This course will ground students in the reality that integrity is one of the most important non-tactical survival techniques an officer possesses to ensure a long career in law enforcement. It is also one of the least trained upon.
For officers to survive the frustrations and difficulties of the job, endless invitations and temptations to lower personal and professional standards of conduct, media, and public misunderstanding or non-support, and agency and peer pressures, they must demonstrate a solid core of integrity over time: acting in accordance with their values.
The Law Enforcement Code of Ethics lays out the classic set of expectations that law enforcement officers demonstrate a high level of ethical behavior and decision-making. Officers must self-regulate their conduct daily, as a leadership and personal responsibility issue, and one of career and personal survival.
By learning about the circumstances that turn an officer of integrity into a corrupt one and exploring a range of ethical situations that commonly arise for law enforcement officers, students will walk away with a road map to their retirement.
Performance Objectives:
At the end of this unit of instruction, the student will be able to accomplish the following objectives as outlined in the lesson:
X.X.1 Define: Ethics; Values; Integrity and Professionalism.
X.X.2 Identify the key components of the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics and the Oath of Honor.
X.X.3 Describe the process by which an officer’s personal integrity erodes, and the agency and community factors that can affect this.
X.X.4 Identify the negative consequences to officers and others that can result from unethical decisions.
X.X.5 Identify common situations that provide law enforcement officers the opportunity to demonstrate their integrity and use decision-making tools to make ethical decisions in those situations.
X.X.6 Identify factors that support officer integrity.
