Ethics are not something you can read in a book and learn. Ethics are something that is in you. You either have them or you don't. Police Officers are held to a higher standard. The public expect us to obey the laws that we enforce. Unfortunately, like all professions, there are always bad apples. Should those bad apples affect the way law enforcement is viewed? Should their actions/decisions dictate how the rest of us are treated by upper management? I believe in rules to govern law enforcement officers, but I hope that most of us have the ethics and the common sense to make the right decisions and not get caught up in noble cause corruption.
The code of ethics are guidelines that officers are expected to uphold. It is not forced upon the individual but rather codes that come with the profession one chooses. As a police officer one is expected to be held at higher standards than the ordinary individual. Code of Ethic's are codes which tell the person what is expected of him/her, however it is ultimately the decision of that person to either uphold the codes or disagree. In fields, such as law enforcement, code of ethics are essential to continuously remind the officer of the oath he/she has taken. Further, it assists an officer's ethical perspective and decision making in his/her profession.
