Public Integrity

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In Pursuit of Police Ethics: An Analysis of Ethics

Content in State-Mandated Basic Police Training
Curricula

Galia Cohen

To cite this article: Galia Cohen (2022) In Pursuit of Police Ethics: An Analysis of Ethics
Content in State-Mandated Basic Police Training Curricula, Public Integrity, 24:3, 292-305, DOI:
10.1080/10999922.2021.1933340

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/10999922.2021.1933340

Published online: 10 Aug 2021.

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PUBLIC INTEGRITY
2022, VOL. 24, NO. 3, 292–305
https://doi.org/10.1080/10999922.2021.1933340

In Pursuit of Police Ethics: An Analysis of Ethics Content in

State-Mandated Basic Police Training Curricula
Galia Cohen
Department Head and Assistant Professor, Department of Public Administration at Tarleton State University

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
Recent events of police misconduct sparked a nationwide debate on the content analysis, ethics
effectiveness of police ethics training. In this article, we ask: do basic police training, police reform,
academies prepare future police officers to be the ethical decisions makers public service ethics, street
level bureaucrats
we expect them to be? By utilizing a mixed methods research design with
content analysis, we evaluate the way ethics training for police recruits is
structured in terms of content and quantity (i.e., training hours) across the
50 states. More specifically, we use a four-part interpretive framework to
analyze state-mandated basic training curricula for (1) the rationale for
teaching ethics (2) approaches to teaching ethics (3) the law enforcement
ethos, and (4) ethics control mechanisms. The article concludes by offering
practical recommendations on how to improve ethical competencies in
police training and practice.

Ethical behavior defines the body and soul of the public service profession (Menzel, 2003). There
is a consensus among scholars and practitioners that learning to be an ethical decision-maker
should be a primary objective in public service training and education programs (e.g.,
Maesschalck, 2004; Stevulak & Brown, 2011). Bowman, Berman, and West (2001) write that
those who aspire to be public servants “need to buttress their mastery of specialized learning and
managerial skills with ethical sensitivities and a commitment to public service” (p. 195).
In law enforcement, the inclusion of ethics in officers’ training is even more critical. First, police
officers are one of the only groups of public officials that has the legal power to regularly deprive
citizens of their freedom (Moll, 2007). Second, as Lipsky (1971) points out, the central feature of
police work is discretion. As street-level bureaucrats, police officers, especially at the street-level,
have the power to make decisions, implement policy and generally carry out the law enforcement
mission to “serve and protect” (Johnson & Cox, 2004) while being almost completely unsupervised.
This combination of wide discretionary power and lack of observation makes unethical conduct
easy to occur and hard to detect (Johnson & Cox, 2004; Seron, Pereira, & Kovath, 2004).
The impetus to study police ethics training grows out of a dire need to increase public trust
and confidence in the police. Unfortunately, there are nearly daily reminders of unethical
police behavior and the public, more than ever before, is demonstrating low tolerance for such
occurrences, particularly to those involving excessive use of force against minority groups
(Seron et al., 2004). For example, the recent public outrage that followed the tragic death of Mr.
Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2020 amplified existing controversies between police and
policed and sparked a renewed attention to police training and its effectiveness in preparing
recruits to fulfill their duties as public servants (Preston, 2020).

CONTACT Galia Cohen cohen@tarleton.edu Public Administration Division, Tarleton State University, 10850 Texan Rider
Dr. Fort-Worth, TX 76036, USA.
ß 2021 American Society for Public Administration
 IN PURSUIT OF POLICE ETHICS 293

Despite the attention given to police training by policymakers, academicians, and community
stakeholders, there is a lack of empirical research evaluating it. Examining the content of ethics in
police training can give us a more complex understanding of the values and principles that shape
police officers’ ethical decision-making and the way they deal with moral dilemmas. To fill in this
gap in the literature, this article analyzes patterns in ethics training curricula of basic police aca-
demies. More specifically, this study makes a unique contribution to the public administration lit-
erature by asking what are the characteristics (in hours and content) of state-mandated ethics
training across the 50 states?

Is police ethics different from other public sector ethics?

