Assignment:
Please respond to the statement below posted by a classmate in 100 words
The film Why Ethics is Law Enforcement's Greatest Need, discusses some very important topics in law enforcement today, ethics and integrity. Both go hand in hand and play a very important role in the world of law enforcement. Dr. Trautman said it best when he stated, "The reason why integrity is law enforcement's greatest training need is because nothing else devastates us as much." I was able to identify two learning points that I took from the video. The first is the dire need for more or perhaps better training. Ethics is a principle that governs a person's behavior and/or activity, and is used on a daily basis, either during work or personal functions. The International Association of Police Chiefs (IACP) understood that training was paramount when it came to ethics, and therefore created ethics training. Through research and funding, each agency certainly has a training spot reserved for the topic of ethical decision making.
This training, in my opinion, is important because individuals can learn how both good and bad ethical decisions and can affect you and your agency. These trainings should have a direct influence on anyone in law enforcement, who should understand the repercussions of bad ethical decisions in an agency, as well as understand the perception the citizens could have on the organization. The second learning point I took from the video, is learn from your mistakes. In law enforcement, everyone has made a mistake or two. It is the big mistakes that have the biggest impact, both individually and throughout the organization. I feel one of the best ways to learn from a mistake is to own it. Owning your mistakes shows growth in my opinion. I also understand that a drastic mistake could have a huge impact on your career. Own all mistakes, big and small. Blaming others only sets you back from progress.