Police Misconduct1. What role does the police/corrections subculture play in fueling law enforcement misconduct?
Police subculture is a popular notion in law enforcement literature. According to Ortmeier and Meese (2009), police subculture is an important determinant of police behavior and attitude. The definition of police subculture is based on common attitudes, which are characteristic in a typical police department. The police subculture perceives the community in terms of violence and hostility; thus, the general reaction is to ensure secretiveness, supportiveness and unity in the police force. The conventional characterization of police subculture is based on attitudes, values and behaviors developed within a typical police department (Ortmeier & Meese, 2009).
Whereas the police department has a professional code of conduct for the police officers, some policemen and women adopt their own ethical code, which requires them to maintain loyalty to their colleagues at the expense of protecting and serving the public. In that respect, in case one of the policemen is reported to have disrespected the fundamental laws, it is expected that the other police officers will either ignore or assist in the violation of the code of ethics (Bolerro, 2012). While law and police administrators provide the rules and regulations to be followed by police officers to ensure effective service to the public, the police subculture overrides the code of conduct in all respects. The subculture specifies the duty and relationship of police officers with each other, the kinds of people to relate with, and their attitude towards the police administration and the law. The manner in which they treat the citizens leads to public mistrust. Consequently, police officers develop subcultural mechanisms to isolate themselves from the public; thus, increasing chances of police misconduct. 2. Identify at least three things that criminal justice leaders can do to reduce the amount of ethical violations in their organization.
Police misconduct has proven to be a chronic problem in America, and organizational culture tends to bar various reform efforts. Past reforms have focused on individual acts, while disregarding the root cause of the problem, which is police subculture. Instead of improving organizational soundness, past reforms have aimed at improving public perception. Criminal justice leaders need to focus their reform efforts on police subculture, in order to enhance workplace ethics and allow for the flourishing of virtuous conduct (Ortmeier & Meese, 2009).
One way to deal with police subculture is for the administrators to adopt a ‘zero tolerance’ policy against lying. This will help in reducing the code of silence. Police administrators should inculcate virtues of good loyalty, truthfulness and justice in the heart of every police officer.
Police officers who go against the ‘zero tolerance’ policy should be properly disciplined in order to serve as a deterrent mechanism against future potential misconduct (Bolerro, 2012). This mechanism of ‘policing the police’ is an effective way to promote ethical competence.
Secondly, criminal justice leaders should promote ethical education of police officers. Ethical education and training provides a critical link between ethical behavior and effective law enforcement. The lack of ethics training, particularly in ethical decision-making also contributes to mistrust of the whole law enforcement community, yet a democracy cannot exist without significant public trust in government officials and institutions. Police officers need to be trained on how to deal with ethical dilemmas, which are presented by their job such as the use of force.
Lastly, it is important for criminal justice leaders to enhance public relations (Bolerro, 2012). The public mistrust on police officers has psychological impacts on police officers, who often respond by building a great wall. Criminal justice leaders need to ensure that police officers have good relations with the public in order to have mutual trust and cooperation toward law enforcement.
References
Bolerro, A. (2009). The Power of Police Civility. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 81(8).
Ortmeier, P. J., & Meese III, E. (2009). Leadership, ethics, and policing: Challenges for the 21st century (2nd Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