Moral and ethical reasonings are of fundamental importance to the practice of public administra-
tion and the delivery of quality democracy (Bowman et al., 2001). Denhardt and Grubbs (1999)
state, “every action of every public official … carries value implications” (p. 115). Indeed, when
public officials engage in unethical behavior, they violate the public trust and damage the reputa-
tion of public servants everywhere (Wyatt-Nichol & Franks, 2009).
The centrality of ethics in public professions brings up an interesting question - is police ethics
different from any other public service ethics? Many ethics scholars argue that while standards of
ethical practice are inherent to any public sector profession, they are especially crucial to police
work (e.g., Blumberg, Papazoglou, & Creighton, 2018; Johnson & Cox, 2004; Wyatt-Nichol &
Franks, 2009). Ethical enforcement of the law is a sensitive position and police officers are
expected to be held to a higher ethical standard than any other public officials (Delattre 1996) for
several reasons.
First, the low-visibility nature of routine patrol work means that police officers are often
making decisions on how to implement the law alone (Goldstein, 1960; Rowe, 2007), with no one
around to challenge the ethicality of their decision in ‘real-time’. Furthermore, the fact that much
of what officers do during their work can go virtually undetected by their supervisors or the pub-
lic, can lead to a ‘slippery slope’ where officers find themselves overwhelmed by the many temp-
tations to commit unethical acts (Newburn & Webb, 1999).
Second, in law enforcement, perhaps more than in any other public service profession, devia-
tions from ethical conduct can be easily rationalized and excused as ‘needed’ for the benefit of
society (Van Halderen & Kolthoff, 2017), or more informally, for “getting bad guys off the
streets” (Crank & Caldero, 2000 p.16). This idea, recognized in the literature as ‘noble cause cor-
ruption’, creates the perception that sometimes ethically questionable actions are necessary for
crime prevention and general maintenance of order. Lastly, studies show that public perceptions
of police Integrity are largely shaped by individual encounters of citizens with police officers.
According to the National Institute of Justice (2012), police unethical conduct continues to be
“one of the biggest challenges to public trust and confidence in the police” (p. 4).
Clearly, police officers who act unethically do not always intend to do so. Unlike most public
servants that are equipped with detailed rules to govern their actions in specific situations, police
officers are often forced to make quick decisions under a great deal of pressure (Cohen, 2018).
From mundane dilemmas to the most egregious behaviors, police officers are faced daily with a
wide range of ethical challenges and need to be able to navigate on their own the ambiguous
“ethical waters of police work” (Blumberg et al., 2018, p. 9). Johnson and Cox (2004) explain that
it is not that police ethics is different from that of other public professions, but that the implica-
tions and consequences of the failure to deliver it are more detrimental when it comes to law
enforcement.
Police officers are expected to be impartial and effective conflict solvers and protect the rights
of the public (Cohen, 2021). Today more than ever, smartphones, body cameras and social media
have brough police misconduct into the eye of public scrutiny and any hint of unethical behavior
294 COHEN

by a police officer compromises the legitimacy of the entire profession. For these reasons, articu-
lating clear and meaningful standards of behavior and establishing a strong ethical basis for police
work is one of the most challenging tasks in the realm of public service. For these reasons, articu-
lating clear and meaningful standards of behavior and establishing a strong ethical basis for police
work is one of the most challenging tasks in the realm of public service.

Current debates surrounding police ethics training

There is a consensus that ethics training is essential for the practice of police work. Wyatt-Nichol
and Franks (2009) state that in law enforcement, ethics training has a critical role in bridging the
gap “between written policies and actual behavior by introducing or reinforcing rules and expect-
ations of behavior” (p. 40). Nonetheless, police ethics training has been under a steady stream of
criticism, especially for its lack of ability to adapt training content to meet the contemporary chal-
lenges of police work (Cohen, 2021).
The criticism about the lack of comprehensiveness in police ethics training is rooted in the
subtle relationship between training and educating. According to Adlam (1998), the police learn-
ing system is characterized by a training approach rather than an educational approach. The nurs-
ing profession is a good example here. As White (2006) explains, while police officers receive
training, nurses receive education. Through training, a behavioral change can be achieved in a
relatively structured and predictable way, however, the values and social responsibilities that
derive from the learned behavior can only be achieved through educating, in a process that is
much less structured and predictable (Peters, 1970). As White (2006) articulates, one can be
trained to drive a car, but the act of driving itself is meaningless in the absence of an educative
context such as learning what is the social responsibility that is attached to driving. The same
logic applies to police training. Training alone is not enough to teach police officers the ethical
and problem-solving skills they need to handle their job duties (White, 2006).
The emphasis on education over training is also supported in the well-known Final Report of
the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing (2015) which states:
Though today’s law enforcement professionals are highly trained and highly skilled operationally, they must
develop specialized knowledge and understanding that enable fair and procedurally just policing … tactical
skills are important but attitude, tolerance, and interpersonal skills are equally so (p. 52). However, despite
the increased attention to 21st-century police principles, evaluations of police training curricula show that
in reality, there has been little to no progress in the implementation of a rigor police training reform that is
framed around educational principles and reflects the ethical values of public service (Cohen, 2021).

