1. Central Police University - Ethics in Policing - By: Terry Gingerich, Ph.D. Western Oregon University By: Terry Gingerich, Ph.D. Western Oregon University

2. What is ethics? Ethics is a set of moral principles or values that govern and define right and wrong behavior, either of an individual or a group. Today we will discuss applied ethics, which is the study of those action that constitute right and wrong behavior in certain situations. To be more specific, we will concentrate on what is generally referred to as professional ethics, a subfield of applied ethics.

3. What is ethics? Professional ethics concerns the behavior of a certain profession or group, in this case police officers. (Pollock-Byrne, 1989:2) It centers around personal integrity. I don’t think that anything I say here today will be new to you, its simply an opportunity to reinforce our commitment to professional policing.

4. What is personal Integrity? Personal integrity is “sincere devotion to honesty, justice, and goodness.” “It implies rigid adherence to a personal code of conduct and, conversely, failure to adhere to that code indicates lack of integrity.” (Building Integrity and Reducing Drug Corruption in Police Departments, BJA, 1992)

5. Law Enforcement Oath of Honor On my honor, I will never betray my badge, my integrity, my character or the public trust. I will always have the courage to hold myself and others accountable for our actions. I will always uphold the constitution, my community and the agency I serve. International Association of Chiefs of Police

6. Taiwan’s Government Employee Ethics Units and Officers According to Article 3 of the Act on the Establishment of the Government Employee Ethics Units and Officers, the MOJ is the Competent Authority of government ethics operations in the nation. The MOJ has set up a department specifically for planning, supervision, and evaluation. Under the MOJ, there are government employee ethics units operating in central and local government agencies and state-run enterprises at all levels.

7. Public Trust and Public Servants Holding public office in a democracy is a public trust. Consequently, we often refer to individuals working in government as “public servants.” Police officers are the most visible “public servant” of government, and we place a great deal of authority and responsibility in their hands. It’s a “servant-master” relationship and we expect that police officers will not betray that trust.

8. Trust and Betrayal Edwin Delattre (2006:39), a noted scholar in applied ethics, stated that, “We believe that those we trust will treat our interests and feelings as though they were their own.” He added that few disappoints run deeper than that of misplaced trust and betrayal. Think of those moments in our own lives when we have betrayed a trust (none of us are infallible) or have been betrayed.

9. Responsibilities and Professionalism To build and sustain public trust a department’s leadership must establish, practice, support, and perpetuate ethical administration and demand ethical conduct from every employee. In fact, every police officer is obligated to the public, the department, and his/her fellow employee to establish, practice, support, and perpetuate ethical conduct. Professionals have no other options.

10. Character and Reputation Every institution or organization has a reputation that is drawn from the collective character of its members and their interaction with society. For example, Taiwan’s Tzu Chi Charity organization has an international reputation for helping people in time of need. As you know, its name comes from one of its tenets: Every heart is capable of "priceless, great love.“ While the NPA’s mission is different than Tzu Chi, its reputation rests on the collective character of its members, a character that is capable of “priceless, great love” in service to the citizens of Taiwan.

11. Character and Reputation Year Low/ Serious High/ Not Serious No OpinionSourceN 3.1 Do you believe police corruption is a serious problem in Taiwan? 200648.8%39.3%11.9%N-1972TSCS 1966-198775.3%11.7%12.5%N-264PPPS 1945-196546.4%4.5%39.0%N-264PPPS 3.2 Do you believe police demonstrate high or low levels of trustworthiness? 200725%75%0%GallopUnk. “Public Perception of Police Performance in Taiwan, 1945-2009” Gingerich, Chu, and Chang (2010, under review) Data: Gallop Taiwan Social Change Survey (TSCS) Public Perceptions of Police Survey (PPPS)

12. “Public Perception of Police Performance in Taiwan, 1945-2009” Gingerich, Chu, and Chang (2010, under review)

14. Hypotheses About Corruption Hypotheses Society-at-Large Hypothesis Structural or Affiliation Hypothesis Rotten-Apple Hypothesis Explanation Society expects “favors” from the police & offer gratuities to receive them (social custom). Cultural influences within the department make it acceptable (organizational culture) A disposition toward corruption by individual officers

15. However, one hypothesis alone is too simple to explain the causes of police corruption Society’s expectations Organizational culture Individual disposition

16. Questions that should be asked about corruption: Did the officer act alone? Did others know, but remain silent? Did the officer believe that if others knew they would remain silent? Did it begin with apparently harmless and well-intended acts? Is it a one time event or did it evolve to a pattern and practice? Is an assuredness of punishment lacking? Are internal controls lacking?

17. How to reduce or prevent corruption Reduce “rotten apples” through high standards of recruitment and training Effective leadership Individual accountability Systematic investigation of complaints Establish common purpose and moral ideas among command and line personnel

18. Potential threats to the NPA: Drug offences reported by the MOJ Year 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 New drug cases 40,249 57,139 44,887 32,788 37,057 45,935 56,167 82,981 93,824 70,716 56,207 54,341 68,713 85,970 76,068 86,281 83,187

19. THANK YOU It has been my honor to present this lecture