Table of ContentsCode of EthicsPersonal EthicsWorking UndercoverCorruptionUse of ForceInterrogationOther InteractionsThe Subject of Police Tactics, Including Use of Force and Techniques misleading, is often the subject of speculation. What is appropriate, what is not? Society frequently asks itself this question. The Rodney King incident, Ferguson, Miranda, and countless others have been made public, sparking questions about the ethical and moral standards that police officers should follow. From these and similar incidents, it is clear that police officers must have a code of conduct that they are required to follow. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayCode of EthicsPersonal EthicsEvery person has their own set of personal ethics by which they live. These beliefs may be based on religion or culture. Although this personal code may vary from person to person, there is a general ethic that is likely to be somewhat universal; such as work ethic, honesty, integrity and compassion. Personal ethics can also be the backbone of more organizational ethics. United Nations Code of Ethics and IAPC In 1979, the United Nations listed 8 basic principles regarding the conduct of police officers. They are as follows (UNHR 2017): · Officers must fulfill their duties by serving and protecting themselves against unlawful acts · Officers must respect and protect human dignity and human rights · Officers may not resort to force only when necessary and only in the exercise of their duties · Officers must maintain confidentiality unless duty or justice otherwise requires · Officers must not incite, inflict or tolerate torture · Officers must protect the health of detained persons by obtaining necessary medical care · Officers must not engage in corrupt acts and must oppose such acts · Officers must obey the law and report violations of the law or code of driving. Although this set of rules does not encompass all aspects of daily work, it addresses some of the most critical aspects: use of force, corruption and human rights. While most law enforcement agencies create their own codes of conduct and expectations, these principles remain essential as they provide the outline. The International Association of Chiefs of Police also lists an expected code of conduct. It adopts many of the principles listed in the UN Code of Conduct, but also includes stipulations regarding personal life and objective action in the exercise of functions (IAPC 2017). This is important because it not only gives a baseline of expectations during service, but also an overall set of expectations. It is important to have strong ethics and follow a code of conduct. However, at times, police officers find themselves placed in situations in which the application of certain ethics is not only contradictory to achieving the desired outcome, but can also be dangerous. It is important to understand, as civilian members of society, that such situations do and do occur often. It is also important to understand how to act as ethically as possible in a particular situation. Undercover work The nature of undercover work is inherently deceptive. An officer lies to suspected criminals about their identities to infiltrate thegroup and get information. Sometimes this information is collected solely for learning purposes. For example, undercover operations inform law enforcement on how to manipulate customs (for shipping), as well as how drugs can be smuggled in, as well as many other elements of key information. Other times, the undercover work is done in the form of some sort of in-person surveillance. In this case, the officer has personal knowledge of criminal activity. This type of work is designed to gather evidence in order to make an arrest. Some examples include working undercover within drug networks and human trafficking. There are many moral dilemmas encountered while working undercover. As noted, this is incredibly misleading to begin with. Other aspects that are in question are whether the agents themselves engage in illegal activities, whether illicit agents commit illegal activities while undercover, and whether , are the agents still credible. In undercover situations, committing illegal acts may be necessary to maintain cover and gain the trust of targets of the investigation (Hotham 2015). For example, an undercover agent may attempt to infiltrate a major drug ring; he may have to move up the ranks by selling drugs. Faced with these dilemmas, how should an agent proceed? Many agencies provide clear rules on how to behave, as well as additional training for undercover work. Officers are often instructed not to solicit illegal activities, such as actively selling drugs or encouraging the solicitation of prostitution; instead, they are encouraged to be more passive, allowing the person to act independently and choose to seek out these illegal activities (Hotham 2015). This is obviously the most ethical choice an agent can make in such situations; however, this is not always a feasible choice. The officer also has an obligation to try to preserve his life, and in some cases, simply adhering to this fringe ethic can put him in grave danger. At this point, the ethic needed is one of the common good: everyone should do what they can to help the group as a whole, including participating in illegal activities to help stop future illegal activities. This should not discredit the officer.CorruptionAnyone who has ever watched a movie or TV show about the police is familiar with the concept of corruption. Officers align themselves with criminals to receive a reward, officers steal items from the evidence locker, officers use their authority to obtain sexual favors from citizens to avoid tickets; the list of situational corruption cases could go on and on. According to the United Nations Code of Conduct, officers must object and report this type of behavior; but this is not always the practice (2017). Many officers feel they must be loyal to their colleagues (another personal ethic), and reporting may therefore be considered a betrayal. In situations of corruption, it is essential to act ethically. Society grants a certain level of authority to police officers due to the nature of what they do; corruption undermines the entire law enforcement sector of the justice system and creates great distrust of police officers. An example of this is the case of Agent Julian Steele, who used his position and deceptive tactics to obtain sexual favorsillicit crimes of the mother of an arrested teenager (Lynch 2013). Not only was Steele himself arrested and charged with multiple crimes, but it called into question the integrity of his previous cases. In these cases, the use of ethics is not really questionable because corruption cannot bring greater good to society. Officers must obey and enforce the law, and report those who do not. Use of force As the UN Code of Conduct states, force should only be used when necessary and in the exercise of duty (2017). There can be no exemption from this, nor any questionable ethics. The term force can be used to describe the use of physical actions (i.e. hitting) or the use of weapons (gun, baton, Taser, etc.). Through the training that officers receive, they are better equipped to use both their weapons and their bodies as a weapon compared to civilians. Use of force can be deadly when used by a police officer. One of the biggest controversies in society regarding policing concerns the use of force and when it is appropriate. Should an officer be allowed to strike, use brutal maneuvers to subdue or kill an individual? The UN code only states that force can be used when necessary. In cases where police use extreme force, the incident is often thoroughly investigated to determine whether their actions were appropriate. For example, when the video following the Rodney King incident, it became apparent to many people that the level of force used by police officers was excessive. Although they were initially acquitted, the Supreme Court ruled that the officers had acted inappropriately (Nazaryan 2017). In some cases, it is understandable to use even deadly force, for example when the life of the police officer or another person (a victim) is in immediate danger. Although extreme force was inappropriate in the King case, it has been necessary in many other cases. Although society cannot determine the level of danger an officer perceives at any given moment, we expect them to exercise sound, rational judgment in these situations. In 1989, the United States Supreme Court assessed what level of force was acceptable in Graham v. Connor. The case centered on the treatment of a diabetic man falsely suspected of criminal behavior (Clark 2014). The outcome of this trial established what the force expectations are. Justice Rehnquist was quoted as saying: “The reasonableness of a particular use of force must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, rather than with 20/20 hindsight” (Clark 2014). . This explains that each situation may require a set of actions that, in retrospect, we may view as unnecessary, but which, in the moment, are reasonable.InterrogationsInterrogations are another area of ​​police work that is subject to scrutiny. meticulous. This is due to the implementation of various tactics to obtain information. Agents may outright lie, pit people against each other, exaggerate, be incredibly vague, and use other strategies. Everyone's goal is to obtain more information than they currently have. Deception is once again at the root of the majority of ethical dilemmas in this case. It should also be noted that during interrogations, the use of force as well as torture conditions are also a concern. Popular culture has represented interrogations as encounters during which a police officer “brutalizes” the suspect to make him.