In her recent comparative analysis of basic training curricula across the 50 states, Cohen
(2021) found that public administration training is a missing component in police basic training
curricula and that, on average, states devote only 3.21% of basic training hours to the teaching of
public administration principles. Clearly, there is a great need for a more in-depth empirical
exploration of what exactly our future police officers are taught in the classroom. This study
intends to help fill this void by analyzing the content of the ethics training portion in state-man-
dated basic police curricula across the nation.

Methodology
Study design, data sources and data collection procedures
This comprehensive evaluation utilized quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze and com-
pare state-mandatory ethics training for police recruits in the 50 U.S. states. Our primary data
sources for this analysis are the states’ basic training curricula and their accompanying support
materials. The basic police training curriculum in each state in the U.S. is developed and
 IN PURSUIT OF POLICE ETHICS 295

approved by the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission, which is the regula-
tory agency that oversees the police certification program in that state. These curricula are an
appropriate indicator of the significance of ethics training in the law enforcement profession
because they are mandatory by states for all entry-level peace officers.1
Our data collection process took place between June and September of 2020. We emailed offi-
cials from POST agencies asking them for the most current approved basic curriculum and any
other training supplemental materials they would be willing to share. All states collaborated with
the author and a total of 492 (N ¼ 49) curricula as well as other supplemental materials, such as
course descriptions and objectives, PowerPoint presentations, and instructor and student manuals,
were received.
Of the 49 curricula sample, 47 curricula met the inclusion criteria. Which means we were able
to identify a requirement for some type of ethics training. From this subsample, fourteen (14)
curricula did not include sufficient information about the training to allow proper in-depth
exploration, and therefore, were excluded from the analysis, leaving us with a subsample of 33
curricula (n ¼ 33) for our content analysis. In addition, of the 47 curricula that met the inclusion
criteria, only the 39 that indicated the precise minimum hours required for the ethics training
were used for the training hours analysis (n¼39).

Data analysis method

For the data analysis, we used a hybrid approach of inductive and deductive thematic analysis to
gain a contextual understanding of the ethics training for police recruits, as well as counts of
mandatory training hours to identify the overall time devoted to ethics training in basic academ-
ies. At the first phase of our analysis, the full text of each curricula was open coded to discern
any ethics training content as well as to note the number of training hours associated with it. To
make sure we identify all of the content that meets the inclusion criteria (i.e., ethics training con-
tent), we coded the curricula for both ethics and ethics-related training.
At the second phase of the analysis, the narrative data identified in the first phase were ana-
lyzed inductively using open coding to allow concepts and themes of ethics to emerge from the
data. We organized the emerging ‘meaning units’ (e.g., Thomas, 2006) in categories which were
then collapsed into broader higher-order categories (e.g., Braun & Clarke, 2006). We then fol-
lowed with a deductive analysis in which we used Bowman’s et al. (2001) four pillars of public
service ethics as an organizing framework to guide the thematic analysis coding process (e.g.,
Braun & Clarke, 2006). According to Bowman’s et al. (2001), the tenets of public service ethics
include value awareness, reasoning skills, law, and implementation strategies. This organizing
framework, often referred to as a categorization matrix (Elo & Kyng€as, 2008) or priori template
(Fereday & Muir-Cochrane, 2006), was adjusted and applied to our data as explained in the fol-
lowing section.

