Character and Cops

by Delattre, Edwin J.; Bores, David R.

• ISBN13: 9780844772257
• ISBN10: 0844772259
• Edition: 6th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-07-01
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Summary

Since the first edition was published in 1989, Character and Cops has been considered the bible of police ethics training. The book is a comprehensive guide to the ethical challenges faced daily by police officers, especially in times of heightened security. The updated sixth edition features a new foreword by David Bores, a retired lieutenant colonel in the United States military police, and a new chapter titled From War Veterans to Peace Officers, which explores policies for incorporating soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan into the domestic police force.

Author Biography

Edwin J. Delattre is president emeritus of St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland, and Santa Fe, New Mexico; dean emeritus of the Boston University. School of Education; and professor of philosophy emeritus at the Boston University College of Arts and Sciences.

Table of Contents

Foreword to the Sixth Edition	p. xiii
Foreword to the First Edition	p. xix
Acknowledgments	p. xxiii
Introduction	p. 1
Excellence of Character	p. 6
First and Second Nature	p. 6
Character and Police	p. 9
The Morally Important and the Morally Problematic	p. 15
The Mission Police	p. 17
The Experiment in Ordered Liberty	p. 17
Disorder and Injustice	p. 19
Against Tyranny	p. 22
Mission	p. 25
Public Confidence	p. 29
Codes of Ethics and Personal Character	p. 33
The Public Trust and Probity	p. 38
Private Trust	p. 39
The Public Trust	p. 40
Competence	p. 44
Trustworthiness	p. 45
Discretion	p. 49
judgment and Rules	p. 49
Respect for Limits	p. 55
Policies and Laws	p. 57
Force and Deadly Force	p. 64
Anticipation and Planning	p. 68
Public Corruption for Profit	p. 71
Incorruptibility	p. 71
Cynicism and Consolation	p. 72
Higher Standards and Double Standards	p. 74
Hypotheses about Corruption	p. 78
Departmental Supervision	p. 86
Gratuities and the Slippery Slope	p. 87
Character and Free Will	p. 90
Authority and Reform in Controlling Corruption	p. 95
The Authority to Lead	p. 96
Alliances	p. 99
Conspiracies of Silence	p. 102
Reform	p. 103
Combating Mediocrity	p. 104
Review and Advisory Boards	p. 107
Leadership and the Character of a Department	p. 109
Realistic Expectations	p. 110
Burnout	p. 111
Merit and Affirmative Action	p. 113
Recruiting, Selection, and Promotion	p. 128
Illegal Narcotics-Moral Issues and Public Policy	p. 134
Morality and Public Policy	p. 135
Arguments for Legalization of Narcotics	p. 136
Arguments against Legalization	p. 138
Analyzing the Arguments	p. 141
Demand Reduction	p. 144
Conclusion	p. 146
The Fundamentals of Character and Training	p. 150
Sex and Money	p. 151
Realism and Idealism	p. 154
Morality and Happiness	p. 155
Moral Problems	p. 157
Habits	p. 158
Current Fashion in Ethics Education	p. 160
"Value" Choices and "Ethical Dilemmas"	p. 163
Individual and Departmental Character	p. 166
Deliberation and Moral Problems-In training	p. 172
Moral Deliberation	p. 173
Identifying Genuine Moral Problems	p. 180
Identifying Relevant Reasons for Decisions	p. 188
The Fabric of a Life	p. 204
Tragedy and "Noble Cause" Corruption	p. 207
Ends and Means	p. 209
Who Is to Say (What to Do)?	p. 213
Trying to Have It Both Ways	p. 217
Thinking It Through	p. 222
Dirty Harry	p. 226
"Noble Cause" Corruption	p. 230
Excusable Wrongdoing	p. 231
Deciding	p. 232
Death and Bereavement, Deadly Force and Guilt	p. 234
The Death of a Friend, Partner, or Loved One	p. 234
Living Up to the Facts	p. 235
Love	p. 236
Dignity	p. 237
The Bereavement of Others	p. 238
Deadly Force	p. 239
Guilt	p. 240
Taking Our Lives Seriously	p. 242
The Extra Mile	p. 242
The Morality of Aspiration	p. 243
Taking Our Lives Seriously	p. 245
Fatalism, Microcosms, and Therapeutic Reductions	p. 247
Fatalism and the Microcosm Argument	p. 248
Rising above the Microcosm	p. 251
More on Higher Standards and Double Standards	p. 257
The Therapeutic Vision of Human Beings	p. 259
The Americans with Disabilities Act	p. 268
Therapy and Multicultural Sensitivity Training	p. 270
Ethical Ideals, Youth Violence, and Gang Enforcement	p. 274
A Sketch of the Ethically Ideal Institution	p. 276
Youth Violence and Gang Enforcement	p. 277
Gangs, Education, and the Heroism of Cowards	p. 285
Unconditional Obligations	p. 295
Police, the O. J. Simpson Trial, and Race	p. 297
Individuality and Group Identity	p. 298
The Lessons of the O. J. Simpson Trial for Police	p. 303
Policing and Prejudice	p. 310
Thinking about "Race"	p. 316
Thinking about Human Beings	p. 323
Conclusion	p. 326
The Spirit of Public Service and Individual Conscience	p. 327
Reciprocity and the Spirit of Service	p. 329
Individual Conscience	p. 333
Conscience and Police Assignments	p. 333
Recruitment, Training, and Departmental Policy	p. 335
Supervision and Leadership	p. 337
Law and Policy	p. 340
Policies That Aid Conscience	p. 341
Conclusion	p. 345
Ethics in the future of policing	p. 346
Ethics and Rules	p. 347
Narcissism and Childishness	p. 352
Morality and Social Conditions	p. 353
"Broken Windows" and Social Stigma	p. 358
Social Stigma within Policing	p. 362
Recruiting Problems	p. 367
Essential Capacities	p. 372
Character and Capacities	p. 385
Terrorism and Policing	p. 387
What Is a Terrorist?	p. 393
Bargaining by Outrage	p. 396
Suicide Bombers and Cowardice	p. 402
Imagination, Horror, and History	p. 404
Nothing Will Ever Be the Same?	p. 405
Disagreement and Conflict within the United States	p. 410
Disagreements within Law Enforcement	p. 413
Terrorism and the Police Mission	p. 416
Racial Profiling and the Public Trust	p. 430
Integrity and Professionalism: John.P O'Neill	p. 435
Conclusion	p. 436
Ethics in Action: Case Studies of Professional Excellence in Policing Excellence in Policing	p. 439
In Pursuit of Truth: Investigating Mass Murder at Columbine	p. 441
Ethics Restored: Reform in the Los Angeles Police Department	p. 447
Competence and Cooperation: Combating Gangs in Fairfax County, Virginia	p. 457
Regaining Public Trust: Corruption and Reform in the Greece, New York, Police Department	p. 468
Ethics and Professionalism in a Post-9/11 World	p. 472
Conclusion	p. 478
From War Veterans to Peace Officers	p. 479
The Challenge	p. 479
Training and Retraining Provisions	p. 484
Building Mutual Trust	p. 487
A Sketch of the Ideal Military-Support Team	p. 489
Unintended Consequences	p. 513
Conclusion	p. 522
A Guide to the Further Study of Ethics in Policing	p. 523
Internal Affairs and Integrity	p. 530
Notes	p. 545
Index	p. 579
About the Author	p. 597
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