Special Agent O'Malley serves in the Special Investigations Unit of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in St. Paul.

Administrators can encourage ethical behavior through a better understanding of the temptations and challenges that confront today's police officers.

Law enforcement has experienced both organizational and operational changes in the last several years. These changes, coupled with a formidable and entrenched police culture, call for fresh approaches to managing for ethics in police work.

Unfortunately, little has been written concerning the impact of these changes on the ethical framework of law enforcement agencies. Moreover, only a limited number of studies have analyzed the topic of police ethics as it is currently framed. As a result, today's law enforcement managers must piece together ideas from a patchwork of commentaries.

This article explores the impact of specific factors on police ethics. It also reviews current literature available to help police executives manage for ethics, identifies areas where additional research is needed, and offers thoughts for promoting ethical conduct in law enforcement.

In the last few years, ethical issues in law enforcement have been affected by three critical factors-the growing level of temptation stemming from the illicit drug trade, the challenges posed by decentralization, and the potentially compromising nature of the police organizational culture. These factors make managing for ethics today far more different and demanding than it was in the past.

Greater Temptations

Police officers face greater temptations than they did just a decade or so ago. Many of these enticements can be traced to the explosive and lucrative illegal drug trade. A tremendous amount of illicit cash fuels this market. Potential profits for mid- and upper-level drug dealers continue to climb as criminal sanctions grow stiffer. Consequently, today's officers may be tempted by sizable payoffs from criminals and enticed by opportunities to steal large sums of illicit cash. The potential for corruption in drug work may be compounded by the nature of officers who excel in this area. Drug investigations rank among the most fast-paced and proactive of any in which officers participate. Undercover work makes up an integral component of these cases.

A recent study established that fast-talking, outgoing, assertive, and self-confident risk takers represent the best candidates for undercover work. While this may come as no surprise, the study also concluded that these personality traits "are often the same ones predisposing [an officer] to corruption and psychological distress."1

Decentralization

Police managers also must consider the growing impact of the community-oriented policing (COP) approach on police ethics. Historically, police agencies have relied on a strict chain-of-command structure to ensure accountability.2 While individual officers exercised some discretion, they generally required supervisory approval for consequential decisions and for extensive contacts with citizens or community organizations.

Community-oriented policing has revolutionized traditional methods of control and accountability. Attempts to regulate ethical behavior by imposing strict controls have proven counterproductive under the COP approach. Indeed, decentralizing authority is one of the basic tenets of community-oriented policing.

The COP philosophy encourages officers to be creative problem solvers. It also encourages them to work closely with citizens and to initiate contacts with community organizations. Partly because of the sheer volume of these contacts initiated within the COP framework, these activities often go unmonitored, resulting in less accountability. This new freedom necessarily exposes officers to more opportunities for corruption.

Organizational Culture

Finally, managers must consider the influence of some long-standing features of police organizational culture. Many observers have cited what one called "a police culture that exalts loyalty over integrity."3 Many also recognize that an implicit code of silence can infect a department from top to bottom.4

The problems arising from the clannish nature of police officers can be aggravated further by a dangerous us-against-them mentality. Police officers are tasked with maintaining order and protecting citizens in a society that often is chaotic and violent. They work in a stressful environment where quick decisions that may have life-or-death consequences are later subjected to intense scrutiny under a complex set of legal rules. In such circumstances, even well-intentioned officers motivated by a desire simply to catch criminals may become frustrated and vulnerable to an ends-justifies-the-means mentality.

The combined effects of temptation, decentralization, and organizational culture could prove disastrous for the ethical well-being of a law enforcement agency. If left unchecked, these factors could lead to a climate within a police department where unethical behavior is considered acceptable. Police managers should take proactive measures to ensure that such an environment does not develop.

Most writings relevant to ethics in police work focus on narrowly defined aspects of the larger issue. Some writers have addressed police violence or corruption. Others have looked at the changing roles of police officers. Still others have considered the impact of training and higher education. A few have tied ethical issues to controversial social agendas. While each has offered some insight into how to manage today's police in a manner that promotes ethical behavior, very few have attempted to set forth an integrated approach designed specifically for law enforcement. To address the ethical challenges posed by the changing law enforcement environment, police managers must develop a comprehensive approach to promoting ethical behavior. As departments place more discretion and authority into the hands of line officers, the responses these officers make to ethical dilemmas will a have far-reaching impact on the way the public views their agencies.

