...OFF-DUTY CONDUCT OF POLICE OFFICERS Off-Duty Conduct of Police Officers Dan Henderson Abstract Police officers are held to a higher standard and pledge to follow the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics both on and off-duty. Some officers knowingly violate laws expecting preferential treatment if caught. This creates a double standard and fosters a lack of trust and respect by the general public. Police departments must hold officers accountable for off-duty incidents to maintain public trust and department integrity. Officers must hold each other accountable and not accept unethical or illegal behavior of any kind from a peer. Off-Duty Behavior of Police Officers Introduction Police officers in the United States are tasked with protecting the public from all enemies foreign and domestic. A police officer’s duties range from basic documentation of crimes that have occurred, to the active engagement, and battling of criminals to protect the citizens they serve. Police officers learn the Police Officer’s Code of Ethics while training in the police academy. They are expected to conduct themselves, both on duty and off with the Police Officer’s Code of Ethics in mind. Public expectation of fair and equal treatment The public that police officers serve have an expectation of fair and equal treatment. The Constitution of the United States (Bill of Rights) provides guarantees to all people in the United States of America. Article the sixth (Amendment IV)...
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...#3 1 Patrol and General Duty Policing For this assignment about patrol and general duty policing, a special guest was invited to the class to shed light regarding this matter. The special guest was Constable Nicholas De Winter of the Surrey RCMP. Constable De Winter has been a police officer for seven years and has a wealth of experience about patrol and general duty while patrolling the streets of Surrey, British Columbia. Firstly, Constable De Winter discussed the challenges about policing in general. Policing is a difficult and challenging occupation because police officers are always in the public eye. Each positive and negative move police officers make always get scrutinized by the public and the media. The uniform police officers put on represent a deterrent, which looks out and is a symbol that promotes law-abiding and discourages someone from doing law-breaking activities. Police officers still have to continue doing their job through all the scrutiny because they are asked to stay in the public eye as much as possible. So, the bottom line is police officers have to make logical and accurate decisions each day while facing pressure from not only from lawbreakers but also from the public. In addition, policing is a difficult job because policing requires officers to be readily available all the time, twenty four hours a day and seven days a week throughout the whole year. Secondly, Constable De Winter talked about the five duties of police work that is recognized by...
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...Police Officer -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Courteous Every member of the Police Force is a guardian and servant of the public. He or she is there to help and protect members of the general public and treat all persons with unfailing patience and courtesy, regardless of their social position, and answer all their questions with civility, no matter how trivial that they may seem to be. Saying good morning, thank you, please, would you mind, excuse me, I beg your pardon, cost nothing but leaves a positive and professional impression on the public. Tact The approach of a police officer has a great effect on the attitude of the public. That is why the use of tact and persuasion instead of force is encouraged. You will find that members of the public will comply with direction more willingly when they understand the situation or the event that took place. Insisting on the right of your authority instead of using tact will run you in the risk of having your authority challenged. Confidence It is very important that you have confidence in yourself and know exactly what you intend to do. A true knowledge and understating of your powers is needed. As long as you use your powers properly and fairly, you will have no fear of any consequences. Always make sure that you understand your orders properly before performing your duties. If you do not understand, you cannot expect to direct the public properly. Temper ...
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...Enforcement profession. One, a police officer has a very important duty in our community. Also, officers are required to protect all citizens from any potential threats, and uphold peace in our community’s. What experiences have pulled me toward this profession? Well, since I was young I have always respected the responsibility’s, of the officers in my community. Naturally I was interested in wearing a badge. B) Being a police officer, the job involves potential moral issues on a daily basis. For an example, police officers have the duty to protect all citizens, which may include your damsel in distress, or even your average Joe who is being held up at the local drug store; however, the title of citizen, is even given to those who, some say are un deserving of such protection, like murders, rapists, or even a collaboration of the two. So, a police officer has to overcome any personal feelings or opinions during his duty’s’. Another potential moral issue involved, with the day to day agenda of a police officer would be conflict of interest. Police officers are active in our community’s. With that in mind police officers have to be trusted in acting without bias in conducting their duties. For an example if an officer pulls over a person for speeding and the person just so happens to be his old Ethics Professor, from back in college. That officer is obligated to give that ticket as if the person he pulled of was a regular person. C) In the Police officer Code of Ethics, these moral...
