Having a career in law enforcement can be a very rewarding endeavor, but at times there are hard ethical decisions that need to be made. When I left the Sheriff’s Office it was so I could be able to start my PhD and be able to dedicate my summers toward the requirements of the degree. After I finish my terminal degree I would like to join an Agency as a Command Staff member or if I continue to enjoy teaching, find a position at a local college. Both positions require difficult choices relating to ethics. As mentioned during my discussion posting regardless of the agency, there is always going to be issues with the leaders of the agencies surrounding their selves with the individuals that they feel comfortable with.
Usually those people are very l
...ike-minded and would not go against the upper management. One problem with this that I have seen is the way those people get to the leadership positions. They might be a friend of the Sheriff or someone that is connected in the community. They might not always be the best person for the job. Someone that is not connected but is dedicated and gives 100% to their job might be more deserving, but would be passed over for the promotion because a connected father was told that little Jimmy would get the position. Cooper states that Administrator’s decisions should not reflect their personal feelings, but be based on the information that is brought to them.
This could be due to the fact that sometimes information is not presented as a complete description and depending where it come
from, could be distorted because of the chain of command or one person’s dislike for an individual (Cooper, 2012). I would hope if I was to obtain a position of an Administrator I would get as much information on the people that are trying to advance and not depend on the judgments of others as a final decision that would affect the life and career of a good employee. I would also hope that I could keep my personal feelings away from the decision that needs to be made and make that best choice for the company. Cooper (2012) also mentions when defining the ethical issues one of the biggest issues is conflicting loyalties.
This was a big issue at my old agency. We had two or three people fighting for power and trying to progress up the agencies ladder. The deputies, whether they wanted to or not, followed one of the command staff members. Problems occur when one deputy is follow one leader and a friend is following another leader. Loyalties toward the friend and command staff members can be clouded. When dealing with ethical issues there are always choices that can be made. Normally there are more than one choice and simply weighing the pros and cons of each choice can greatly affect the outcome (Cooper, 2012) When using the Cooper Model the administrators should be able to think about the outcome of each decision and make a viable decision based on those outcomes (Cooper, 2012). Depending on the agency, Identifying Alternative Courses of Action and Projecting the Possible Consequences might not be used if they have someone in mind for the
position.
The last portion of the Cooper Model is Finding a Fit, which uses the information gathered on the previous steps to make the best possible decision (Cooper, 2012). If the Administrator follows Cooper’s steps honestly, the best choice will be made for the agency. I would like to think that there are agencies out there that follow these principles, but for the Departments that I have worked for this has not been the case.
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