First, middle, last name of the student
According to Josephson Institute of Ethics (2010), six pillars of character universally are the following: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. Trustworthiness for a police officer means that people can tell him/her (“him” will be used for simplicity everywhere further) all the details of the crime and they will be sure that what was said will stay only between them.
Respect means that police officers respect dignity of all people regardless of age, beliefs, religion and sex.
Responsibility is accountability, self control and pursuit of excellence. In my view, this pillar is the most important for a police officer, since he investigates crimes and works with victims. Therefore, he should master his own emotions and pay all the attention to what is being said by the accused or a victim. He should be held accountable for what is said, since his words may affect the judges’ decision and, therefore, life of an accused person.
Fairness is, as well, important for a police officer, since he should be free from prejudices and treat all people equally. The officer’s behavior should give no space for bribes or any other unhealthy deeds that may somehow affect his decision or that of the judge, for example.
Caring, fifth pillar is in my view the least important pillar for the police officer due to the fact that too much sensitivity never works well in such a profession as police forces. If one is too much caring of the victim, how would he make a right decision? Altruism may be good when you work as a baby-sitter, but not as a police officer.
Citizenship is the sixth pillar of character. It means knowing rules and obeying them. It is really important for the officer, indeed. However, responsibility still takes number one.
If I could add another pillar, it would be leadership ability: to influence the colleagues and motivate them to work more effective and efficient.
References
Josephson Institute of Ethics. (2010). Making Ethical Decisions: The Six Pillars of Character. Retrieved from https://classes.soe.ucsc.edu/cmpe080e/Spring10/Week%2007/6-pillars.html
