State and Its Prospects for Democratic Transformation Today.” Northwestern University Law Review , Vol. 111, No. 6 (2017), pp. 1626–1654.

Slote, Michael. The Ethics of Care and Empathy , Routledge, London and New York, 2007.

Snow, David A., Soule, Sara A., and Kriesi, Hanspeter. The Blackwell Companion to Social Movements , Malden, MA, 2004.

Stamper, Norm. To Protect and Serve: How to Fix America’s Police, Nation Books, New York, NY, 2016.

Stuntz, William J. The Collapse of American Criminal Justice . Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 2011.

Tronto, Joan. Moral Boundaries: A Political Argument for an Ethic of Care . Routledge, New York and London, 1993.

Wilson, James Q., and Kelling, George. “Broken Windows,” The Atlantic , March 1982.

Young, Iris Marion. Inclusion and Democracy , Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2000.

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Coastal Carolina University, Conway, SC, USA

Julinna Oxley

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Julinna Oxley .

Editor information

Editors and affiliations.

Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA

Molly Gardner

Michael Weber

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter.

Oxley, J. (2018). The Ethics of Policing: A Feminist Proposal. In: Gardner, M., Weber, M. (eds) The Ethics of Policing and Imprisonment. Palgrave Studies in Ethics and Public Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97770-6_5

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97770-6_5

Published : 28 September 2018

Publisher Name : Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

Print ISBN : 978-3-319-97769-0

Online ISBN : 978-3-319-97770-6

eBook Packages : Religion and Philosophy Philosophy and Religion (R0)

Share this chapter

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Publish with us

Policies and ethics

• Find a journal
• Track your research

• Search Menu
• Browse content in Arts and Humanities
• Browse content in History
• Colonialism and Imperialism
• History by Period
• Intellectual History
• Military History
• Political History
• Regional and National History
• Social and Cultural History
• Browse content in Literature
• Literary Theory and Cultural Studies
• Browse content in Media Studies
• Browse content in Philosophy
• Philosophy of Religion
• Browse content in Religion
• Christianity
• East Asian Religions
• History of Religion
• Judaism and Jewish Studies
• Religious Studies
• Browse content in Society and Culture
• Cultural Studies
• Technology and Society
• Browse content in Law
• Comparative Law
• Constitutional and Administrative Law
• Criminal Law
• Employment and Labour Law
• History of Law
• Human Rights and Immigration
• Intellectual Property Law
• Browse content in International Law
• Public International Law
• Jurisprudence and Philosophy of Law
• Legal System and Practice
• Medical and Healthcare Law
• Browse content in Science and Mathematics
• History of Science and Technology
• Browse content in Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Browse content in Social Sciences
• Browse content in Anthropology
• Anthropology of Religion
• Medical Anthropology
• Regional Anthropology
• Social and Cultural Anthropology
• Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Browse content in Economics
• Economic History
• Browse content in Education
• Early Childhood and Elementary Education
• Educational Strategies and Policy
• Browse content in Politics
• Asian Politics
• Comparative Politics
• Conflict Politics
• Environmental Politics
• European Union
• International Relations
• Middle Eastern Politics
• Political Sociology
• Political Theory
• Public Policy
• Security Studies
• US Politics
• Browse content in Regional and Area Studies
• African Studies
• Asian Studies
• Latin American Studies
• Browse content in Social Work
• Child and Adolescent Social Work
• Couple and Family Social Work
• Mental and Behavioural Health
• Social Work and Crime and Justice
• Browse content in Sociology
• Community Development
• Comparative and Historical Sociology
• Economic Sociology
• Gender and Sexuality
• Gerontology and Ageing
• Health, Illness, and Medicine
• Marriage and the Family
• Migration Studies
• Occupations, Professions, and Work
• Population and Demography
• Race and Ethnicity
• Social Theory
• Social Movements and Social Change
• Social Research and Statistics
• Social Stratification, Inequality, and Mobility
• Sociology of Religion
• Sociology of Education
• Urban and Rural Studies
• Reviews and Awards
• Journals on Oxford Academic
• Books on Oxford Academic

• < Previous chapter
• Next chapter >

2 Legitimate Policing and Professional Norms

• Published: July 2021
• Cite Icon Cite
• Permissions Icon Permissions

Police officers exercise political power. In order for political power to be permissibly exercised, or legitimate, it must meet certain legitimacy conditions. Some of the legitimacy failures in law enforcement today stem from inadequate attention to adjusting police practices in response to new evidence. Using the medical profession as a comparison, this chapter argues that law enforcement organizations have ethical obligations to evaluate themselves in light of the latest research, as well as to support ongoing research into best practices. In other words, the cultivation of epistemic and improvement norms should be central to police work. Though some agencies have taken steps in this direction, much work remains for policing to become a profession that is truly self-critical and committed to self-improvement. Policing has a fraught relationship with professionalism; the professional norms defended in this chapter contribute to a model of legitimate police professionalism.

