Whether It Should Be an Ethic Violation When a Police Officer Accepts a Free Meal
Introduction
In the criminal justice system, members and police practitioners are expected to depict a certain degree of strong ethical beliefs. This is because their occupation is quite delicate, and people can use gifts or meals to induce corruption. In each aspect of their job, police officers, and other people working in this occupation are expected to act ethically and professionally, regardless of the temptations to otherwise (Johnson & COX, 2004). When a code of conduct is violated, it should be noted that it can result in problems of trust and respect. The paper seeks to explore whether an ethics violation should occur when a police officer accepts a free meal.
In the event a police officer receives a free meal or someone in the public domain offers to cover his or her purchase, it can be very difficult to establish the grounds under which such a gift was made. Because there is no official policy that discusses these sorts of circumstances, it is the role of the police officer to discern what is right, ethical, and professionally acceptable. Notably, some criminal justice professionals may accept the offer with gratitude. In contrast, others may decide to argue the point that it is not the responsibility of anyone to purchase or cover their meals.
Of paramount importance to note is that when a situation of that nature happens, it is the purchaser’s own way to express gratitude and appreciation for the excellent work that the police officer is doing. Otherwise, outsiders would feel that something fishy could be cooking geared towards corruption and, as such, be offensive. It is the role of all criminal justice professionals to maneuver this ethical dilemma (NOHS, 2015). They should be willing to determine the danger such acts or practices could cause and allow those determinations to offer the way forward.
Police officers are governed and guided by ACA. As a result, police officers should know that there are pros and cons for not accepting meals from a business owner. Firstly, not accepting the meal creates a gap such that the police officer is not likely to become corrupt or indulge in practices that discriminate or favour some and not others. On the other hand (con), when a police officer denies an offer, the owner of the business (the purchaser) may interpret this as being rude, unappreciative, and rude.
According to the Police Chief Magazine (n.d), practitioners and officers in criminal justice should be held at a high standard because they are the people who are holding public peace and are empowered. Because they take an oath of office, they are expected to live by it and comply with the code of conduct (NOHS, 2015). Such a system of ethics can be used to help police make ethically and rationally correct and informed decisions.
In my opinion, I do not think it is an ethical violation when a police officer accepts a free meal. It is the discretionary police power that makes corruption more likely to occur. If they live by which is ethically and rationally right, then gifts from the public should be taken lightly and granted without cast doubt. In the event a police officer acts in a manner to sug, then it is the role of the police department to ensure he or she receives stun punishment that will keep other police officers away from such acts which are against the human service professional.
References
Johnson, T. A., & COX, III, R. W. (2004). Police ethics: Organizational implications. Public Integrity, 7(1), 67-79.
NOHS, (2015). Ethical standards for human services professionals. Retrieved from https://www.nationalhumanservices.org/ethical-standards-for-hs-professionals