Introduction
The following report is on ethics and law in the police service. The police ethics are
imperative in the police service as they enhance and build the police service, which is
crucial to the development of public confidence. Law enforcement officers need to have
high morality as their work of enforcing the law means that they must be compliant with
law, otherwise lack of integrity and disobedience to the laws that they enforce will erode
public trust and hamper them in the execution of their duties. The first part of this essay
discusses the findings from interviews from law enforcement officers. It looks into four
major areas of police ethics upheld by law enforcement officers. It looks into the
challenges that the law enforcement officers face in the execution of their duties. It looks
into how the law enforcement officers should conduct themselves in scenarios where
self interest conflicts with public interest.
Findings
Importance of ethics in the field of law enforcement
All the interviews indicated that ethics are an imperative aspect in law enforcement.
Having moral integrity is crucial to the law enforcement agencies in the course of
discharging their duties. Two of the interviews indicate that having character is
imperative in the law enforcement is usually exposed to instances where they can
advantage of public and steal, or use excessive force to forcefully take property of the
public. The law enforcement officers must have high level of integrity as their duties
involve protection of human life, property, and constitution of a given country. The
responsibility of protection implies that the law enforcement officer should be individuals
who are not only conversant with the law but also compliant and obedient to the law.

The second importance of ethics and character in law enforcement officers is that
people who disobey the law or criminals may try to evade justice by providing favors
and bribes to the law enforcement officers to divert justice. If the law enforcement officer
does not have a sense of integrity, the law enforcement officer is likely to give in to the
demands of such people and at the end; the officer will not have discharged the duties
as stipulated by the law.
The third reason given by the interviewees why character and ethics are critical to the
law enforcement officer is to enable them to win public trust. The public who the law
enforcement officers serve cannot confide to the law enforcement officers about security
issues if they feel that the law enforcement officers have some form of criminality. They
cannot entrust criminals to safeguard their lives and property. The law enforcement
officers must win the trust of the public by upholding high moral standards of ethics and
character. Trust is an imperative component in law enforcement as it ensures that the
officers develop good relationship with the public. The public serves as informants and
they cannot inform the law enforcement officers about suspects or criminal activities that
are ongoing if they have a perception that the officers are unethical and are likely to
treat them as criminals.
Other than winning the confidence of the public, character and ethics enable the police
officer to win the confidence of their seniors. Character enables the police officer to
follow instructions and to perform their duties without bias and discrimination. Law
enforcement ethics demand that the law enforcement officers obey the instructions
given out by their seniors. This makes the law enforcement activities to be well

coordinated and organized compared to instances where the officers act on their own
volition without coordination and order.
Law enforcement implies that the officer will face instances where personal interest may
conflict with the public interest. In case the officer does not possess character and good
ethical background, personal interests are likely to overrule public interest and the
welfare of the people that the officer is serving. Character and ethics act as guide on
how law enforcement officers should conduct themselves in different instances.
Are the police more ethical than they were ten years ago?
From the interviews, the police are more ethical than they were ten years ago. All the
law enforcement officers interviewed indicated that the officers are more ethical and
have a bigger sense of morality than they had a decade ago. Although the research
does not show the reasons, why the law enforcement offices have become more ethical
there are several aspects that may have contributed to this turn of events. The first is
increased vigilance from the public where the public expose corrupt police officers
forcing them to terminate their jobs or to stop unethical practices. The other reason is
that training and creation of awareness about the place of ethics in law enforcement.
This has made the officers realize that law enforcement is critical to successful law
enforcement.
Why do police officers become involved in misconduct?
The police officer become involved in misconduct for a number of reasons, the first
reason is that of low pay. The law enforcement officers deal with cases where large
amounts of money are involved, especially cases of robbery, drug trafficking, and
money laundering. The criminals involved in such activities may compromise the

