By: Shannon Smith
Kaplan University
Evolution of Ethics in Policing
Policing has evolved so much in the last decade. A complete shift in the priority mission of law enforcement has pointed its finger towards terrorism. Social Stigma has faded away and laws and rules are not filling the void completely from the lack of not having it. Does corruption have the same pulling forces as police abuse? How does the conscience of police officers sometimes interfere with their police assignments? These are some of the questions I purpose to answer in this paper.
How has terrorism impacted the police mission in the United States? Prior to September 11th, law enforcement did not have the mechanism let alone the mindset in place to stop terrorism. The police priorities have changed so much over the decades. In the 1970s the shift was towards organized crime in the United States. Intercity police departments were very concerned with taking down leaders of the Mafia organizations and such. In the 1980s street drugs and gangs where the number one priority. Now, the primary mission is to prevent and stop terrorism. There is an extreme change in responsibilities and roles that the government plays in terrorism. New jobs and departments have been developed in order to control and prevent terrorist attacks. Some of these departments include homeland security, more enforcement control in border patrol and more in depth training in law enforcement. The federal government wants every level of law enforcement to know how to identify, prepare, prevent and take down a threat to the United States. Just about all federal, state and local enforcements priority missions have changed. Various job responsibilities have shift in order to contribute to the United State missions against terrorism. More of the government grants that go out to state and local agencies are mostly for the training and enforcement of terrorism control. What disagreements
References: Committee of Technical and Privacy Dimensions of Information for Terrorism Prevention and other National Goals…. National Research Council 2008 Glasser, Ira…American Civil Liberties Union… August 1997 “Fighting police abuse; A Community Action Manual” http://www.aclu.org/racial-justice_prisoners-rights_drug-law-reform_immigrants-rights/fighting-police-abuse-community.ac Kennedy, Frank…The Interim …”David Packer, a cop with a conscience” June 18th 1997 http://www.theinterim.com/issues/society-culture Scruton, Rodger…. City Journal.. Autumn 2000 …”Bring back Social Stigma” http://city-journal.org/html/10_4_bring_back_stigma.html Wyllie, Doug …PoliceOne.com…September 11th 2011… “10 years after 9/11; Police counter-terrorism, then and now. http://www.policeone.com/federal-law-enforcement/articles