december-2015

December 2015

The 122nd Annual IACP Conference and Exposition was an overwhelming success, with more than 15,000 attendees, more than 200 educational sessions, and nearly 700 exhibitors. The event provided opportunities for learning, networking, sharing knowledge, and exploring new products and services for law enforcement.

Ethics in law enforcement has always been vitally important, but the focus has been sharpened as recent events have led to the public’s cries for reform, accountability, and transparency. This issue explores the timely issue of ethics in policing and includes research and recommendations for leadership, among other topics.

Cover photographs by Convention Photo by Joe Orlando.

Articles

  • Why Ethics Demand Immediate Attention

    By Craig S. MacMillan, LLB, PhD, Assistant Commissioner, Professional Responsibility Officer, Royal Canadian Mounted Police
    The theme of the December 2015 issue of The Police Chief is ethics and professionalism. It is not in doubt that ethics in law enforcement demands immediate attention. As the authors of the foll...

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  • Turning “Us Against Them” into “We’re In This Together”

    By Patricia A. Robinson, PhD, President, Coronado Consulting Service, Sonoita, Arizona
    Hardly a week goes by without news reports of citizen outrage at a police shooting or an ambush against an officer. Recent high-profile incidents, including the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mi...

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  • How to Encourage Reporting of Professional Misconduct

    By Stephen Maguire, PhD, Centre on Organizational Values and Ethics, Department of Philosophy Lorraine Dyke, PhD, Associate Dean, MBA Programs, Sprott School of Business, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
    Reporting on the misconduct of colleagues in any job can be risky business. Repercussions can range from incivility in the workplace to harassment, destruction of personal property, ostracism, a stall...

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  • The Professionalization of Policing in the U.K.: A Vital Opportunity to Improve Ethical Standards

    By Kat Hadjimatheou, PhD, Interdisciplinary Ethics Research Group, University of Warwick, Coventry, England
    British police enjoy an international reputation for being one of the most ethical law enforcement institutions in the world. Domestically, however, their good standing has been shaken. Recent years h...

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  • Unconstitutional Policing, Part 4: The Liability of Electronic Control Device Mis(Use)

    By David L. Carter, PhD, Professor, School of Criminal Justice, Michigan State University Thomas J. Martinelli, JD, MS, Adjunct Professor, Detroit, Michigan
    The philosophical side of policing commands a greater appreciation for the gray force issues officers are confronted with on a daily basis. Unlike the guidelines for police use of deadly force that ar...

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  • Doing the Right Thing: Contributing to the Advancement of the Police Profession

    By Mike Force, Chief of Police, Lake Saint Louis, Missouri
    If there was ever a time when law enforcement needed a champion, it would be now. In these times when the profession is under fire from criticisms, calls for reform, demands for restructuring, and dir...

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  • Does Restorative Justice Have a Realistic Place in Today’s Criminal Justice System?

    By Diana McKibben, PhD, Community Restorative Justice Commission, Monterey County, California Phil Penko, Chief of Police (Ret.), Monterey, California, Police Department
    The question of how to respond to criminality in the United States is changing in fascinating ways. U.S. residents and leaders realize that the era of “tough on crime”—a widely appealing catchph...

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Columns