Ethical Dilemmas in New York Police Department - Assignment Example

? Ethical Dilemmas in New York Police Department Lecturer: Moral and morality refer to what is judged as good conduct. A moral person is one that has the capacity to make value judgments and decipher what is right from what is wrong. The measure of right and wrong is determined by a society, and in the case of the police, professional ethics apply. Police officers belong to special profession where professional ethics are not restricted to their profession only but stretch to affect their individual values and character. The judgments made by an officer are supposed to be consistent with the police code of ethics and deviation from this makes their act unethical. However, dilemmas arise due to the environment; and the ethics are not as black and white as before. This paper takes an in depth analysis into these dilemmas and focuses on the NYPD, and how they have and should handle such deviations. Introduction The police are the most noticeable section of law enforcement and are tasked with the responsibility of regulating harmful actions by the public and protecting civil rights. The expectation set for the police is high; they are not only expected to enforce the law but to be exemplary in moral conduct, as they are model for the citizens to emulate. When the police deviate from this expectation, the public lose confidence in the system and what the law can accomplish as they who are regarded as the epitome of the law cannot abide by it. This makes police ethics and action dire, both to the public and other law enforcement agencies (Pollock, 2012). 1. Ethical dilemma Before one becomes an agent of the law, he/she is required to make an oath to abide by the Law enforcement code of ethics. The code states: As a law enforcement officer, my fundamental duty is to serve mankind; to safeguard lives and property; to protect the innocent against deception, the weak against oppression or intimidation, and the peaceful against violence and disorder; and to respect the Constitutional rights of all men to liberty, equality, and justice. ….. I will never act officiously or permit personal feelings, prejudices, animosities, or friendships to influence my decision. With no compromise for crime and with relentless prosecution of criminals, I will enforce the law courageously and appropriately without fear or favor, malice, or ill will, never employing unnecessary force or violence, and never accepting gratuities (DPS, 2009). Police officers are expected to adhere by the code and this is enforced in training where the recruits are taught police culture. The NYPD boasts of having an academy that offers training to recruits and integrates character traits and virtues that embody the police force. These include courage, honesty, integrity and loyalty. These traits and virtues are put into question when the officer gets to the field and encounters real life situations, just like the rest of us. The common ethical dilemmas that face the police are on particular crimes and they include the following: Torture/ police brutality: also known as dirty haring, where a police officer tortures a suspect for information, especially when it is organized crime. The information held by the suspect is crucial in bringing down a mob or even syndicate. The officer feels he has the duty to protect the citizen and goes to distant measures to acquire the information, even if it means the use of force (McCarthy R. & McCarthy J, 2011). Illegal search: the law requires that an officer to have a search warrant in order to enter into a private property and make a legal search. However, an officer on the field may find that hard to do as timing is of essence in crime fighting as crime happens in real time. This means if the officer is to keep the law, he will have to go in pursuit of a warrant thereby letting the illegal transaction go through. The police officer is torn in between preserving the law and enforcing the law, antagonistic virtues promoted by the police culture at such moments (Barker, 2011). Kickbacks/gratuities: this refers to monetary rewards obtained from individuals and businesses that benefit from having a good working relationship with the police. This include towing companies, ambulances, lawyers, garages, undertakers, taxi cabs, etc, as they are in a position to give these companies referrals for their businesses (Pollock, 2012). Opportunistic theft: this occurs when the police make an arrest and withholds the belongings of the suspect. In the process, the officer takes part or all of the cash obtained from the suspect Also, an officer can find himself in a position where the evidence recovered has monetary value, or even in other instances it is cash. The officer may submit less cash for evidence and keep some for his own needs, because no one knows how much was recovered. On occasions, the police have taken money from unconscious or dead victims, especially in illegal drug related crime scenes (Barker, 2011). Shakedowns: this is the extortion of money from criminals caught in the act in return of letting them go without punishment. These are opportunistic corruption deals as the officer finds himself in a position where he can gain financially. Shakedowns are also common in traffic violations where an offender is asked for a pay by the officer to let them off the hook. Decriminalization of soft drugs: this is hard for officers who are investigating a major crime and come into contact with a potential contact who is engaged in marijuana or some low drug peddler. The police have to make a moral decision as to whether he will arrest the low level drug peddler or use him as a lead to get to the main dealer. 2 & 3. Resolving ethical dilemmas and factors considered Early intervention systems-this involves conducting audits on the performance of officers. A feedback system such as public complaints can be used to gauge an officer’s ethics standing. The components of moral behavior show that after moral recognition, the behavior is bred until it becomes part of the character. An officer whose situation intervened early has a chance of stopping the behavior and corrective measures employed to inculcate the right ethics. The issues of brutality, perjury and undercover investigations are tackled by this approach (Braswell, McCarthy R., & McCarthy J, 2011). Administrative reaction: an indifferent attitude towards police misconduct easily erodes the public confidence and de-motivates upright police officers. The NYPD must create an atmosphere where good character is motivated and rewarded while bad character is punished. Whistle blowing should be encouraged and motivated on officers who are devious in the operations and those who do not uphold the police code of ethics. All corrupt activities are punished by administrative action (Pollock,2012). Commissions of investigation: the issues of police corruption and ethics have changed. The issues that police addressed in the nineties are very different from those they face today. Back then, the issues involved drugs and protection but the current issues that are affecting the police are undercover investigation dilemmas, kickbacks and cyber crime participation. Commissions like the Mollen commission, independent commission, and the Knapp were formed to recommend changes in police activities, ranging from trainings to the code of ethics adopted (Barker, 2011). 