Communities expect and deserve their law enforcement officers to be trustworthy and honorable and to act in compliance with the law. When officers fail to do so, it is incumbent on law enforcement leadership to take prompt and appropriate action to correct behavior or to remove unfit personnel. That action may consist of counseling and mentoring, providing additional training, or imposing punishment.

One of the most challenging responsibilities of a chief of police is to impose fair and reasonable discipline in response to employee misconduct. The purposes of effective employee discipline are multifold and include changing the individual employee’s behavior for the better, communicating agency expectations, ensuring officer safety, and restoring public confidence in the agency.