integrity of the law enforcement officers by bribing them to stop the investigations
thereby compromising the pursuit of justice. If the officers are well paid, they are unlikely
to compromise their integrity and trust by accepting bribes and other favors intended to
divert justice.
Lack of information or appropriate training on ethics may also compromise the integrity
of the law enforcement officers due to the many instances that arise prompting the law
enforcement officers to compromise their integrity.
The third reason why law enforcement officers may be involved in misconduct is due to
lack of leadership or compromised senior officers who lack moral authority to punish
their juniors was they also engage in corrupt activities and other unethical practices .
For instance, if a Sherriff is involved in drug cartels, such an officer cannot condemn law
enforcement officer who is takes bribe from drug traffickers, as they do not have moral
authority.
Self-interest is another reason given by the interviewees as a cause of misconduct by
the law enforcement officers. For instance, a relative of the law enforcement officer may
be involved in a crime. The officer may choose to disregard the law and release the
relative or frame another person to free the friend or a relative. This is disregard of
ethical values expected which is common among law enforcement officers.
The law enforcement officers may also be involved in crime because of peer pressure. If
there are other law enforcement officers engaged in misconduct, they may make law-
abiding officers who uphold ethical values to compromise. This usually happens when
the senior officers are corrupt and they cover their juniors who engage corrupt activities.
Is the training offered in the training academy enough or not?

Two thirds of the interviewees felt that the police training is not enough. They feel that
they learn many subjects during the training period, and that ethics does not have a lot
of emphasis, as it should. The second reason why they feel that the training is not
adequate is because this should be a continuous training. It is an issue that the officers
encounter most of the times and it may affect them negatively in the course of their
duty.
However, one third of the interviewees feel that matters of ethics have nothing to do
with training and the training, which they received from the academies, was enough.
They argue that matters of ethics are a product of personal values and preferences
rather than a result of training. They feel that even with continuous training on ethics
those whose values do not embrace ethical conduct will still be involved in unethical
practices.
Ethics training be offered as an on-going process for law enforcement officers
Two of the interviewees feel that the trainings should be offered as part of an ongoing
process. This is because the training provides a platform for officers to share the ethical
challenges that they have encountered in the course of executing their durries. The
trainings also serve as a reminder of the officers on matters relating to ethics and their
day-to-day experiences. It enables the officer to have knowledge on how to handle
matters pertaining to ethics. In some states according to the interviewees such as North
Carolina, the training is an imperative procedure, which involves the participation of all
law enforcement agencies. When the training is mandatory as in those states, the laws
enforcements officers have to undergo the ongoing law enforcement and ethics training.
Whether police interviewees feel that, the training is important

Two of the interviewees feel that the training is the resourceful, as it will involve the
development of the law enforcement resources in the country. It will involve the moral
development of the law enforcement officers, as it will develop them to be aware of
instances where their integrity might be compromised. It will also enable them to handle
different situations differently as per the ethical standard, which is suitable for such a
scenario.
Will the training reduce incidences of police corruption?
According to the interviewees, the trainings will reduces incidences of police corruption
by providing forums where the officers discuss the challenges that they face in the
execution of their duties. it gives them an opportunity to brainstorm on how to deal with
ethical challenges as well as helping the to appreciate the place of ethics in their career.
The officers also indicate that the training gives them the motivation to act ethically. It
informs the law enforcement officers on how to act on various instances where they are
required to uphold high moral values and integrity. It provides a forum for brainstorming
and developing ways of handling cases and matters pertaining to integrity. The trainings
instill the moral values that are required in law enforcement and without high levels of
morality in law enforcement. It will be a challenge to deal with crime and insecurity and
they are likely to increase in places where the police are corrupt or they participate in
criminal activities. However, there are those who feel that the training cannot reduce
instances of corruption. They feel that being corrupt is a matter of personal choice and
they see it as a waste of resources.
Perspectives of the interviewee on matters of ethics and law enforcement

