Introduction: Ethics and Diversity in Policing as the Areas of Concern
The modern police code has a plethora of moral and ethical obligations that the members of the department must meet in order to safeguard the security of the community members. The policies by which the decisions made in the contemporary law enforcement environment are guided point to the necessity to meet the needs of a rather diverse population (Jardine, Crofts, Monaghan, & Morrow, 2012). Consequently, law enforcement officers must take into account political, economic, financial, social, and cultural factors defining the development of insecurity in the members of the target population when carrying out their duties. Compliance with these principles has led to the introduction of a range of concepts promoting ethics and diversity in modern law enforcement guidelines. Although these policies provide the foil for further change, they seem to lack guidelines for successful leadership in the environment of a police department, which may make it difficult to implement them.
Four Policies That Make the Bulk of the Modern Law Enforcement Process
Policing in the Post-9/11 Era: Challenges and Requirements
Although the tragedy of 9/11 is in the past, it has left its mark on the lives of millions of Americans. The act of terrorism spawned the growth of personal and political insecurity rates among the members of the U.S. population (Schwarzer, Bowler, & Cone, 2014). Therefore, when carrying out their duties, the representatives of the police must be aware of both the threats of terrorism and the dangers of labeling people based on their origin and ethnicity. For example, it would be wrong for a member of the police force to be negligent when carrying out a search among the people suspected of terrorism. However, suspecting one to be a member of a terrorist solely on the basis of their Arabic origin would be an even greater disgrace to the current concept of police ethics and diversity promotion.
Accountability and the Means of Enhancing It: Information Management
Apart from the cultural and political forces, technological changes also shape the lives of law enforcement members. For example, putting a heavy emphasis on the need to incorporate the latest IT tools into the process of data collection, distribution, and analysis must be considered a necessity. Thus, faster and safer data transfer can be facilitated (Ivković, Haberfeld, & Peacock, 2012).
Police Community Partnership: Building Stronger Ties Between the Members
Similarly, there seems to be a propensity toward building connections between the police members and the representatives of the community. The identified process enables the police to learn more about the people that they protect and, therefore, adjust their strategies so that they could meet the needs of the target population.
Positive and Negative Reinforcement as a Part of the Policing Process
Eventually, the use of positive and negative reinforcement as the means of increasing security rates in the community and convincing the officers to follow the crucial principles of ethics should be mentioned. At present, there is a tangible lean toward focusing on punishing criminals rather than rehabilitating them. The innovative strategies in the police ethics and diversity code, however, suggest that positive reinforcement should also be provided to the members of the target community so that they should follow the letter of the law.
What Works and Why: A Critical Look at the Policies
Since the 9/11 issue has affected the entire country, both the civics and the police can relate to the threat. As a result, the police members accept the suggested models of behavior so that the community members could feel comfortable and safe. Similarly, the promotion of accountability and the use of technology have turned out to be quite successful (Schwarzer et al., 2014).
What Does Not Work and Why: Dents in the Modern Policing
Unfortunately, some of the changes are comparatively hard to make. While making surface changes is easy, altering the core values of the employees is a complicated task that will need patience, competent leadership, and a significant amount of time. For these reasons, the process of building close ties between the police and the community members, as well as suggesting positive reinforcement as one of the most efficient tools in crime prevention, is often slackened.
Conclusion: Ethics and Diversity as the Course for the Law Enforcement Development
Although the recent additions to the set of guidelines that the members of law enforcement are obliged to comply with provide prerequisites for the further promotion of cultural diversity and ethical behavior, they seem to lack the support of an efficient leadership strategy. Without the motives to follow the newly designed rules, the members of the police are likely to fail to develop the intrinsic understanding of the ethical issues and acquire the necessary knowledge about different cultures. Specifically, the DMAIC model should be viewed as the foil for changing the attitude of the police staff members.
References
Ivković, S. K., Haberfeld, M., & Peacock, R. (2012). Rainless West: The integrity survey’s role in agency accountability. Police Quarterly, 16(2), 148-176.
Jardine, N., Crofts, M., Monaghan, J., & Morrow, M. (2012). Harm reduction and law enforcement in Vietnam: influences on street policing. Harm Reduction Journal, 9(1), 27-36.
Schwarzer, R., Bowler, R. M., & Cone, J. E. (2014). Social integration buffers stress in New York police after the 9/11 terrorist attack. Anxiety, Stress, & Coping, 27(1), 18-26.