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...Police brutality has been a huge issue in the U.S. going on for many years now, millions have died due to police officers, and majority of the time the police claim they did their duty rightfully. Who is there to blame other than the citizen killed by an officer when there were no witness accounts, and the police officer acted dramatically in killing a citizen, whom didn’t do anything to be killed? Being a very controversial subject, America has always wanted to find ways to fix the problem. Police have already obtained dashboard cameras but is that enough? For the past few years, the dashboard cameras have been some help on catching police brutality. But what about body cameras? Would they make a better more positive impact in the police...
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...Jamaica were persons of the Jamaican Constabulary Force (JCF) are accused of corruption. Few of which are, police man charged for reportedly solicited $10,000 in order not to proffer charges to a motorist for breaching the Road Traffic Act (Policeman on Corruption, 2010). A policeman confessed to stealing a laptop computer from a home in Hellshire Heights (Policeman Arrested, 2012). Between the periods January – September, 2011 the JCF issue a release that reviled that 34 members of the JCF were dismissed for corruption, 7 members were dismissed for corruption and 18 civilians were charged with corrupting JCF staff (JCF Anti-Corruption, 2011). These corruption statistics damages the image of the Jamaican country which in turn discourages investors, tourist and lowers the confidence that citizens have in the JCF. This literature review was done to outline the technologies that can be implementing in the JCF to lower the corruption rate in the country and how beneficial those technologies can be to the country. As such we will discuss how the society has been impacted by the process of corruption of in JCF, how beneficial GPS, surveillance cameras and mini recording devices can be in the Jamaican society if they were implemented in the JCF and how will the implementation of GPS, surveillance cameras and mini recording devices assist in the change of behaviour of the officers on duty. How the society has been impacted by the process of corruption of in JCF. Jamaican citizens tend...
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...Police Operations Paper CJA/214 Dec 17, 2011 Police Operations Paper The role of law enforcement officer has many duties; officers are sworn to protect and serve by fighting crime, maintaining order and conducting other services that benefit the community. Often times, a police officer is considered a crime-fighter, and this image has been enlarged by media attention. Styles of policing must match the community they serve to ensure that the roles of the officers are relative to the community. The structure of future policing can have a dramatic social, economical and political effect on the community and departments needs to recognize these aspects to ensure proper policing. Law enforcement agencies take part in several functions that place officers in situations that may possibly be life threatening. Dangers Law enforcement endangerments are regrettably real and officers are wounded or murdered in the line of duty every year in the United States. Bodily harm is most likely the greatest threat an officer will face. An officer is confronted with the possibility of assault by an armed offender every time the officer is called to respond to some form of disturbance. Bodily harm and death to an officer are not the only dangers of policing. Stress related illnesses and family issues can also contribute to the danger of police work. Challenging jobs can take a grim toll on an officer’s life and well-being, if staying safe and the pressure are not coped...
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...Corruption and Brutality in the Police Department Danyale Dorsey April 25, 2013 CJA/214 Todd Hill Misconduct, Corruption and Brutality in the Police Department What is this all about? Brutality, Corruption, and Misconduct has become a common occurrence in police departments today. For a better understanding of what these things mean, the book defines police corruption as acts involving the misuse of authority by a police officer in a manner designed to produce personal gain for himself, herself or for others. Misconduct is inappropriate actions taken by police officers in connection with their official duties which may lead to injustice and sometimes discrimination. Brutality is the use of excessive force, usually physical, but can be potentially a form of verbal attacks and psychological intimidation by a police officer. These types of accusations can be damaging to a police department and its link to the community that it is sworn to protect and serve. Police Corruption and Misconduct Case One: The former Police Chief, his wife, and five other officers from the Romulus, Michigan police department were indicted in a corruption scandal earlier this year. The allegations for the five officers were that there was misconduct going on in the department drug enforcement unit. These former officers of the drug unit were allegedly stealing thousands of dollars as well as drugs with a host of other charges stemming from the use of hookers, drugs while on duty, and padding the time...