Managers must make every effort to ensure that officers maintain the ethical integrity of the department. There are a number of areas that police managers should address to promote ethical conduct within this emerging environment.

Code of Ethics

In any endeavor, an indi-vidual's personal values and environmental background serve as the foundation for their ethical behavior.5 Thus, definitions of ethics may be as "varied as the characters of...people themselves."6 Yet, despite this diversity-or possibly because of it-a heightened concern has arisen for promoting uniformity in ethical accountability in both the private and public sectors.7 Establishing a formal code of ethics represents an essential first step for achieving this accountability.

In a complex and fast-paced world, individuals rarely can solve ethical problems simply by resolving to do what is right. At the same time, agencies cannot lay down rules that cover all possibilities. However, a well-drafted code of ethics, preferably written with input from all levels of personnel, can provide guidance and clear standards of conduct for police officers.

Leadership

Actions speak louder than words. A finely crafted, workable, and well-publicized code of ethics will ring hollow if it is not supported by the behavior of senior managers. Police administrators must dedicate themselves to ethical management. They must participate in training, take affirmative steps to encourage ethical behavior, and set their agency's moral tone through observable exemplary behavior.8

The importance of upper-level management in determining a department's ethics and overall quality cannot be overstated. A common thread in most widespread police corruption cases is an absence of oversight from above. A recent examination of multiofficer corruption cases uncovered an unwillingness by police executives to acknowledge corruption and found, in some cases, a "willful blindness" to unethical behavior.9 A frequent recommendation emerging from the analysis of corruption cases has been to involve senior officers directly in anti-corruption efforts and provide them with incentives for such involvement.10

Managers also must take a long-term view because something as fundamental as an ethically aware work environment cannot be established overnight. Occasionally, short-term goals can be achieved at the expense of integ-rity; but, most often, unethical conduct catches up with individuals and organizations.11

Moreover, energy devoted to improving ethics does not detract from improved productivity or serv-ice. A 1993 study found "significant correlations between the presence of a strong ethical climate in local government and the empha- sis placed on such values as efficiency, effectiveness, quality, excellence and teamwork."12 This study confirmed the findings of other research showing a strong correlation between highly ethical organizations and high performing ones.13

Finally, police managers consistently must be aware of their visible and critical role. One prominent business consultant emphasizes that "...power is necessary to bring about ethical change in an organization."14 Even within the community policing framework, most power in law enforcement agencies flows from the top.

Police managers should understand that their tangible support helps create an ethically sound work environment. Perception counts. How employees view the ethical attitudes of their bosses becomes an integral component of this equation.

A police executive's image, well-founded or not, will have an impact because of the message it sends to those inside and outside the agency. In fact, the power of appearances is especially strong in public service agencies where just the appearance of impropriety can erode citizens' trust and confidence in government.

Violence and Aggression

Broad operational factors that come to bear on ethical issues cannot be viewed in isolation, but must be considered in terms of how they interact with the traits of individual officers. Certainly, the joining of some external and internal factors contribute to unethical conduct. The limited literature available in this area tends to focus on the use of excessive force by some police officers.

Discussions generally center on the relationship between aggression and violence. Everyone agrees that police officers work in an uncertain and oftentimes violent world. At the same time, officers face attractive temptations. Their work culture is sometimes secretive and clannish. Additionally, the decentralization resulting from the implementation of community-oriented policing affords officers greater freedom.

An individual officer's level of aggressive behavior must be added to this mix of variables. This has led to speculation concerning the causes behind unwarranted police violence. This speculation, at times, produces conflicting recommendations.

One research team found that while extreme cases of excessive force may be easy to identify, it is decidedly more difficult to de-termine underlying causes.15 The lack of an objective definition for the evasive legal standard of "reasonable" force significantly impedes meaningful research in this area. However, two consistent factors have emerged that must be considered in examining the reasonableness of a police officer's use of force. Of the two factors-ethical acceptability and the totality of situational circumstances-police managers can significantly influence the first.

