Fitness-for-Duty Evaluation: Ethical and Legal Implications - Assignment Example

Fitness on duty is concerned with the competence and effectiveness of an officer in duty, this include issues such as safety of the officers and his colleagues and responsible handling of weapons. Although most police officers are against fitness-for-duty evaluation, such evaluations have major legal and ethical implications to the officers. This essay will therefore discuss the legal and ethical implication of such evaluations. The essay will also address the effectiveness of such evaluations.

Police employers have the responsibility of ensuring that police officers under their command are mentally and emotionally fit to perform their duties (Hoffman & Collingwood, 2005). This implies that fitness-for-duty evaluations are significant to both the police officers and their employers. The law binds an employment contract; this indicates that both the police officers and their employers have legal responsibilities for actions of police officers on duty. The attachment of legal responsibilities for police officers makes them to become more careful on how they conduct their duties (Heilbrun, Grisso, & Goldstein, 2009).

On the other hand, police employers are cautious about the mental and psychological health of their employees. This has made them to have a more intensive and extensive training and recruitment programs. Despite being monitored by the law, police misconducts are usual occurrence that affects the life of law enforcement officers. The legal obligations attached to fitness-for-duty evaluations have increased the number of cases that relates to law enforcers in civilian law courts. Fitness-for-duty evaluations have become a legal requirement for officers despite being an employment requirement for the officers.

This implies that police misconduct that results from officers on duty or officers off duty should be tried under the country’s law (Heilbrun, Grisso, & Goldstein, 2009). This has not only increased the number of cases involving police officers in civilian courts but it has protected the public from oppressive officers. This also promotes legal equality between officers and the public. Ethics are accepted codes of conduct in given societies that are based on morals. Police ethics defines the relationship between police officers and their relationship with the public.

Fitness-for-duty evaluations have influenced the behavior of police officers while on duty or off duty. These evaluations have therefore introduced new sets of rules or requirements for police officers. Despite being a requirement, the evaluations have become part of ethical requirements for police officers. It is therefore unacceptable for police officers to perform duties without having undergone such tests. The evaluations also promotes ethics among police officers by ensuring that the police force employ and retains officers who are capable of maintaining high moral standards.

On the other hand, the evaluations protect the public from becoming victims of police misconducts. Although fitness evaluations are aimed at enhancing the police performance through positive behavior, they have not achieved total success. This indicates that the evaluations have achieved partial success or effectiveness. The evaluations depends on the response of police officers, the attitude of such officers is therefore instrumental in ensuring the effectiveness of the evaluations. It has been established that