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...enforcement officers will help you when needed and risk injury or death to get to you, because that is their promise. A day in the life of a law enforcement officer is unlike that of any other profession. There are many people eager to stand up and criticize the many fine men and women that work in law enforcement. While it is true that some unruly people do end up in a police uniform, that too can be said about people in every profession. Police officers are in a very dangerous position every day of their lives, on duty and off duty. It is necessary to be fair and open-minded when a police officer is being accused of excessive force or when their use of lethal force is being questioned. People have enough to fear in today's world without being led to believe that the police are the enemy. They are not, and in most cases, the only people that have any reason to fear the police are the people that are breaking the law. “Police brutality” has become an easy scapegoat for many people, but an officer’s use of force in the line of duty is often necessary and justifiable. A police officer’s day is unlike that of any civilian. While most people spend their nights at home with their families, all police officers must have their turn at the graveyard shift, which is usually between the hours of midnight and eight o’clock in the morning. This also happens to be the time period when most serious crimes and drunk driving accidents take place. On an average shift, a police officer is likely...
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...Police Officer Roles as Social Servants Erika Jones Albany State University Abstract This report addresses duties that are carried out by officers in their roles as social servants. Social service has always been a key part of policing. It is important that officers have to maintain a large tie-in into the community, not only the community, but a large variety of social agencies. Other than fighting crime, our law enforcement system, including police officers, make any necessary steps to ensure the safety for everyone. Social services has dependably been a key piece of policing while serving casualties of wrongdoing and guilty parties has been a significant stress of social work. Law implementation and social work have served the same target aggregate yet with shifting achievement. Keywords: social service, social servants, community To most people today, the basic duty of police officers is to “provide for public safety by maintaining order, responding to emergencies, protecting people and property, enforcing motor vehicle and criminal laws, and promoting good community relations” (Police Patrol). What most people do not know is that a police job does not limit those expectations. In a way, a police officer job is never done. As an officer, you are also expected to work as a social servant to your community. Aside from the every day anxieties and bothers of patrol cops, uncommon weights are accomplished by higher-ranking officers who are involved in the investigation...
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...Crime, Corruption and Cover-ups in the Chicago Police Department Anti-Corruption Report Number 7 January 17, 2013 Authored by: John Hagedorn Bart Kmiecik Dick Simpson Thomas J. Gradel Melissa Mouritsen Zmuda David Sterrett With Ivana Savic Justin Escamilla Magdalena Waluszko Dalibor Jurisic Tricia Chebat Published by University of Illinois at Chicago Department of Political Science 1 The Chicago Police Department has a legacy of both heroism and corruption. On the one hand, the department’s officers risk their lives on a daily basis to enforce the law, protect the public and preserve the peace. On the other hand, Chicago has a checkered history of police scandals and an embarrassingly long list of police officers who have crossed the line to engage in brutality, corruption and criminal activity. An analysis of five decades of news reports reveals that since 1960, a total of 295 Chicago Police officers have been convicted of serious crimes, such as drug dealing, beatings of civilians, destroying evidence, protecting mobsters, theft and murder. Moreover, the listing of police convicted of crimes undoubtedly underestimates the problem of corruption in the Chicago Police Department (CPD). The list does not include undetected and unreported illegal activity, serious misconduct resulting in internal disciplinary action, and officers who retire rather than face charges. Our analysis of police corruption in Chicago yields four major findings. First, corruption has long persisted...