Law enforcement requires individuals who are ethical and compliant with the law. This is
because to punish and put lawbreakers into systems of justice, the individuals involved
must be obedient to the law. They should uphold high moral standards. There are
areas where the police officer is expected to practice impartiality in execution of duties.
The officer should the serve the public without discriminating them due to race gender,
age, or religion. This area has presented a huge challenge to law enforcement officers
as they may find their friends involved in crime and it might be very hard to arrest such
people. To avoid this, the law enforcement officers are recommended to work in areas
where they are far from the home to ensure that their integrity is authorized.
The other important area involves the use of excessive force the police officer should
ensure that they do not use excessive force as they discharge their duties as such
duties will affect the perception that the public has on the police officers. Eroding public
confidence affects the law enforcing officers as the public may withhold critical
information about the police offices. When use of force is unavoidable in law,
enforcement the officer should ensure that the force is not for humiliating the person.
This ethics present challenges in instances where force must be applied for instance in
containing violent demonstrators. When containing such demonstrators, excessive
force may be used which may be regarded as unethical yet it is in the best interest of
the police officer’s personal safety. Another instance is in a case of police shoot out
between thugs and the police officers, excessive force may be in use to contain the
suspected thugs, which is unethical, yet it is the right decision. Ethics therefore is not a
prescribed mode of conduct, but it is acting in the best interest of the public and the law
enforcement. The other ethical challenge that arises involves instances where the

senior officers are involved in criminal activities or misconduct and they want to involve
the other police officers as part of their duty by commanding them to do something
wrong or illegal like taking a bribe and favors then sharing the favors. In the line of duty,
it is wrong for a law enforcement officer to disobey orders from the seniors, but it is also
wrong to do something illegal knowingly.
Dealing with ethical challenges
The following are recommendations on how to deal with ethical challenges that are
involved in the execution of duties. The first recommendation is to offer an ongoing
training on matters pertaining to ethics. It is because as the society evolves
transparency and accountability are critical in law enforcement. With the need to honor
and respect human rights, instances where police have used excessive force have
received wide condemnation. The police officers need training to keep them abreast
with changing issues of crime. For instance, one of the most prominent theft cases
involve cyber crime and the use of internet, knowledge on ethics pertaining to the use of
the internet and technology is imperative. For instance, it is good for officers to know
whether it is ethically right to infringe the privacy of a given person by hacking into their
phones and tracking their conversations. Such issues must be addressed during their
training to keep the officers abreast with the changes in technology and criminal cases.
Apart from the training in the law enforcement, the other way of dealing with challenges
will involve having leaders in law enforcement agencies who have high integrity. This
should be officers in the police service for more than twenty years and they have never
been involved in cases of misconduct. Such officers provide morale to junior offices and
they inspire trust and confidence from the public. When the senior officers have high

integrity, they are also intolerant to officers who engage in cases of corruption, extortion,
and impropriety. This results to a team of law enforcement officers who have high
levels of integrity who elicit trust in the public and reduce levels of insecurity. The
training should also involve training officers on how to treat the members of the public
courteously as this is a major challenge. Whereas the ethical code of conduct demands
that, the law enforcement officers treat the members of the public with high respect and
courtesy, however, this is not the case. Due to the nature of their jobs, law enforcers are
likely to be irritable and rude to the members of the public, which might make them to
talk to the members of the public rudely and without care. However, this can change by
training the law enforcers on communication e6tjhibcs that deal with responding to
members of the public.
The third recommendation relates to the remuneration of law enforcement officers. To
elicit their cooperation and motivate them to uphold high levels of integrity, it is
imperative for the law enforcement agencies or the government to increase the levels of
payment. When the law enforcement officers receive good remuneration, they are likely
to serve diligently and ethically. The low paid officers are likely to give in to corrupt
people who may offer favors, bribes, and other resources. This compromises the
integrity of the law enforcement officers as they lose moral authority to arrest criminals.
Officers who have poor remuneration will not be motivated and they are likely to seek
alternative sources of income.
To ensure that there is compliance from the officers on ethical issues, officers involved
in issues of misconduct should be penalized either through sacking or through
suspension from their duties. This will instill discipline and communicate the essence of

upholding high levels of integrity and values during line of duty. Having well defined
measures and punishments policies for those found guilty of unethical practices is
critical in promoting ethical standards among the police officers.
Conclusion
The law enforcement requires individuals who uphold high levels of integrity. This will
make law enforcement is critical in the execution of justice. People who are compliant
with the law and have a high sense of integrity should be law enforcers dealing with
execution of justice. With training, leadership, and good remuneration the officers will
be motivated to discharge their duties ethically. Matters of ethics are imperative in the
restoring order and creating a society where life and property are safe. Ethics ensure
respect of human rights in the process of law enforcement.