On the topic of ethical acceptability, some research focuses on how to identify and deal with violence-prone police officers. One contributor to the debate dismisses as unreliable psychological tests designed to identify violence-prone individuals seeking employment as police officers. This researcher strongly recommends that departments shift resources away from such efforts and focus instead on providing violence reduction training and police stress management programs for current officers.16

In contrast, other researchers strongly endorse comprehensive selection processes that include psychological testing. They conclude that such tests can uncover a clear propensity among some police applicants toward later violent behavior.17

An interesting outgrowth of these debates focuses on determining the level of aggressiveness that should be expected from line offi-cers. At one extreme, an author suggests that several factors cause police officers, in general, to exhibit, "...overly aggressive behavior."18 Another author claims that police officers should be as "...aggressive as the law allows," although this author insightfully acknowledges that aggression must be tempered with compassion.19

These viewpoints, though opposing, need not be viewed as incompatible. Both authors walk a fine line. Clearly, police managers should continuously foster an ethical environment that discourages aggressiveness so extreme that excessive force results. However, an effective police officer dealing with today's criminal element must be aggressive in a positive way. Indiscrim-inately weeding out aggressive police officers would be disastrous.

Training and Higher Education

Near-unanimous support exists for the value of training in promoting ethical behavior. Formal training programs can help to:

Ensure that officers understand their department's code of ethics and related expectations Elevate the importance of ethics throughout an agency Underscore top management's support, and Provide specific assistance in areas directly related to ethical behavior (e.g., stress management, use of force, violence reduction, and behavioral science classes). Although more study is need- ed in this area, some empirical evidence supports the contention that formal ethics training fosters improved ethical behavior. One recent study found that officers specifically trained in anger management had fewer incidents of excessive force in making arrests.20

A distinct but related topic is whether higher education promotes ethical behavior. Clearly, advanced formal education enhances the maturity and professionalism of police officers. The question is whether those positive attributes spill over into the ethical arena.

Some research suggests a positive relationship. Advanced formal education appears to reinforce previously established ethical values in individuals. At the organizational level, one study identified a commitment to learning as one of the three most prominent characteristics common to highly ethical organizations.21

Hiring Practices

The applicant selection process represents a critical, though sometimes overlooked, component of police ethics programs. A law enforcement agency should conduct interviews, psychological tests, and extensive background checks to ensure an applicant's compatibility with the department's ethical philosophy.

Some disagreement exists concerning the reliability of testing applicants to accurately predict their later behavior as police officers. While preemployment testing cannot guarantee later per-formance, it can raise red flags that department managers should know about before deciding to hire an applicant.

A faulty selection process can make a department much more susceptible to unethical behavior. Analysis in this area becomes sensitive and controversial because of a link drawn between selection processes and efforts to increase diversity within law enforcement. Washington, DC, and New York City both were plagued with well-publicized police corruption in recent years. Minority officers have been involved in a disproportionate number of these corruption cases. Many of these officers were hired under programs that lowered testing standards and relaxed background checks.22 Broad generalizations must not be drawn from such cases. Efforts to achieve diversity within the workforce are not antithetical to promoting ethical integrity. The relationship between two worthwhile goals--promoting ethics and increasing diversity--must be understood. As one analyst explains, the problem is not "...diversity per se, or the qualifications of any particular group, but the standard-lowering procedures by which diversity is often achieved."23

This analyst warns that generalizations finding a group unfit for police service are no more fair today than they were two generations ago when leveled against the Irish. Departments must maintain standards that promote ethics.

Diminished standards or incomplete background checks have resulted in the hiring of armed robbers, burglars, and drug dealers as police officers. Predictably, these same individuals engaged in on-the-job corruption.

Police managers must view their hiring standards as a component of managing for ethics. Diversity in law enforcement will better equip departments to serve a diverse citizenry. However, agencies should not pursue the goal of a diversified workforce at the expense of one of law enforcement's most valued assets-integrity.

CONCLUSION

At first glance, ethics in law enforcement may appear to be a simple issue: Officers should do right, not wrong. Closer examination quickly reveals that several influential factors make managing for ethics far more complex.

