Power Abuse in Police Officer’s Actions

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Moral Behavior Problems: Inclination to Criminal Behavior

The case study represents a classic instance of a police officer overstepping the boundaries set by the legal rules and regulations. Officer Gregory showed a complete lack of morality when misappropriated the belongings of the victim of a robbery. By taking the possessions, he practically committed a theft. In fact, silencing the issue, which I chose as the possible course of action, can also be considered a crime.

Similarly, the fact that Officer Gregory used his position to harass the woman stopped for speeding should also be viewed as a complete lack of a moral compass. He made it obvious that his personal urges were of greater importance to him than his official duties. Therefore, he overstepped the boundaries of the law.

Ethical Issues: Crossing the Line

The fact that Officer Gregory possibly bribed the Commander by giving him the watch that he stole, as well as him placing his things in the Commander’s car, shows that there might be an instance of bribery and complicity. Therefore, the choices that Gregory made were of benefit only to him and, possibly, the Commander, while the key stakeholders (i.e., the victims) were left without due assistance. Thus, from the tenets of the Utilitarianism, Gregory’s actions were unethical. Similarly, the fact that he allowed the other employee to shred the file with the pieces of evidence provided by his victim shows that he cares only for his wellbeing.

Inconsistencies with Legal Requirements

The issues mentioned above can also be viewed from the legal perspective. For instance, based on the standard requirements, the speeding issue ought to have been recorded. The officer, however, deliberately ignored the rule. Similarly, he was not supposed to touch anything on the crime scene, let alone take the victim’s possessions. Gregory, however, intentionally disobeyed the regulations, stealing the watch.

The issues mentioned above are related to each other directly as they have the same premise. Each of the crimes was predetermined by Gregory’s lack of understanding of ethics, morality, and law. Unfortunately, people like Gregory still work in law forces (Porter & Prenzler, 2016); thus, the current policing principles and the supervision of the staff must be more rigid.

Further Course of Action: The System That Failed

I have to admit that being an informer is not ethical for me, yet neither is watching power abuse and doing nothing. Therefore, I would first try to talk to Gregory to let him know that I have seen him crossing the law and that I disapprove of it. Furthermore, I would recommend him to confess to the authorities about his misconduct. Naturally, it would be naïve to expect that he will immediately feel remorseful about his actions and plead guilty. Quite on the contrary, it is assumed that Gregory will deny having anything to do with the situations mentioned above. Which is even more likely, he may provide a reasonable explanation for his actions.

Thus, in case Gregory refuses to admit his fault, I will have to tell him that I will need to inform the authorities about the problems that he caused and the instances in which he behaved inappropriately. It should be borne in mind, though, that, if told about my intentions, the law officer will most likely undertake the measures that will make my narration look not very trustworthy. Furthermore, Gregory may use his influence on the Commander to discredit me in the eyes of the department, thus, making my claims pointless. To avoid this situation, I will have to make sure that I have enough evidence to prove Gregory’s misconduct, as well as that there are no previous negative, questionable, or unresolved issues on my professional and personal record.

“Code of Silence” and the Police: One for All, All for One

Although the idea of taking the side of friends and coworkers might be interpreted as positive and even noble, it clearly distorts the concept of justice in a case in point. It seems that the code of silence remains a popular idea among the members of contemporary police departments. Indeed, recent studies show that most legal authorities tend to cover for each other in case their partners overstep their powers (Porter & Prenzler, 2016). Therefore, there are substantial reasons to claim that the problem of official misconduct still is a topical issue.

Since the phenomenon of the code of silence has entirely injurious premises, its ramifications turn out to be truly dire. Specifically, the very existence of the code of silence destroys the fabric of ethics and morality. As a result, the members of the legal system are driven not by the core values of the department but by their needs, the personal gain being the primary one.

At a local level, the effects of silencing the problem will lead to even more deplorable abuse of power by the members of the identified police department. On a global scale, the tendency to suppress the discussion of the problem will lead to a reduction in social safety rates. By allowing the members of service to become corrupted, one will contribute to the overall drop in the quality of the services and an increase in the global corruption of the forces. Therefore, the code of silence must be abolished, and supervision of the legal institution members must be carried out to avoid similar problems in the future.

Police Code of Conduct and the Case in Point

Apart from breaking a range of ethical and moral principles, Officer Gregory also committed a series of crimes. Although these actions can be interpreted as a misdemeanor, they show graphically that Gregory has disobeyed the code of conduct accepted by the members of the department. Therefore, they must be viewed as a punishable offense and addressed in a proper manner.

Shoplifting

By stealing sunglasses and a candy bar from the store, Gregory showed complete disregard of the existing code. Although shoplifting is typically ranked as a petty crime (Federal Bureau of Intelligence, 2011), the very fact that it was committed by a law enforcement officer shows that it needs to be taken with due seriousness. The current code of conduct states it clearly that the members of the legal force are to comply with the current legislation at all costs: “Any act of corruption, in the same way as any other abuse of authority, is incompatible with the profession of law enforcement officials” (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2016, para. 26). Unless the issue is addressed in an appropriate manner, the problem of police misconduct may take a more threatening scale.

Power Abuse

The current code of conduct states that “In the performance of their duty, law enforcement officials shall respect and protect human dignity and maintain and uphold the human rights of all persons” (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2016, para. 6). By assaulting the woman that was pulled over for speeding, Gregory made it clear that he was in complete disregard of human rights.

Furthermore, the issue of violence against women needs to be brought up as one of the crimes of which Gregory can be accused. According to the existing code of conduct for police, there is a need to prevent the instances of sexual harassment (International Association of Chiefs of Police Model Policy, 2016). Therefore, by attacking the woman sexually, Officer Gregory violated the essential ethical principles of relationships between the law enforcement members and the U.S. citizens.

Theft

Similarly, the fact that Gregory stole several items from the victim of a burglary can be interpreted as a severe violation of the police code of conduct. The actions of Officer Gregory were inexcusable since they ran counter to not only the current code of conduct but also the existing legal regulations. Differently put, he committed a crime by stealing the victim’s possessions. Theft, in its turn, is a crime that Gregory must be charged for; moreover, the strategies to prevent further instances of power abuse must be designed.

Complicity

Finally, the fact that Gregory may have used the help of an accomplice needs to be mentioned. As explained above, the intentions of Officer Gregory when he was taking his possessions and putting them in the Commander’s car could be interpreted in many ways. It could be assumed, for example, that Gregory was trying to either offer the Commander a bribe or hide the stolen items until further investigation. No matter what his intentions were, they indicated that there was a possibility of a connection between him and the Commander. In other words, the issue of complicity is implied in the identified scenario. The alleged situation also violates the existing code of conduct for police.

References

Federal Bureau of Intelligence. (2011). Crime in the United States. Web.

International Association of Chiefs of Police Model Policy. (2016). Police response to violence against women. Web.

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. (2016). Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials. Web.

Porter, L. E., & Prenzler, E. T. (2016). The code of silence and ethical perceptions: Exploring police officer unwillingness to report misconduct. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, 39(2), 370-386.

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