Ethics Flashcards
(20 cards)
The study of what is morally right and what is not, or a system of accepted beliefs which control behavior, especially such a system based on morals.
Ethics
An appointed officer or employee hired by and regularly on the payroll of the State or any of its political subdivisions, who is granted statutory authority to enforce all or some of the criminal, traffic, and penal laws of the State and who possesses, with, respect to those laws, the power to effect arrests for offenses committed or alleged to have been committed.
Law Enforcement Officer (LOE)
A telecommunications operator or dispatcher employed in an E-911 system.
Telecommunications Officer (TCO)
The type of behavior that is prohibited by statute and regulation made the subject of a contested case hearing, as opposed to other more generalized types of misconduct.
Law Enforcement Certification Misconduct
To ascribe one’s acts, opinions, etc. to causes that superficially seem reasonable and valid but that actually are unrelated to the true and possibly unconscious and often less creditable or agreeable causes.
Rationalization
A hearing conducted by a single hearing officer who is an attorney employed by the Academy and appointed by the training council.
Contested Case Hearing
The governing body of the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy.
Law Enforcement Training Council (LETC)
The continuum of compromise is known as acts of omission. Another way of looking at this phase is when an officer does not do something he/she is responsible for doing, such as turning a blind eye to traffic violations or other crimes, failing to completely investigate criminal activity, failing to follow up on investigations, failing to complete all necessary paperwork, and failing to report another officer’s unethical conduct.
Continuum of Compromise: Phase One
The continuum of compromise is known as acts of commission - administrative. No longer does the officer just commit acts of omission, but the officer now begins to commit administrative or policy violations.
Continuum of Compromise: Phase Two
The continuum of compromise is known as acts of commission - criminal. Common examples of this phase are tampering with evidence, thefts, bribery, etc.
Continuum of Compromise: Phase Three
The officer believes that if there is no victim harmed by the conduct, the officer did not do any real harm.
Unethical Conduct: Denial of a victim|Denial of injury
The officer believes that there was no other choice but to act in a certain way because everyone else is doing the same thing.
Unethical Conduct: Victim of circumstance
The officer believes in breaking certain rules or laws to accomplish an important goal. The officer believes the ends justify the means.
Unethical Conduct: Higher cause
The officer acts in a certain way only because the victim brought it upon himself/herself.
Unethical Conduct: Blame the victim
Once an officer’s unethical conduct is revealed, numerous consequences arise. Using the example of excessive use of force reveals some of the consequences of unethical conduct.
First: The officer may be subjected to criminal charges for assault or some related crime.
Second: The officer may be subjected to civil litigation, also known as a lawsuit, for the excessive use of force.
Third: The officer’s conduct has had a negative effect on the relationship between the community and law enforcement.
Fourth: The officer may be disciplined, demoted, or terminated.
Fifth: The officer may lose his/her certification as a law enforcement officer.
Sixth: The officer may experience additional domestic problems, such as divorce, due to the stress generated by the unethical conduct.
Consequences of Unethical Conduct
Social media can be a phenomenal law enforcement tool, increasing productivity and connectivity. (Cook, 2016). Law enforcement agencies can also leverage their social media presence to communicate about current events as they unfold and provide important messages of intent during crisis situations.
Agency Use of Social Media
There are two primary concerns with the ethics of an individual officer’s personal social media presence.
The first area of concern is how the message reflects on the agency’s image. A growing concern among law enforcement leadership is the public’s trust in the professionalism of the agency due to officer’s online activity.
The second area of concern is the officer’s credibility. Information that a law enforcement officer posts on the internet may be used to impeach or call into question the officer’s credibility at trial.
Personal Social Media Presence
When a company or organization collects data about social media users and analyzes it in an effort to draw conclusions about the populations of the users. (McCourt, 2018)
Social Media Mining
Each year multiple South Carolina law enforcement officers grapple with misconduct allegations arising from the unlawful use of a controlled substance. (C. Brumlow, e-mail communication July 26, 2019) These allegations may bring anything from a public reprimand to permanent denial of law enforcement certification.
Substance Abuse
Another contributor to law enforcement misconduct is Impaired Driving. Records indicate a consistent Driving Under the Influence pattern among current and former South Carolina law enforcement officers.
Impaired Driving