Three of these factors-the temptations associated with the illegal drug trade, the shift toward community-oriented policing, and the barriers posed by a strong police culture-will prove pivotal in affecting the ethical health of law enforcement agencies in the years to come. Police managers must consider the relationship of these factors when formulating an ethics program. Managers also must draw information from a number of sources to understand these and the many additional factors that influence ethical behavior.

Most writers focus on a particular component of the larger issue of ethics in law enforcement. Some stress that in formulating a coordinated approach, managers should consider the value of a formalized code of ethics, the importance of training, and the potential benefits of higher education. Others look to the critical nature of leadership and the direct involvement of high ranking officers. Some authors examine underlying causes related to an officer's personal characteristics. Some have challenged the value of applicant testing, while others defend an agency's right to select applicants who meet the agency's ethical requirements. A few have examined the effect of controver-sial hiring practices on later unethical conduct. Today's police managers must consider all of these factors when developing an ethics program.

Police managers also should remember that every action an offi-cer takes has an afterlife that re-verberates in the community long after the act is completed. Citizens in a democracy have an intrinsic desire to trust law enforcement to provide competent, fair, and impartial service. Police officers who act in an ethically sound manner help maintain the trust that citizens want to place in law enforcement. Offi-cers who act unethically not only betray that trust but also add to the many challenges already facing law enforcement.

Endnotes

1 J. Bladow, "Good Guys As Bad Guys: The Temptations of the Undercover Cop," Omni, May 1994, 12. 2 T.R. Jones, C. Owens, and M.A. Smith, "Police Ethics Training: A Three-Tiered Approach," FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, June 1995, 22. 3 J.P. Armao and L.U. Cornfeld, "How to Police the Police," Newsweek, December 19, 1994, 34. 4 D.B. Boyle, "Police Violence: Addressing the Issue," FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, June 1993, 17; T. Morganthau, "Why Good Cops Go Bad," Newsweek, December 19, 1994, 31; Supra note 3. 5 D. Holmquist, "Ethics: How Important Is It in Today's Office?" Public Personnel Management, Winter 1993, 537-544. 6 S.A. Wells, "Ethics a.k.a. Morality," Management Accounting, September 1993, 67. 7 R.E. Berebeim, "HR [Human Relations] Taking Policy Role in Corporate Ethics Programs," Employment Relations Today, Autumn 1991, 279-284; M.E. Donahue and A.A. Felts, "Police Ethics: A Critical Perspective," Journal of Criminal Justice, 1993, 339-352. 8 S. Bonczek and D. Menzel, "Achieving the Ethical Workplace," Public Management, March 1994, 13. 9 Supra note 3. 10 "NYPD Blue," Economist, April 30, 1994, 29. 11 R. Half, "My Boss Is Unethical: What Do I Do?" Management Accounting, July 1993, 63. 12 Supra note 8. 13 D.C. Menzel, "Ethics Induced Stress in the Local Government Workplace," Public Personnel Management, Winter 1993, 523-536. 14 F. Narvan, "I Can't Change Anything. I'm Just..." Transportation and Distribution, May 1993, 55. 15 G.P. Alpert and W.C. Smith, "How Reasonable Is a Reasonable Man? Police and Excessive Force," Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Fall 1994, 481-501. 16 M.A. Travis, "Psychological Health Tests for Violence-prone Officers: Objectives, Shortcomings, and Alternatives," Stanford Law Review, July 1994, 1717-1770. 17 D.B. Boyle, "Police Violence: Addressing the Issue," FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, June 1993, 17. 18 Supra note 16. 19 T. Gabor, "The 1990s: The Time for Aggressive Police Officers," FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, April 1994, 17. 20 A.D. Abernathy and C. Cox, "Anger Management Training for Law Enforcement Personnel," Journal of Criminal Justice, 1994, 459-466. 21 C. Lee, "Ethics Training: Facing the Tough Questions," Training, March 30, 1986, 30. 22 T. Carlson, "Washington's Inept Police Force," Wall Street Journal, November 3, 1993, A23; W. McGowan, "The Corrupt Influence of Police Diversity Hiring," The Wall Street Journal, June 20, 1994, A12. 23 Ibid., McGowan.