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Many people consider the U.S. justice system, comprised of various organizations, such as the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, and the FBI, as one of the best criminal justice systems in the world. Nevertheless, the system still has concerns that it deals with on a regular basis, such as ethics and ethical conduct.
The topic of ethics and ethical behavior has existed for centuries. Many people believe that Socrates was the first philosopher to delve into the issue of ethics, specifically the ethical treatment of problems in government.1 Plato documented Socrates' discussions concerning ethics in The Republic.
Ethical Standards
As society has evolved, the questions and concerns that involve ethics and ethical behavior have grown more difficult to address. Ethical standards have become both more complex and scrutinized by the public than at any other time in history. Therefore, law enforcement personnel must carry out tasks assigned to them while the rules and laws constantly change and their freedom to perform the necessary tasks becomes obstructed. Citizens expect law enforcement officials to operate in an efficient and professional manner without expressing personal views and emotions. To accomplish this, law enforcement personnel must have a strict and unwavering adherence to a code of ethics and a code of conduct.
Law enforcement officers are professionals; they work in a skilled occupational group whose prime consideration constitutes providing a service that benefits the public. Because law enforcement is a profession, ethics and ethical conduct play an important role. Ethics and ethical standards involve doing the right thing at the right time in the right way2 for the right reason.3 With this in mind, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) established a code of ethics to govern the conduct of its members. This code of ethics, originally written in 1957, was revised at the IACP conference in Louisville, Kentucky, on October 17, 1989. The IACP membership reviewed and finalized these revisions. In October 1991, IACP members unanimously voted to adopt the new codes.4
U.S. citizens have a set of values and norms that they expect all law enforcement (local, state, and federal) to practice. To follow these norms and to gain respect, law enforcement personnel must remain ethical and conduct themselves accordingly at...