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Teaching the Thin Blue Line

NCJ Number
208677
Journal
Law and Order Volume: 53 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2005 Pages: 69-71
Author(s)
Paul Strong
Date Published
January 2005
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article discusses how training in professional police ethics should build upon the personal values and morals of individual officers and be reinforced in the policies, practices, and climate of the law enforcement organization.
Abstract
The article focuses first on individual qualities that officers must cultivate through training and practice, notably loyalty, which revolves around the individual, the organization, and the profession. Officers must maintain an allegiance to their individual values and ethics while maintaining a commitment to infusing the organization with an ethical climate. This, in turn, sets the standard for professional performance that harmonizes with both individual and organizational standards. In addition to loyalty, integrity is also a major factor in maintaining the credibility of the policing profession. Integrity, i.e., steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code, is essential to consistent and long-term ethical behavior over the course of one's professional life. Another key quality of police professional ethics is leadership, which involves being fair, firm, and consistent in dealings with others in the course of exercising authority and discretion. Police have a mandate that includes authority to intervene in and control the lives of others in circumstances that pertain to law enforcement and public order. Leadership requires that discretion be used fairly, wisely, and effectively for the benefit of others rather than for personal advantage and the exploitation of others.