In order to eradicate many of the ethical dilemmas faced by public safety professionals, leadership must be service-centered. The impact of human factors upon individual performance must coincide with timely and fair discipline both in a positive and a negative sense. Chief Officers must reach out to all members of the community and, while keeping in mind that there will always be a political component to operating a police department, the leadership must make it clear that they also serve another constituency- that is, the sworn officers themselves. Within a police department ethical decisions must demonstrate the requisite courage to make the tough decisions in both critical and mundane situations. Obviously, choices were made to put aside potential public risk and public trust.
Ethical Dilemma 3: Accepting Favors.
Many police who patrol the streets, often will go into a 7-11, or Dunking Donuts to get something to eat or drink. If the owner wants to let them have it on the house, for doing the work they do, some of the most dangerous work for a policeman, I have no problem with it. Although the formal code of ethics prohibits accepting gratuities, many officers believe there is nothing wrong with giving "freebies"" to police officers. (Pollack, 227) The problems arises when a pattern of gratuities changes what would have been a formal relationship into a personal, informal one. (Pollack, 228) When making a decision that has ethical implications you should ensure that it is ethically defensible. Individuals in criminal justice are faced with ethical decisions every day. Police officers on the street may be offered favors for increased services or protections. Correction officers are asked daily for favors by inmates, ones not part of typical protocol or procedure. Ethics is the foundation of the criminal justice field, and the personal determination of right and wrong is a crucial part of officer code.