Ethics and Integrity

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Ethics and Integrity

• Dr. Laura B. Myers
• Developer and Facilitator
• College of Criminal Justice
• Sam Houston State University

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5 Goals for Exploring Ethics

• Become more aware and open to moral and ethical
  issues.
• Begin developing critical thinking and analytical
  skills.
• Become more personally responsible.

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5 Goals for Exploring Ethics

• Understand how criminal justice is engaged in a
  process of coercion.
• Develop wholesight.

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3 Contexts for Understanding Justice, Crime and
Ethics

• Personal
• Social
• Criminal Justice

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What Is Ethics?

• Knowing the difference between right and wrong
• Deciding to do the right thing under pressure
• Assume people are trying to do their best
• Ethical issues are not clear-cut

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The Slippery Slope

• Contingencies
• Moral Experiences
• Apologia
• Stages

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The Resolution...

• Training
• Modeling
• Reinforcement
• Use of reality

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Becoming a Police Officer

• Choice to become a police officer.
• Introduction to policing.
• Encountering the reality.
• The metamorphosis.

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The Reality of Law Enforcement

• Discretion
• Low-visibility discretionary decision making
• Numerous laws, rules, and policies
• Threats to safety
• Authority

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An Ethical Crisis

• Misuse of funds
• Abuses of authority
• Winning at all costs
• Using people as a means to an end
• Making ourselves an exception
• Not recognizing an ethical trap

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More Examples

• Political leaders
• Lawyers
• Law enforcement officers
• Clergy
• Medical doctors
• Others?

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The Integrity Image

• Role models?
• Commitment
• Trust
• Karma
• Do these things exist in law enforcement?

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Workplace Impact

• Decrease in morale
• Breakdown in chain of command
• Burn-out
• Grievances lawsuits
• Loss of productivity
• Damage to image reputation

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Perceptions

• The role of law enforcement.
• Crime control
• Due process
• Public opinion

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Individual Impact

• Not efficient
• An organizational liability
• Not a team player
• Damage to career
• Damage to future
• Unfit role model

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The Institutions that Teach Values Morals

• Family
• School
• Church
• Media
• Do people recognize these influences on their
  choices?

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An Ethical Population?

• Cheating in school
• Cheating in sports
• Cheating in business

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Ethical Conflict Resolution?

• The Golden Rule
• Recognizing differences
• Recognizing human feelings
• Recognizing the sanctity of human life

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Can We Improve?

• Is it possible to teach people values and morals?
• What if they already know what is right and
  wrong?
• Need to teach people how to recognize the trap of
  an ethical dilemma

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ToolsPeople Can Use
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Remembering Character

• What is character?
• How can it be used in law enforcement?
• Being conscious of character

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The Six Pillars of Character
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1 Trustworthiness

• Honesty
• Integrity
• Promise keeping
• Loyalty

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2 Respect
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3 Responsibility

• Accountability
• Pursuit of excellence
• Self-restraint

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4 Justice and Fairness
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5 Caring
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6 Civic Virtue and Citizenship
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Moral Development

• Premoral Level
• Conventional Level
• Post-Conventional Level

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Character and Decision-making

• The greatest good
• Duty
• Karma
• Caring
• Being mindful
• That inner voice
• An Ethics Check

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An Ethics Check

• Is it legal?
• Is it balanced?
• How will it make me feel about myself?

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Inner Strength

• Living by principles
• Acting consistently
• Striving to be fair

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The Five P's of Ethical Power
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The Five Principles

• Purpose
• Pride
• Patience
• Persistence
• Perspective

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Principles of a Morally Good Person

• Just
• Truthful
• Trustworthy
• Moral courage
• Moral autonomy
• Benevolence

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In the Workplace

• Application of law
• Use of authority
• Due Process
• Meeting your goals
• Humans have intrinsic value

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Pressures in the Workplace

• Productivity
• Solving a bad problem during a crisis
• Doing your job

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Inner Strength

• Practice
• Seek advice
• Realize this will not be easy
• Dont take yourself for granted

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Outer Strength

• An organizational value
• Walk the walk, talk the talk
• Training
• Modeling
• Discussion
• Nip it in the bud

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The Reality of Law Enforcement Ethics
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Dr. Laura B. MyersCollege of Criminal
JusticeSam Houston State UniversityHuntsville,
Texas 77341(409) 294-1654
THE END