Results and analysis

As a first step in our analysis, we looked at the ethics courses’ number of training hours. The
Table A1 in the appendix lists all state-mandated ethics and ethics-related courses identified in
each state’s curriculum, their respective training hours (when applicable) and the length of the
entire basic training program in hours. On average, ethics and ethics-related courses constitute
only 1.27% (8.14 hours) of the entire basic training program hours (n ¼ 39). These extremely low
training hours across states already serve as an indicator of the gap between basic training con-
tent and the role of the modern-day police officer.
For the second step of our analysis, we conducted a content analysis of state-mandated ethics
training curricula (n ¼ 33). To analyze the data, we used a four-part interpretive framework
296 COHEN

TABLE 1. Content Analysis of Ethics Coverage in Basic Police Training Curricula (n ¼ 33)
Ethics dimensions Number of curricula discussing (N ¼ 33)
Rationale for inclusion 21 (63.6%)
1. Limiting liability 21
2. Positive public perception 18
Approaches to the teaching of ethics 33 (100%)
1. Low road approach 23
2. Hybrid approach (Elements of low road and high road approach combined) 10
Law enforcement ethos 33 (100%)
1. Fairness and impartiality 25
2. Ethical discretion 15
Ethics control mechanisms 31 (94%)
External controls:
1. Code of ethics 24
2. Whistleblowing channels 16
Internal controls:
3. Decision making models 22

inspired by the work of Bowman et al. (2001) who analyzed the coverage of ethics content in
introductory public administration textbooks. Our conceptual framework is adapted to the con-
text of training curricula and includes the following four dimensions: (1) The rationale for the
inclusion of ethics – why is it important for police officers to learn ethics and what is the justifi-
cation for including ethics in basic training? (2) Approaches to the teaching of ethics – how do
states conceptualize the teaching of ethics for future police officers? Do they frame it around the
“high road” approach (Rohr, 1978), which is based on voluntary compliance and the desire to
“do the right thing”, or the “low road” approach, that emphasizes legal compliance and the threat
of disciplinary actions (Bowman et al., 2001)?
(3) Law enforcement ethos - what do states consider as the guiding values and principles that
characterize ethics in the law enforcement profession and that ought to be included in the con-
tent of ethics training? And, (4) Ethics control mechanisms – do states include in their training
implementation techniques for improving organizational ethics? What types of effective mecha-
nisms are suggested to enhance recruits’ ethical behavior? Table 1 provides an overview of the
interpretive framework used for content analysis in this study.

The rationale for the inclusion of ethics

The first dimension to be analyzed is why ethics need to be included in law enforcement training.
Of the 33 states’ curricula included in this sample, 21 states (63.6%, n ¼ 21) address the question
of why the highest ethical and moral standards are important for law enforcement officers, both
on and off duty. We identified two main justifications: limiting liability and enhancing positive
public perception.
The first and most common rationale, limiting liability, outlines the relationship between eth-
ical conduct and exposure to liability. All 21 curricula explicitly or implicitly state that because
sworn officers are subjected to various laws, rules, and regulations there is a liability attached to
their jobs. As the Ohio’s curriculum states, “even one act of police misconduct exposes an agency
to considerable liability” (Ohio Peace Officer Basic Training Curriculum [POBTC], 2019, p. 15).
By following ethical guidelines, officers can reduce their individual as well as their agencies’
exposure to liability while performing their duties. Several curricula even highlight specific police
functions that carry ethical obligation and which can impact personal liability including, but not
limited to, ethical issues related to use of force, making arrests, conducting pursuits, and obtain-
ing admission and confession.
Interestingly, a recurrent theme under this rationale is improper supervisor-subordinate rela-
tions. Maryland’s curriculum describes the supervisor as a “reinforcer” of ethical behavior in the
workplace. In fact, the unequivocal focus here is on sexual harassment with nine states providing
 IN PURSUIT OF POLICE ETHICS 297

definitions for the term “sexual harassment” and other related terms such as “quid pro quo” and
“hostile work environment”. While most states focus on the responsibilities of the supervisor in
creating a work environment free of sexual harassment; in Connecticut, the curriculum also
points to the subordinate’s (i.e., recruit) responsibility to identify illegal or immoral orders and
suggests proper methods for handling them (Connecticut POBTC, 2015).
The second rationale, public perception, is mentioned in 18 out of the 21 curricula subsample.
The basic premise for this rationale is that officers’ every action can either positively or negatively
affect public perceptions of the police. “Police misconduct grabs headlines”, states the Ohio
POBTC (2019, p. 15) and adds that ethical conduct has a critical role in shaping public attitudes
toward their local police departments and the law enforcement profession in general. Several cur-
ricula go beyond this point to also highlight the impact of negative public opinion on the police
officer’s job effectiveness. For example, several curricula state that public distrust decreases the
likelihood of reporting crime. In addition, if citizens believe that police officers are corrupt “they
will not view the police as trusted partners [and] without trust, collaborative problem solving is
not possible” (Massachusetts POBTC, 2020, p. 30).

