Character & Cops, 6th Edition , livre ebook

AEI Press - Edwin J. Delattre

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382 pages

English

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Since the first edition was published in 1989, Character and Cops has been considered the bible of police ethics training. The book is a comprehensive guide to the ethical challenges faced daily by police officers, especially in times of heightened security. The updated sixth edition features a new foreword by David Bores, a retired lieutenant colonel in the United States military police, and a new chapter titled 'From War Veterans to Peace Officers,' which explores policies for incorporating soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan into the domestic police force.

Sujets

Philosophie

Éthique et morale

Moral Philosophy

Philosophie et théologie

Philosophy

Ethics

Ethique et morale

Informations

Publié par	AEI Press
Date de parution	16 août 2011
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9780844772264
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,2450€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Distributed by arrangement with the Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706. To order call toll free 1-800-462-6420 or 1-717-794-3800. For all other inquiries please contact AEI Press, 1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036 or call 1-800-862-5801.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Delattre, Edwin J.
Character and cops : ethics in policing / Edwin J. Delattre. —6th ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8447-7224-0 (cloth)
ISBN 978-0-8447-7225-7 (pbk: alk. paper)
1. Police ethics—United States. 2. Police Psychology—United States. 3. Police—United States—Social conditions. I. Title.
HV7924.D45 2006 174'.93632—dc23
11 12 13 14 15 1 2 3 4 5
2011017712
The Library of Congress has already catalogued earlier editions as follows:
Fifth edition ISBN 978-0-8447-4217-5 (pbk.) Fourth edition ISBN 0-8447-4153-1 (pbk.) Third edition ISBN 0-8447-3973-1 (pbk.) Second edition ISBN 0-8447-3868-9 (cloth) ISBN 0-8447-3686-4 (pbk.) First edition ISBN 0-8447-3685-6 (cloth)
© 2011 by the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, Washington, D.C. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission in writing from the American Enterprise Institute except in the case of brief quotations embodied in news articles, critical articles, or reviews. The views expressed in the publications of the American Enterprise Institute are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff, advisory panels, officers, or trustees of AEI.
Printed in the United States of America
To my mother, Donna Marie Delattre, and to the memory of my father, Jules Irvey Delattre
The fourth edition is dedicated to the memory of John P. O’Neill February 6, 1952–September 11, 2001
The fifth edition is dedicated to my wife—Alice Boggs Delattre
The sixth edition is dedicated to the memory of Larry Brown— man of integrity, faithful friend of fifty-five years— and his intrepid wife, Judy.
Foreword to the Sixth Edition
David R. Bores
In 1989, Patrick Murphy eloquently inscribed the foreword to the first edition of Character and Cops . His words accurately predicted the book’s significance and are just as applicable now as when he first wrote them. Mr. Murphy’s opening statement remains a tribute to Dr. Edwin J. Delattre; the book, he wrote, “makes a major contribution to the body of knowledge essential for police to play their rightful part in the struggle of society against injustice.”
Indeed, we are now in a position to assess how prophetic this statement was in light of the impact Dr. Delattre has had on those charged with maintaining the public trust of policing in a free society. I shall address the subject of his future legacy later. But first, it might be instructive to recall some of the more significant challenges we have faced over the past two decades as members of what Mr. Murphy referred to as the “unprofessional profession.” For it is because of these and many other challenges that we have become ever more mindful of the profound gratitude we owe Dr. Delattre for the wisdom found in the pages of this book, wisdom that has helped us better navigate the ethical dilemmas arising from these events.
Since 1989, we have been blessed (or cursed) by the increased capability of an unlimited variety of technological advancements. From a full range of less lethal weapons to the marvels of computer technology that change almost daily, we are the beneficiaries of an unending parade of new products that allow us to be more efficient at service delivery, more protective of our officers’ safety, and less injurious to those who may require our coercive authority. We have also made much progress in attracting more female and minority officers to our ranks, as well as in promoting more of them to positions at the highest levels of our profession.
But while we have made great advances—spending millions of dollars purchasing the wares of the police-industrial complex, selecting highly dedicated officers from a much better pool of qualified job applicants, and subscribing to the tenets of equal employment opportunity for all by basing advancement on individual abilities rather than prejudice and political interference—we have been comparatively slow to acknowledge that police are not solely responsible for maintaining public order and preventing crime. We have only reluctantly transitioned to community policing and only recently come to accept what Dr. Delattre told us years ago: “Our civilization does not . . . survive by accident.”