Signed in as

Institutional accounts.

• GoogleCrawler [DO NOT DELETE]
• Google Scholar Indexing

Personal account

• Sign in with email/username & password
• Get email alerts
• Save searches
• Purchase content
• Activate your purchase/trial code

Institutional access

• Sign in with a library card Sign in with username/password Recommend to your librarian
• Institutional account management
• Get help with access

Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:

IP based access

Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.

Sign in through your institution

Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.

• Click Sign in through your institution.
• Select your institution from the list provided, which will take you to your institution's website to sign in.
• When on the institution site, please use the credentials provided by your institution. Do not use an Oxford Academic personal account.
• Following successful sign in, you will be returned to Oxford Academic.

If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.

Sign in with a library card

Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.

Society Members

Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:

Sign in through society site

Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:

• Click Sign in through society site.
• When on the society site, please use the credentials provided by that society. Do not use an Oxford Academic personal account.

If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.

Sign in using a personal account

Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.

A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.

Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.

Viewing your signed in accounts

Click the account icon in the top right to:

• View your signed in personal account and access account management features.
• View the institutional accounts that are providing access.

Signed in but can't access content

Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.

For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.

Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.

• About Oxford Academic
• Publish journals with us
• University press partners
• What we publish
• New features  
• Open access
• Rights and permissions
• Accessibility
• Advertising
• Media enquiries
• Oxford University Press
• Oxford Languages
• University of Oxford

Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide

• Copyright © 2024 Oxford University Press
• Cookie settings
• Cookie policy
• Privacy policy
• Legal notice

This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Sign In or Create an Account

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

Police Ethics and Misconduct Essay

Introduction, the code of ethics, police corruption, other forms of police misconduct, biased based policing and police brutality, ways to address police corruption.

The police officers are the representatives of the legal system, as they ensure the order in the society (Dempsey & Forst, 2016). Despite the obligations, one cannot underestimate the existence of corruption and misconduct of people in this profession. Consequently, the primary goal of this paper is to discuss the issue of corruption and other forms of misconduct in the police.

In the first place, according to the Code of Ethics, the police officer has to be a representative of the law enforcement system and “protect the constitutional safeguards” (Dempsey & Forst, 2016, p. 231). It focuses on the appropriate actions of police and their compliance with the law system. Following these principles helps avoid misunderstandings and ethical issues in the future. At the same time, it ensures the order in the society and helps minimize crime levels.

In this case, there several factors, which assist in assessing the ethical standards. For instance, the actions of the police have to correspond to the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics and internal systems (Dempsey & Forst, 2016). Apart from the official entities mentioned above, the ethical standards have to comply with the Bill of Rights and the Constitution of the United States of America (Dempsey & Forst, 2016).

Using multiple approaches assures that a low percentage of police officers are involved in misconduct and ethical issues. As for me, discovering the Code of Ethics in detail helps to see the principles of law enforcement systems from the inside. It is critical for me, as I plan to pursue my career in the field of criminal justice. Consequently, understanding these ethical standards helps me discover the potential lawsuits from different angles and highlight whether the actions of a police officer are ethical.

Despite the importance of the Code of Ethics, police corruption is present in various forms. Taking advantage of the position and committing various crimes might be one of the cases. For instance, the officers of the Los Angeles Police Department were convicted of organized crimes with the intention to free the city from the murders and gangs (Dempsey & Forst, 2016).

The reasons for their actions were taking advantage of their professional position, lack of control of the law enforcement system, positive social environment for corruption, disorganization of the community related to a substantial gap between low and high-income levels, and police structural features. A combination of these social, political, economic, and personal factors have a positive impact on the development of corruption among police officers.

In turn, corruption might be represented in the form of getting various services and products for free, bribery, theft, and burglary (Dempsey & Forst, 2016). Simultaneously, corruption can be internally organized when the officers work together as a group to gain financial benefits. Furthermore, the officers can perform their actions solely without any additional parties involved in the process. Furthermore, noble cause corruption implies that police officer might take advantage of his/her position and violate the law to save one’s life (Dempsey & Forst, 2016).