4. Ethical challenges Undercover investigations: an officer who is on undercover has to assume the role of a criminal if he is to achieve success. He must blend in with the criminals and at times do criminal acts to gain trust. The issue of drug abuse and theft while in this operations are hard for field operatives. Perjury: police at times find it hard to obtain evidence about a known felon. They are torn between waiting to catch him on the act or fabricate evidence and submit false witnesses in order to incriminate the suspect. The officer looks at the common good and finds himself in a challenging situation, as doing one crime will help solve another (Braswell, McCarthy R., & McCarthy J, 2011). Racial profiling: an officer has the obligation of preventing crime, and as such may feel that an individual is predisposed to commit a particular crime based on their race. For example, stop and searches of blacks are popular in New York by offices who suspect them of drug dealing, robbery and possession crimes. This means that the beliefs of the officer conflict with the department policy that is against racial profiling (Barker, 2011). Sex offences: the code of ethics applicable to the police does not allow one to engage in sexual activities when on duty or engage in work related relationships. It is not uncommon to see relationships among cops or to those who solicit sex when on duty, which falls away from the acceptable police conduct although it is not directly related to their on job performance or that of their partners. 5. Managing ethical challenges To manage the above challenges, the following tactics can be applied: Ethical training: NYPD recruits are trained on tactical issues, criminal investigations, civilian training but little about moral value and they are left to depend on their own characters in the job. This means that the police culture is not well understood, and surveys have shown that the tenets of secrecy, autonomy and loyalty are not highly regarded among officers. Social contract theory and constitutional principles should be incorporated in the police academy and refresher courses offered for officers on ethics (Monica, 2007). Improved selection process: the debate on whether the system is the problem or the individuals selected to become police officers is had to call. Ethics are a function of personal character and not professional training alone. The use of excess force and the authority given to officers is a lot for one with a weak character to handle. Trainings improve one’s values, but character is formed out of judgment calls. The NYPD can take care of such by incorporating thorough background checks, psychological examinations, scenario assessment tests and polygraph checks to ensure they have the right people for the job (NYPD, 2012).This rids of opportunistic theft and shakedowns among the police. An officer with good character will not accept kickbacks, since they are character related (Monica, 2007). 6. Michael Dowd Case  Michael Dowd joined the NYPD at the age of 20, as a rookie and rose to become a patrol officer in charge of Brooklyn 75th precinct in 1983 and within a year formed a crew of cops who started dealing in drugs, specializing in robbing drug dealers and selling the drugs themselves. This made them up to $5000 a week. He grew in business and reports state that in 1986 he started kidnapping drug dealers for ransom and sold the drugs on Long Island. Officer Dowd was caught snorting cocaine in the dashboard of his patrol car and made $8000 a week from the selling of drugs and offering police protection to the criminals in the syndicate in 1992. Dowd was not the only one involved in the incident as his dealings were known by more than 75% of the officers in the precinct but none volunteered to offer information. The officers under Dowd pooled their cash and bought cocaine approximated at four ounces every time and distributed it using their power. Dowd was a force on the streets and most people called him ‘Mike the cop’ for his known brutality and dealings (Mollen Report, 1994). The bust was made by the Suffolk county police department who in their investigation tapped the phone of a low level street drug dealer only to find out that the NYPD police officers were involved. Suffolk County worked in cooperation with the NYPD internal affairs unit to capture the officers and all the 49 civilians involved in the racket. 7. Why was it Successful? The case was successful because the investigations were kept a secret between the NYPD internal affairs and Long Island police. The involvement of the Suffolk police was a matter of coincidence because the rot in the NYPD would not have expunged the officers. Over the span of 6 years, the NYPD has received 16 complains alleging that Dowd had robbed drug dealers and was trading in cocaine in the 75th precinct of East New York. The lifestyle of the officer reflected someone with an income more than that of a cop. He drove in a red Corvette to work and sometimes was picked by a limousine (Monica, 2007). The Mollen commission established that the department’s handling of corrupt cases was wanting as the police chief was unwilling to take the department through an investigation as it had ruined its reputation with the investigation of the 77th precinct. The precinct commander even admitted to having had rumors about Dowd’s involvement but took no action to correct or investigate the matter (Treaster, 1994). Conclusion The matter of ethics is one that needs to be addressed in law enforcement. In any large department, the issues of ethics are hard to handle and stemming them out is difficult as they are comprised of several sources. Ethical challenges and dilemmas in the police affect the public confidence and police culture. The balance between secrecy and autonomy and how to enforce this in the field is hard. The investigations have shown the importance of ethics and the pitfalls that police face in their operations. References Barker, Tom. (2011).Police Ethics: Crisis in Law Enforcement. Charles C Thomas Publisher. Braswell, M. C., McCarthy, B. R., & McCarthy, B. J. (2011). Justice, Crime, and Ethics. Elsevier. Department of Public Safety, DPS.( 2009). Law Enforcement Code Of Ethics. Retrieved from: http://www.dps.unc.edu/DPS%20Policies%20&%20Procedures/Appendix/3LawEnforcementCodeofEthics.pdf Milton, M., Baer, H., Evans, H.,& Lankler, R.C. (1994). Mollen Commission Report. Retrived on 24 May 2012 from www.parc.info/client_files/Special Reports/4 - Mollen Commission - NYPD.pdf Moll, M. M. (2007). Improving American Police Ethics Training: Focusing on Social Contract Theory and Constitutional Principles. Retrieved on 24 may 2012 from http://forumonpublicpolicy.com/archivesum07/moll.pdf Treaster, J. B. (1994). “ Corruption In Uniform: The Dowd Case; Officer Flaunted Corruption, and His Superiors Ignored It”. Retrieved on 24 May 24, 2012 from http://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/07/nyregion/corruption-uniform-dowd-case-officer-flaunted-corruption-his-superiors-ignored.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm Pollock J.M. (2012). Ethical Dilemmas and Decisions in Criminal Justice. Cengage Learning. Read More