Criminal Law
Sergeant Robert Gray is the head of the New York Police Department. Under his supervision is a new public safety officer name Melissa Black and one of the veteran field training officers named Jake White. Since Melissa was a new recruit and was on her probationary period, she was assigned by her supervisor Sergeant Gray to FTO Jake White. Melissa is single and in her late 20s. She was young and a very attractive officer. On the other hand, Jake is married was his late 30s, the best FTO in the department. Jake also has the reputation of being a womanizer in his department.
During training, Melissa depended on FTO Jake for support and assistance while she is on duty. As a result, Jake and Melissa established a strong working relationship which was known by the people in their department. Sergeant Gray is aware of this special bond of the two, but assumed that it was purely professional in nature. In one instance Sergeant Gray saw the two of them arguing one night at office when no one else was around. Sergeant Gray did not want to meddle with their private lives so he left the two. The following morning, Melissa approached Sergeant Gray to inform him that she was pregnant with the child of Jake, but the latter does not want to leave his family for her. Sergeant Gray informed Melissa that it is the department’s policy not to condone extra-marital affairs between co-workers and she is forced to take a leave of absence. Melissa blamed Sergeant Gray for assigning her to FTO Jake, knowing he is a womanizer and a charmer. Melissa insists that it was the fault of Sergeant Gray to allow her to fall prey to a predator like Jake when they worked together during the entire 6months of her probationary period. She further argues that she has the right to file a claim based on her condition since her pregnancy has taken place while she was on duty, where Sergeant Gray should have supervised his subordinates.
In this given case, as a leader, Sergeant Gray failed to make a sound operational decision when he assigned Melissa, a new recruit under the training and supervision of FTO Jake White. White has established persona of being a womanizer who can sweep any woman off her feet. Here, Sergeant Gray is fully aware that Melissa is young, single, very attractive and easily persuaded. As the supervisor of Melissa, Sergeant Gray has the responsibility to ensure that she will not be placed in an uncompromising situation. Gray should have foreseen the impending harm that Melissa will encounter in the course of the training since she was new in the department, young, single and a beautiful woman who may be manipulated by a senior FTO who was also a known charmer.
Such situation could have been avoided if Sergeant Gray did not assign Melissa to be supervised by Jake. As a leader of the department, Sergeant Gray is mandated by his position to instill discipline among the members of his department. More and Miller (2010) argued that discipline, which is an operational concept is closely related to the managerial responsibilities of first-line supervision that should be maintained in all police departments. As a leader, Gray he has the sole responsibility to manage, oversee and control the affairs of the organization. It bears stressing that the military characteristic of police departments is best described by the chain in command in accordance to ranks (Cole and Smith, 2007). It is apparent that Sergeant Gray has the command responsibility over the subordinates assigned under him. As part of his duty, Gray should be on top of the situation at all times and has authority and control to monitor the actions of the members under his care. Cole and Smith (2007) have stated that in order to create a strong and effective relationship between the leader and his subordinate, the following elements should be present: discipline, control and accountability. The most essential duty among the three elements is discipline. The operations of the department will rely on the sound discretion of their leader. Thus, Sergeant Gray is expected to make a fair assessment of the whole situation before arriving at a decision that will work best for all. As a result, discipline guarantees the overall productivity of the department and make sure that everything is in order (More and Miller, 2010). To avoid similar incidents in the future, it is imperative that Sergeant Gray to make must use of his discretion to ascertain the type of decision that will work best for his department. As a sergeant, he is expected to perform a more challenging role of incorporating discipline to the daily operations of the department and a characteristic to be maintained by the subordinates (More and Miller, 2010). This is for the reason that Sergeant Gray holds a higher position in the department and the lawful authority given to his rank. There was lapse of judgment in the part of Gray and it can be shown in his complacent behavior of not validating reports of illicit affairs among members of the organization. It will appear that the extra-marital affair of Jake and Melissa is a known fact circulating in the department since many have attested to have witnessed the intimate relationship of the two. As a leader, he did not take extra effort to verify the persistent rumors that could have saved Melissa from such uncompromising situation. Sergeant Gray’s behavior was unethical because he allowed the illicit affair to blossom inside the organization while they were on duty.
As a leader, there was inaction and lack of initiative on the part of Sergeant Gray to enforce discipline among the people involved. He should have adhered to the department’s policy by issuing warnings for engaging in illicit affairs among the co-workers. As a preventive measure, there must also be a strict enforcement of the policy to avoid similar situation among co-workers. This is a highly ethical issue that will undermine the morality of the police department.
While Sergeant Gray may have been considered at fault at this instance, Jake and Melissa are equally accountable for their actions. As the supervisor of the organization, Sergeant Gray should have represented himself as the departmental disciplinarian by seeing to it that each line officer who shall be engaged in the delivery of police services that they are performing their duties well. Apart from this, the sergeant plays a significant role in the employee development process to ensure that the professional growth and fostering the sense of self-worth sergeant of his subordinates are taken cared of (More and Miller, 2010). Hence, for failure of Gray to become the disciplinarian and the role model of the members of his department made him liable for the affair of two of his subordinates.
On the part of Jake and Melissa, both are of age and can exercise their sound discretion, as police officers, so they are expected to carry their ranks according to ethical rules. Jake is a married person, and is fully aware that he can be terminated if he entered in illicit affairs with his subordinates. Much is expected of him to train Melissa who is just a rookie in their department and is responsible to train her in the performance of her functions. He should not have taken advantage of her vulnerability as an inexperienced and younger officer. On the part of Melissa, since she is of age and can fully discern the consequences of her action, she should have reported to her superior the advances made to her by her supervisor. As a police officer, she knows that one of the responsibilities is to be ethical and moral in all her decisions.
End Questions:
1.) What is the best decision to resolve the conflict?
2.) What should be done to avoid similar incidents in the future?
3.) Who should be disciplined for such unethical actions?
The practical solution to address the issue is for Sergeant Gray to suspend the Jake and Melissa to advocate fairness and equality in the organization and penalize FTO Jake White who advantage of his authority and position as well as the vulnerability of the new recruit. It is highly immoral and unethical to carry out an extra-marital affair with a colleague in the department. As a leader, such decision on the part of Sergeant Gray will be a sound operational decision that will work best for all parties involved.
References:
Cole, G.F. and Smith, C.E. (2007). Criminal Justice in America. California: Cengage.
More, H. W. and Miller. L. (2010). Effective Police Supervision, 6th ed. Burlington, MA:
Elsevier.
Pollack, J.M. (2011). Ethical Dilemmas and Decisions in Criminal Justice, 7th ed. California:
Wadsworth Cengage.