Accordingly, we have stopped passively waiting before responding to the lawbreakers of our communities. Now we take a proactive outlook toward crime, an approach suggested by James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling in their 1982 article, “Broken Windows.” Today, we more widely accept that police must purposefully engage law-abiding citizens and community groups to proactively challenge those who do evil, find the root causes behind social issues, and become more creative at neighborhood problem solving. We also see more clearly why our Founding Fathers insisted upon local control over government agents. To be sure, there are some who are quick to criticize the consequences of political decentralization and the fragmentation and inefficiencies that result from some seventeen thousand disparate police departments. However, few dispute that the multiplicity of departments has afforded our citizens the opportunity to better influence their local police officers. Police can now more effectively respond to threats by tailoring service delivery to satisfy specific needs of local jurisdictions.
Another example of our reluctance to change is even more deeply rooted than our unwillingness to embrace community policing. Since 1979, the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies has spearheaded the requirement that all police departments elevate their administrative practices, operational procedures, methods of management, and service-delivery measures by adopting national accreditation standards. This effort initially met with tepid results. Fortunately, in recent years, more and more departments have willingly engaged in the accreditation process, while many states have vigorously advanced the adoption of agency-wide standards by developing certification programs with the structures necessary to evaluate departmental compliance.
In the twenty-two years since the first edition of Character and Cops was published, we have also been forced to confront terrorist acts that have had a profound effect on our country. From the actions of locally born terrorists such as Timothy McVeigh in Oklahoma City to the horrific attacks instigated by noncitizens in the name of Islam on 9/11, policing is now charged with the immense mission of homeland security. Fortunately, the virtues of community policing and the formation of police-citizen partnerships can help us prevent future domestic and international attacks.
Just as the Oklahoma City and World Trade Center bombings significantly expanded our law enforcement obligations to protect the homeland, the massacre at Columbine High School drastically changed how we respond to those who are actively attempting to kill or injure members of the general public. This one event, more than any other, resulted in a collective recognition that in active-shooter situations, first-responding officers can no longer wait for those specially trained and equipped to handle immediate life-threatening situations. Rather, the duty to react decisively and effectively falls to on-duty line officers.
While we have witnessed countless examples of heroic officers willing to rush into harm’s way for strangers, the many other criminal challenges we have faced over the past two decades remain daunting. Illegal drugs, gangs, cyber crime, meth labs, pill mills, human trafficking, and identity theft represent just a few of the newer threats that our profession has learned to confront. Added to these are the formidable social dilemmas posed by illegal immigration and the increasing belief among many state governments that it is now up to local police to address this problem. Finally, there is the looming possibility that many departments may soon face increased labor unrest over the curtailment of public-sector unions and their member benefits. And even though these current challenges are great, they must be confronted with fewer resources because far too many jurisdictions are contending with officer furloughs, layoffs, and cutbacks due to declining tax revenues.
In the past twenty-two years, we have also been forced to confront our dark side. The beating of Rodney King by rogue police officers is seared in our memories and is a constant reminder of how the video camera has forever changed public and media access to the actions of officers on the street. The horrific torture of Abner Louima in New York City is likewise an indelible black mark on our record representing the painful truth that there are some within our ranks who have the potential for indescribable evil.
Fortunately, these incidents of individual officer brutality and use of illegal force have been few. What has been more common is the application of unjust tactics and physical coercion to achieve “noble” outcomes. The Rampart scandal in Los Angeles and the Katherine Johnson shooting in Atlanta are just two examples of how willing some officers are to greatly exceed their authority in an effort to suppress criminal activity. In both cases, we are again reminded how otherwise honorable officers can be persuaded to violate their oaths of office, not for personal gain, but in the mistaken belief that it is permissible to ignore the constitutional guarantees to which all citizens are entitled as long as the ends that are achieved overs