According to Scharf et al (2008), In the Policy Journal Studies, a cipher of ethics is believed to be the moral compass that is crucial and necessary for making decision on how to act in critical moments within the police department. Ethics is vital for the police since they have great influence in the society. Since the police are involved in daily critical decision making, their ethics have got a great influence and effects in our lives. Thus it is vital that the members of the police force do right things without bias.
Ethics is imperative for the law enforcers as it assists in the administration of the police role. Recently there has been a heated debate on the role of the police and what they actually do. The debate has focused on the issues of community policing, crime prevention, order maintenance and crime fighting. Thus it is the codes of ethics that can assist the police to address the above concerns.
Ethics are known to be very important as they assist the police officers to develop other important morals and social values that are important for community existence. Thus the police are able to develop good values like those of social responsibility, compliance with the low and other important values like human rights. And any weakening of these values will hinder the ability of the police in achieving success in their daily activities.
Observing good codes of ethics can enable the law enforcers to build a strong public support. For instance, the community can only be willing to support the police with the information on crime cases only if they are guaranteed of the integrity and quality of the police officers. Otherwise when they doubt the integrity and the quality of the law enforcing officers they will prefer to stay back and hold on the information for their safety (Scharf et al 2008).
Reference
Scharf, P., Linninger, R., Marrero, D., Baker, R. & Rice, C. (2008). “Deadly force: the moral reasoning and education of police officers faced with the option of lethal deadly force,” Policy Studies Journal, Special Issue: 451-54.
