Police Code of Silence Essay

When a new recruit joins a jurisprudence throw he is bursting with excitement and anticipation to fulfill exclusively of the principles and standards that comply with being a constabulary incumbent dedication, allegiance, trust and integrity. He has a advanced set of standards and a set of goals he wants to keep an eye on as an office goer of the law such as stopping crime, modify the moralistic of the neighborhoods and becoming a positive mentor to the y turn uph of the community. He has a new sense of belonging he is now a member of a team, a brotherhood, an official member of an elite indian lodge he is an officer of the law.What this new officer get out soon discover is that there is an unwritten law amongst his mate officers a law that does non bode well with his fresh sense of principles and standards. This law is called the spirited paries of Silence. It is an expectation that an officer leave behind overlook or not babble out about the misconduct violation s of another officer.Why Officers Keep Silent integrity of the reasons a police officer mogul go against his own moral ordinance is because of his internal dilemma of whether to be loyal to the officer law of conduct or to be loyal to his expletive officers who he has create a friendship and a brotherly bond with. The dilemma top executive also be go ford when the corrupt officer is a supervisory program or is superior in rank.Another reason an officer might keep silent when there is misconduct present within the force is because he is afraid of retribution. When an officer snitches on a fellow officer there may be a whole plethora of concerns that come from the corrupt officers indiscretions. Will he be fire? Will his family be affected? Will there be nix impact on the precinct? Will there be further reasoned actions taken? The officer that is snitching also has to fear harassment from his fellow officers. He has to worry if his fellow brothers pass on continue to have his back and confirm him in the line of duty if he rats out a fellow officer.There may also be scenarios where the officer will caput his morals and what is the honest path to take. There might be robin Hood typesituations where an officer is doing wrong to create a kernel to a positive end. An example would be of an officer falsifying documents to be sure that the consequent rapist that he apprehended is held in custody. If an officer were to snitch that the arresting officer falsified the documents hence a dangerous serial rapist may be set free to continue to target harmful crimes against others.Leaderships RoleThe management and leaders in a surgical incision play a large part in the ethical way of that department. Leaders atomic number 18 mentors, role models, leading examples of what type of behavior is to be expected at that particular police station. How management reacts to misconduct will set the standard for what is acceptable and unacceptable conduct. Rookie off icers look to their leaders and management to set the ethical guidelines for the station and to enforce the written code of conduct. When leadership and/or management are corrupt themselves, it is presumable that they will not be held accountable for their unethical actions nor will they hold their fellow officers accountable for misconduct.When the leaders and management of a force are a positive example and conduct themselves in an ethical manor then their subordinates will be more likely to follow suit and hold themselves to the standards of their leaders. When leaders enforce responsibility and accountability for unethical actions there is an apprehension that misconduct will not be tolerated and neither will tranquillise of other officers misconduct.Breaking Down the WallEven though the Blue Wall of Silence is an ethical issue for nearly every police precinct around the world, there are steps that can be taken to help reduce misconduct and corruption by police officers. As stated before, a strong and ethical leadership and management step to the forement must be in place to be able to enforce ethical standards and accountability and set proper examples. Next, hiring practices need to include procedures that test for critical thinking skills these skills allow officers to think and react quickly and to be able to react in an ethical manner when in a stressful situation. This skill can also help officers think out of the box and come up with ways to perform their duties without stepping outside their moral boundaries. Psychological evaluations before hiring can help determine ifan individual is likely to give into peer pressure or to choose solidarity with his peers over police integrity. planning from the beginning of a police career and throughout on how to deal with moral dilemmas, ethical situations, and reporting the misconduct of fellow officers. Training and information must also be conducted to teach what is the expected behaviors and what th e repercussions will be for misconduct. Management and leaders also need to be adroit to identify early archetype signs of unethical behavior. Citizen reports of misconduct and a high number of incidents involving excessive force are a couple of warning that management needs to intervene.A written code of conduct and a discipline guide line should be set in place so that expectations are known and disciplinary actions for unethical behavior are also known. A disciplinary guideline gives management less(prenominal) dissimilarity on how to handle misconduct so that they will be less likely to be swayed or perform unethically themselves.No upshot how strong a police officers moral and ethical values are, there will always be a measure in his career when he will have to question whether his loyalty to his fellow officer or the police code of conduct is more important. It is the officer that has had the good example and backup of ethical leadership and management, the upbringing to deal with those difficult situations, and the resources to know how to deal with those situations that is going to make the even out choice to not hide behind the blue wall of silence.