The Ethics Toolkit: enhancing law enforcement ethics in a community policing environment

Citation

Carter II, J.W. (2010), "The Ethics Toolkit: enhancing law enforcement ethics in a community policing environment", Policing: An International Journal, Vol. 33 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/pijpsm.2010.18133bag.001

The Ethics Toolkit: enhancing law enforcement ethics in a community policing environment

Article Type: Policing on the web From: Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, Volume 33, Issue 2

Following three years of research into the state of ethics training in American law enforcement agencies the Police Image and Ethics Committee of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) concluded that ethics was a crucial training and leadership need. In response to this finding the IACP and the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) developed The Ethics Toolkit: Enhancing Law Enforcement Ethics in a Community Policing Environment. This resource, designed to “heighten the awareness and visibility of law enforcement’s ethical standards”, is available through the Police Services section of the IACP website (see www.theiacp.org/).

The Ethics Toolkit is largely composed of resources that can be tailored for use within any law enforcement agency. For example, there is a Law Enforcement Oath of Honor, written and endorsed by the IACP, and detailed instructions to assist law enforcement officials in incorporating this oath into their organizations’ ceremonies and training. The Ethics Toolkit also includes model standard of conduct policies, which can be modified to fit the agencies working environment.

The Ethics Toolkit also includes resources to aid in insuring that the Oath of Honor and policy statements are more than empty rhetoric. The Ethics toolkit includes ethics-related material designed to be part of in-service training sessions. This training material discusses such topics as: the importance of ethics training, factors negatively influencing police integrity, and ways to enhance police integrity through ethical behavior.

Finally, the Ethics Toolkit provides a plethora of hypertext links to ethics-related reports, publications. These additional materials address such topics as a tool to allow police officers to conduct a self-assessment of ethical behavior, organizational factors influencing police ethics and integrity. Also provided are hypertext links to various agencies supporting ethics and integrity training, such as the Ethics Resource Center, the Institute for Law Enforcement Administration and the International Center for Ethics in Business, the Professions, and the Public Service, as well as many other such agencies.

In conclusion, in creating the Ethics Toolkit, the IACP and the COPS Office have done much of the leg work for police administrators and created a resource which takes much of the confusion/frustration out of police ethics training. The Ethics Toolkit is a valuable resource for anyone concerned about the ethical behavior and/or public image of law enforcement officials and agencies.

J.W. Carter IICollege of Mount St Joseph, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA