Disciplinary sanctions against law enforcement officers should be enforced regardless of the fact that the organizational structure of the police force has remained static over the years. Given that the organizational structure is resistant to reform in the past, the justice system has been unable to reduce police misconduct (Aitchison, 2004, p.46). The organizational structure has been overlooked in that the reformers focus on individual incidents only and not the entire police force. Also, the code of silence has been used by the police force to safeguard their institution and encourage other policemen to lie on behalf of other officers. This has become detrimental to the police force because of misguided loyalty. Thus, this paper will look at some of the disciplinary actions that can be taken against officers or a given police institution for violating work ethos and expectations.
The Law enforcement officers’ Bill of Rights outline that if a police officer violates given rules and regulations, they can face disciplinary actions such as suspension., demotion or dismissal from their line of work. Also, officer’s punishment is determined by the highest-ranking officer of a given unit to administer punishment that is parallel to the law violated. For example, an officer can be dismissed for a total of three days without pay or pay a fine of $150 (Aitchison, 2004, p.54). It is crucial to note that when an officer violates given rules and the law, he or she undermines the mission statement of the entire police office.
Disciplinary action should be more severe to police officers that have deliberately violated the law, rules, protocols, or a certain procedure (Aitchison, 2004, p.72). Also, officers should face severe disciplinary actions of they repeat violation rules and regulation or the law. This warrants for a severe disciplinary action in order for the police force to deliver their services according to their mission statement to the greater society. In addition, certain police officers disregard the significance of the disciplinary action such that they do not change their conduct. In such incidences, the police officers can be reassigned of their duties or dismissed from their duties.
The media assumes that most police officers become drug addicts because of the nature of their jobs. Given that most police officers have to work with negative incidences in the community such as murder, rape, or domestic abuse, most police officers can turn to drugs as a way of dealing with the stress. Though there has not been solid statistics regarding this hypothesis, most police officers are encouraged to seek drug addiction treatment programs. For example, if a police officer has not had problems in her duty, he or she can seek detox treatment outpatient after conduction his or her duties (Xiong, 2006, p.13). However, if a police officer has a drug problem and, as a result, brought complications in performing his or her duties, officers are mandated to take an in-patient drug rehabilitation.
Given that police officers symbolize law enforcement, officers are required to be ethical and moral in terms of their conduct. Police officers should be reprimanded if they violate the law. It is crucial to note that certain morals and ethics can be pragmatic to certain officers. For example, an officer can physically or verbally abuse a member of a minority group because of personal beliefs or can be tempted to steal from a crime scene. Thus, the police officers should have an ethics class that makes them aware of ethics scandals where the police officer violates certain codes and laws of the country. Through seeking historical scandals and also contemporary issues, police officers are aware of their expectations in that all officers have an oath to abide by the rule of law. Thus, an ethics class should be taken by the entire police force in order to have a sound police department and morally sound officers. Also, the police department can use an undercover cop to examine the type of work that is done by a given police unit in case of a complaint. This will ensure that all police officers are aware of their conduct and moral ethics.
References
Aitchison, W. (2004). The rights of law enforcement officers (5th ed.). Portland, OR: Labor Relations Information System.
Xiong, C. (2006, April 26). DUI, obstruction charged in police officers' arrest; Two Minneapolis cops face disciplinary action after an early morning crash in Columbia Heights.(NEWS). The Birmingham Post, pp. 12-16.