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...PROGRAMME: MANAGEMENT FOR THE PROTECTIVE SERVICES DATE OF SUBMISSION: 12/09/2012 LECTURER’S NAME: MR. CLAYTON B LACKMAN TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction 2. Advance Equipment 3. Personalised weapons 4. Continuous Training 5. Remuneration Package 6. Medical and Welfare Facilities 7. Re-training and Foreign Training 8. Lectures on Anger management and Conflict Resolution 9. Deployment of Injured Officers 10. Additional Benefits 11. Understanding Human Behavior You have been placed as the head of department branch or section and ask to submit ten recommendations to the upcoming budget 2012-2013 to the Minister of Finance. The recommendations should be detailed showing the benefits to Trinidad and Tobago. The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) have several divisions and sections throughout the country. This writer has the responsibility as head of the Guard and...
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...introduce our self to the topic as we will be discussing the selection process of various levels of police such as local, state or federal officer and also we will include the various training programs through which the officers of each level goes before they are employed as officer. So as we are aware of the fact that police officers play most important role in maintaining disciplines and also they are the one who are most reliable for fighting with various types of crimes and criminals. So as it is very clear that the job of a police officer is a very hard one because they do face very tough problems while doing their job, so this is the reason why police officers do need to go through a very tough training and also various selection processes so that they do not face any difficulty while handling various criminals and therefore can perform their job very well. As there are certain levels of police officers like local, state and federal police officers and also of them go through various training programs before they are appointed as police officers. So let us discuss the selection process of a local, state, federal police officer, there are some requirements which are checked in the selection process. These are:- 1) Health- It is very important to know the physical and mental condition of a officer before selecting because it is very important to make sure that police officer is of sound mind and is also physically very strong to handle any bad situations. 2) Integrity /...
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...Business Law Term Paper Police Brutality in US – Abuse of Power 1. Introduction 1.1 Background Police are always said to be a law enforcement officer. They are legally allowed to use legitimate force when necessary to make an arrest, keep the peace and maintain order. However, when the force is used excessively or beyond which is necessary, police brutality occurs. Brutality can be in a number of ways, mostly likely will be physical; pain holds, batons, pepper spray, tasters and guns. In US, police brutality has always been a serious problem which those police officers usually rationalize their behavior by claiming that they maintaining the social order. Let me refer to one of the cases in US. In January 1997, Kurt DeSilva, 34, was shot and killed by a Pawtucket, Rhode Island police officer after a low-speed car chase. DeSilva, who was unarmed, was suspected of driving a stolen car.() In this case, shooting is obviously an excessive force used to stop a low-speed driving suspect. In fact, there are lots of such cases in US. From January 2010 to December 2010, there were 4,861 unique reports of police misconduct recorded which involved 6,613 sworn law enforcement officers and 6,826 alleged victims. () In those 6,613 officers involved, 23,8% of them were involved in excessive force reports, which is the most prominent type among the misconducts.() This paper aims to discuss the inadequacy of the current law in US to prohibit police brutality and give suggestions...
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...wearing of Body Armor saving lives of Law Enforcement Officers? Abstract Law enforcement officers throughout the nation place their lives at risk on a daily basis. With the availability of ballistic body armor to protect them, how effective is the use in preventing fatalities? With minimal historic research available, federal agencies have begun to study this issue. A collaboration of numerous experts in science, ballistics and law enforcement have compiled information to rate the effectiveness of modern body armor. This rating system identifies the potential protection of the six different body armor levels currently in use in the United States. Utilizing statistical information maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, concerning officers who were shot in the line of duty, findings reveal that wearing body armor does save lives. Some injuries (non-life threatening backface signature wounds) still occur due to the impact of the projectile with the body armor and some fatalities occur due to a round escaping the protective fibers by slant deflection. Currently, there is no singular bullet proof material for use by police officers, the body armor in use today has and will continue to save the lives of those who wear the badge. The unpredictable nature of policing in today’s society brings to light concerns about what can be done to increase officer safety. The murder of a law enforcement officer has a horrific effect not only on the officer’s family...
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