Police Officer Interview 
Unit 8 Assignment
CJ340 06 Professor Anthony Scarpelli
Peter bisher
January 06, 2011
My first interviewee officers jack Davidson, patrolman from Somers point police department. When interviewing Patrolman Davidson, I found the following to be his impressions of the police force in general. Officer Davidson spoke of why ethics and character are important in the field of law enforcement. His response was that ethics and character go hand in hand. In law enforcement it seems that there are so many reasons to do the right thing. The reasons began with public opinion and also should include their influence on the youth who will be growing up to be citizens of the city, state, or country. If a police officer does not behave with good character he is not a good example, and may, in fact, become a bad example for a child to believe is acceptable. To uphold the law, one must be able to look above all the things that could influence them to behave poorly. If an officer allows someone to change their outlook in a negative way, whether it is a criminal, a family member, or even another police officer, then they are not displaying good character. Ethics are as important, if not more important, than character. One can display an incredible character, but when it comes time to follow the rules of ethics, the temptations of simple favors by the law-abiding citizens of the community can sway an officer’s choices, and can cause them to make a poor choice. Even the slightest favor from someone can lead to a dangerous future occurrence. If a citizen provides freebies for a police officer, then the officer is expected to provide special favors for the citizen. This can be expected in forms of protection, additional police presence, or even something disreputable like fixing a ticket, or letting them off with a warning instead of a ticket. Most people do not give things without expecting something in return. When Officer Davidson was asked if he felt that police officers
CJ340 06 Professor Anthony Scarpelli
Peter bisher
January 06, 2011
My first interviewee officers jack Davidson, patrolman from Somers point police department. When interviewing Patrolman Davidson, I found the following to be his impressions of the police force in general. Officer Davidson spoke of why ethics and character are important in the field of law enforcement. His response was that ethics and character go hand in hand. In law enforcement it seems that there are so many reasons to do the right thing. The reasons began with public opinion and also should include their influence on the youth who will be growing up to be citizens of the city, state, or country. If a police officer does not behave with good character he is not a good example, and may, in fact, become a bad example for a child to believe is acceptable. To uphold the law, one must be able to look above all the things that could influence them to behave poorly. If an officer allows someone to change their outlook in a negative way, whether it is a criminal, a family member, or even another police officer, then they are not displaying good character. Ethics are as important, if not more important, than character. One can display an incredible character, but when it comes time to follow the rules of ethics, the temptations of simple favors by the law-abiding citizens of the community can sway an officer’s choices, and can cause them to make a poor choice. Even the slightest favor from someone can lead to a dangerous future occurrence. If a citizen provides freebies for a police officer, then the officer is expected to provide special favors for the citizen. This can be expected in forms of protection, additional police presence, or even something disreputable like fixing a ticket, or letting them off with a warning instead of a ticket. Most people do not give things without expecting something in return. When Officer Davidson was asked if he felt that police officers