It is often referred to as the most common kind of corruption, as police officers are often engaged in similar activities. Lastly, corruption will have a reflection on the ethical principles inside the police department, damage the reputation of the police officers in the society, and question the ability of the police officers to comply with the concepts of law enforcement system. In this case, it not only harms individual reputation but also creates a wrongful perception of the police officers in the society.

Alternatively, other forms of misconduct might include the support and coverage of the drug trade, sleeping on duty, and providing false information to the court (Dempsey & Forst, 2016). In this case, these violations of the Code of Ethics often take place due to the lack of supervision. At the same time, sleeping on duty pertains to high levels of stress and fatigue (Dempsey & Forst, 2016). Meanwhile, support for the drug dealers and falsification of testimony are the suitable sources of the additional income.

In turn, police officers are often reported with the sexual violence (Dempsey & Forst, 2016). In the United States of America, the police officers might use force to ensure that a criminal complies with the legal system. In this case, sexual violence is one of the examples of the police taking advantage of their position while causing physical and psychological harm to an individual.

Other issues related to police misconduct include biased based policing and brutality. In this case, biased based policing implies that the opinion of the police officer might be prejudiced by race or gender (Dempsey & Forst, 2016). In the United States of America, it is often presented in the form of racial profiling. The case of Louima could be viewed as one of the examples, as the police officer made his assumptions based on the race of the tortured individual (Dunham & Alpert, 2015). This incident had risen the social concerns of police brutality and could be viewed as one of the first steps in the redesign of the ethical standards.

In turn, police brutality is the most common violation of the law by the police officers. It is still present nowadays and takes place in the form of physical force (Dempsey & Forst, 2016). Alternatively, it can also be represented by intimidation and false accusations in the committed crimes (Dempsey & Forst, 2016). In this case, the actions of the police officers are driven by the positive intentions, as their primary goal is to ensure the compliance of the citizen’s actions with the law enforcement system. One of the instances is the brain damage caused by the police officer “using a Teaser” on the victim in Painesville (Dunham & Alpert, 2015, p. 196).

In the first place, the police department can restrict the control to minimize the level of corruption. The actions of the police officers can be controlled with the assistance of supervision, changes in professional culture, and secret camera recordings (Dempsey & Forst, 2016). At the same time, one cannot underestimate the involvement of the public in the anti-corruption movement of the police officers. The citizens should report all potential violations of the Code of Ethics by the police officers to minimize the spread of misconduct. At the same time, the administration can constrain the actions of the officers and toughen the punishment for the violations.

Based on the factors highlighted above, it remains apparent that the corrupted officers have to be held liable for their crimes. In the first place, the officer can be arrested for the violation of the order in the community. In turn, he/she can be sued while relying on the civil law concepts of negligence (Dempsey & Forst, 2016). At the same time, causing physical harm and murder are states of the criminal law, and, in this case, the officer can be prosecuted in the case of being proven guilty.

Dempsey, J., & Forst, L. (2016). An introduction to policing. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Dunham, R., & Alpert, G. (2015). Critical issues in policing: Contemporary issues. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, Inc.

• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2020, July 31). Police Ethics and Misconduct. https://ivypanda.com/essays/police-ethics-and-misconduct/

"Police Ethics and Misconduct." IvyPanda , 31 July 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/police-ethics-and-misconduct/.

IvyPanda . (2020) 'Police Ethics and Misconduct'. 31 July.

IvyPanda . 2020. "Police Ethics and Misconduct." July 31, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/police-ethics-and-misconduct/.

1. IvyPanda . "Police Ethics and Misconduct." July 31, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/police-ethics-and-misconduct/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Police Ethics and Misconduct." July 31, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/police-ethics-and-misconduct/.

• Police Misconduct
• Police Misconduct: What Can Be Done?
• Social Psychology: Police Brutality
• Law Enforcement: Police Misconduct and Police Violence
• Police Authority or Brutality?
• Ethical Observations: Sexual Misconduct of Police
• Police in Law Enforcement Misconduct
• Police Brutality: Causes and Solutions
• Police Misconduct and Addressing Recommendations
• Police Misconduct and Forces of Deviance
• Exceptions to the Exclusionary Rule
• European Union Anti-Money Laundering Directive
• Sex Tourism, Legal Issues, Benefits, Threats
• UAE Cybercrime Policy and Its Effects
• Use of Force in Law Enforcement