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Law Enforcement Ethics
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Law Enforcement Ethics
Classic and Contemporary Issues

Edited by:
  • Brian D. Fitch - California State University, Fullerton, USA, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Woodbury University


May 2013 | 488 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
Law Enforcement Ethicsáis an attempt to be at the forefront of engaging in the conversation about the future of law enforcement ethics, while examining many of the classic, enduring challenges posed by the profession itself. The conversation explores a host of foundational issues that include who should be hired as a law enforcement officer; what training should look like during the basic academy, as well as over the span of oneÆs career; common ethical challenges, such as force and interrogations; what an ethical promotional process should entail; international best practices and problems; psychology of marginality; role of the media in promoting accountability; and the roles played by social learning, sub-culture, organizational policies, and PTSD in misconduct. 1. Each of the bookÆs 18 chapters explores some major theoretical aspect of law enforcement ethics, while offering practical advice on what law enforcement agencies at the local, state, and federal level can do to create more ethical organizations.2. The contributing authors include not only academicians but clinical psychologists, professionals trainers, accreditation consultants, ethicists, medical professionals, and law enforcement supervisors and administrators representing a broad cross-section of agencies.3. Rather than relying on a single theoretical framework or discipline (e.g., sociology or criminology), the book takes an interdisciplinary look at the phenomenon of law enforcement ethics by offering contributions from authors in the fields of clinical psychology, medicine, criminology, criminal justice, law, ethics, organizational leadership, sociology, and public policy.4. Chapters begin with an opening vignetter or case study to help motivate the content to come.5. Chapters will conclude with summaries and 4-5 discussion questions.
J.J. Klaver
Chapter 1 - Law Enforcement: An Introduction
Ana M. Gamez and Gary G. Collins
Chapter 2 - Psychological Evaluations of Law Enforcement Applicants: The Search for Ethical Officers
Brian D. Fitch, Christine H. Jones, Luann P. Pannell
Chapter 3 - Rhetoric Versus Reality: Why Ethics Training Fails – And What Can Be Done To Fix It
Brian D. Fitch, Randy B. Means, Gregory Seidel
Chapter 4 - The Role of Supervision in Motivating and Maintaining a Culture of Ethics
Attilio R. Grandani
Chapter 5 - Ethics and Accountability: Policy and Oversight in the United Kingdom
Theron L. Bowman and Daniel T. Primozic
Chapter 6 - Police Misconduct: Weakness of the Will
Brian D. Fitch and Christine H. Jones
Chapter 7 - Bad Apple or Bad Barrel: Social Learning Theory as a Paradigm for Understanding Law Enforcement Misconduct
Aaron D. Conley and Bryon G. Gustafson
Chapter 8 - Ethics, Enforcement, and the Prospect of Professionalism
Paul T. Zipper and Tina Adams
Chapter 9 - The Psychology of Marginality
Amir Hamidi and Patrick M.Koga
Chapter 10- Psychological and Neurophysiological Correlates, Determinants, and Predictors of Misconduct in Law Enforcement Officers With Subclinical Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Kevin A. Elliott and Joycelyn M. Pollock
Chapter 11 - Ethics in Police Use of Force: Duty, Principle, and Morality
James L. Ruffin
Chapter 12 - Law Enforcement Interrogations: An Ethical Perspective
Alexandro Villamueva
Chapter 13 - Law Enforcement Promotional Practices: The Ultimate Test of Ethics
Bernard E. Harcourt
Chapter 14 - Henry Louis Gates and Racial Profiling: What's the Problem?
Kelly W. Sunberg
Chapter 15 - Leading Within the Era of Superagencies: Recruiting, Educating, Inspiring, and Retaining the Post 9/11 Generation of Officers
Cyndi Banks
Chapter 16 -Implementing Democratic Policing Reform: Challenges and Constraints in Developing Countries
David Massey
Chapter 17 - The Tarnished Badge: The Effects of Off-duty Misconduct
Jarret Lovell
Chapter 18 - Public Information in the Age of Youtube: Citizen Journalism and the Expanding Scope of Police Accountability

This book gives a really interesting take on law enforcement ethics, which was useful for several units, both for the tutor and the student.

Mr Michael Smith
Public Services , Central Bedfordshire College
June 3, 2016

I decided to go with a text that looks at ethics system wide.

Dr Francis Williams
Criminal Justice, Plymouth State University
June 16, 2015

Mostly USA but very interesting and can be used for UK comparative evidence.

Mr Peter Norton
Uniformed public services, Sheffield College
March 26, 2015

Very substantive topics; easy read; quality practical implications.

Dr Clarence Williamson
College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Walden University
December 14, 2013

Sample Materials & Chapters

Chapter 3

Chapter 11


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