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What is Ethics? Ethics is two things. First, ethics refers to well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues. Ethics, for example, refers to those standards that impose the reasonable obligations to refrain from rape, stealing, murder, assault, slander, and fraud. Ethical standards also include those that enjoin virtues of honesty, compassion, and loyalty. And, ethical standards include standards relating to rights, such as the right to life, the right to freedom from injury, and the right to privacy. Such standards are adequate standards of ethics because they are supported by consistent and well-founded reasons.

Secondly, ethics refers to the study and development of one's ethical standards. As mentioned above, feelings, laws, and social norms can deviate from what is ethical. So it is necessary to constantly examine one's standards to ensure that they are reasonable and well-founded. Ethics also means, then, the continuous effort of studying our own moral beliefs and our moral conduct, and striving to ensure that we, and the institutions we help to shape, live up to standards that are reasonable and solidly-based.

Ethics in Policing

Police integrity and ethics are fundamental to effective policing and help build trust within communities. Sound conduct by police improves community interactions, enhances communication, and promotes shared responsibility for addressing crime and disorder.The ethically ideal police system would be one with integrity and there would be no corruption nor misconduct. There would be no us-against-them and no disrespect for the limits of the law or how it's enforced. Everything done in private would be just as if it was done in public. Mistakes would be treated as learning opportunities but there would be less of them because of widespread adherence to the values of probity, propriety, restraint, reasonableness, and caution. Recruitment, selection, and training mechanisms would be flawless, with promotion on the basis of merit, no one being without ample supervision and the organization giving its personnel whatever resources they need to perform their work better. There would be "open door" policies to the public, academics and the media. Nothing the police do or how they do it would come as a surprise to anyone.The commitment to a code of ethics is unconditional. You don't lower your ideals (or revise your mission statement) just because circumstances in the environment have changed. The true test of character is keeping your faith in the face of adversity.

Components of Good Policing ethics

According to the Law Enforcement code of ethics administered by the International Association of Chiefs of Police there are several components that make up good police ethics they are:

Discretion

A police officer will use responsibly the discretion vested in the position and exercise it within the law. The principle of reasonableness will guide the officer’s determinations and the officer will consider all surrounding circumstances in determining whether any legal action shall be taken.Consistent and wise use of discretion, based on professional policing competence,will do much to preserve good relationships and retain the confidence of the public. There can be difficulty in choosing between conflicting courses of action. It is important to remember that a timely word of advice rather than arrest—which may be correct in appropriate circumstances—can be a more effective means of achieving a desired end.

Use of Force

A police officer will never employ unnecessary force or violence and will use only such force in the discharge of duty as is reasonable in all circumstances.Force should be used only with the greatest restraint and only after discussion, negotiation and persuasion have been found to be inappropriate or ineffective. While the use of force is occasionally unavoidable, every police officer will refrain from applying the unnecessary infliction of pain or suffering and will never engage in cruel, degrading or inhuman treatment of any person.

Confidentiality

Whatever a police officer sees, hears or learns of, which is of a confidential nature, will be kept secret unless the performance of duty or legal provision requires otherwise. Members of the public have a right to security and privacy, and information obtained about them must not be improperly divulged.

Integrity

A police officer will not engage in acts of corruption or bribery, nor will an officer condone such acts by other police officers. The public demands that the integrity of police officers be above reproach. Police officers must, therefore, avoid any conduct that might compromise integrity and thus undercut the public confidence in a law enforcement agency. Officers will refuse to accept any gifts, presents, subscriptions, favors, gratuities or promises that could be interpreted as seeking to cause the officer to refrain from performing official responsibilities honestly and within the law. Police officers must not receive private or special advantage from their official status. Respect from the public cannot be bought; it can only be earned and cultivated.

Unethical Conduct

Unethical is behavior that is not in accordance with the laws, by laws, policies, standards or guiding principles of the organization. It involves the misuse of your official position and your authority. Unethical behavior produces a negative image of the police service to the public and causes a breakdown in the trust and communication between police and citizens.Police misconduct encompasses illegal or unethical actions or the violation of individuals’ constitutional rights by police officers in the conduct of their duties. Examples of police misconduct include police brutality,dishonesty, fraud, coercion, torture to force confessions, abuse of authority, and sexual assault, including the demand for sexual favors in exchange for leniency. Any of these actions can increase the likelihood of a wrongful conviction.

How unethical behavior in policing affects members of the society?

When police officers act in unethical ways, it reduces the amount of trust that the public has for the police and the law enforcement system in general. This is a very damaging thing for the relationship between the public and the police. A good example of this can be seen in a recent scandal in New York City over police officers "fixing" traffic tickets. When things like this happen, the public starts to think that the police do not always treat everyone equally. They think that the level of justice that a person gets depends on who they know or other such improper factors. This makes them trust the police much less than they otherwise would.In this way, unethical behavior by police lowers citizen confidence in the police service as a whole and harms the entire community.

As a result of this lack of trust in the police service because of unethical behavior ,it may have a domino effect and can increase the crime rate and decrease the crime detection rates because the public refuses to cooperate with the police service and additionally they may be skeptical to cooperate because of the fear of becoming an 'informant'. In conclusion, ethical policing needs to be consistently practices throughout all divisions and departments of the police service, not only that but there should be stiff penalties for refusing or disregarding to practice the principles of good police ethics.