Approaches to the teaching of ethics

The second dimension of the analysis looks at approaches to the teaching of ethics, or as Bowman
et al. (2001) assert, the distinction between “the low road, punitive, stay-out-of-trouble versus the
high road, preventive, how-to-do-right-things approach” (p. 198). All of the curricula in the sample
(100%, n ¼ 33) exemplify either a ‘low road’ approach or a ‘low road-high road’ hybrid approach to
ethics teaching, with no curricula demonstrating an entirely ‘high road’ approach. The predominant
approach, identified in 23 out of the 33 sample curricula, emphasizes the teaching of low-road
compliance strategies (Bowman et al., 2001). This top-down, “don’t do” approach, is very typical for
ethics training in U.S. military academies. It narrowly focuses on imposing soldiers with the profes-
sional standard required for the fulfillment of the job and is often viewed by trainees as another
responsibility, or “check-the-box” requirement (Robinson, 2007).
Specifically, we identified two main themes under the low-road teaching approach. The first
theme focuses on teaching future police officers what constitutes unethical conduct and corrup-
tion (i.e., what not to do). While some curricula convey a subtle, advisory tone by suggesting that
recruits should learn to recognize situations that may lead them to act in an unethical manner;
other curricula imply a more direct authoritative tone by their wording. For example, in Arizona,
the curriculum requires teaching cadets to identify “the causes for revocation, suspension and
denial of a peace officer’s certification” (Arizona POBTC, 2015, p. 5). In Kentucky, one learning
objective is that students identify factors that would most likely end a law enforcement offi-
cer’s career.
Moreover, most curricula provide recruits with a “list” of specific actions that represent
immoral character and unethical conduct that officers should avoid. The ten most frequently
mentioned unethical actions are: gratuity and bribery (n ¼ 17); abuse of authority and/or power
(n ¼ 8); sexual improprieties (n ¼ 7); divulging of confidential information (n ¼ 6); noble cause
corruption (n ¼ 5); conflict of interest (n ¼ 3); code of silence (n ¼ 3); false or colored testimony
(n ¼ 3); petty larceny (n ¼ 3); lastly, only one curriculum (n ¼ 1) mentions unethical behaviors
related to inappropriate social media use (see Table 2).
The second theme of the low-road approach emphasizes teaching future police officers what are
the consequence of being unethical (i.e., what is the “punishment”). Recruits are taught of the various
sanctions that could result from unethical behavior, such as departmental discipline (e.g., suspension
or dismissal), revocation of a peace officer’s certification, criminal charges, and civil liability. In
some curricula, cadets are required to memorize the different types of abuse of public office offenses
and the charges associated with them. In Texas, for example, recruits are expected to be able to list
the civil penalties for sexual harassment and other inappropriate officer conducts.
298 COHEN

TABLE 2. Coverage of Unethical Actions Found in Basic Training Curricula (n ¼ 33).

Unethical action Number of curricula discussing (n)
1. Gratuity and bribery 17
2. Abuse of authority and/or power 8
3. Sexual improprieties 7
4. Divulging of confidential information 6
5. Noble cause corruption 5
6. Conflict of interest 3
7. Code of silence 3
8. False or colored testimony 3
9. Petty larceny 3
10. Inappropriate social media use 1

Lastly, only ten out of the 33 curricula demonstrate a hybrid approach to ethics teaching. This
means that on top of emphasizing legal compliance and the other low road themes described
above, these curricula also incorporate elements of the high road teaching approach such as the
development of cadets’ ethical attitudes and moral responsibility. For example, while low road
approach curricula emphasize individual consequences of unethical behavior, hybrid-approach
curricula describe the consequences of unethical conduct not only to the police officer but also to
the community (e.g., loss of legitimacy and public trust), the agency (e.g., a culture of misconduct
and damaged relationships among peers) and the law enforcement profession as a whole (e.g.,
damaged reputation and loss of respect).
Additionally, some hybrid-approach curricula recognize that the discretionary powers bestowed
upon police officers make them more suspectable to engage in illegal and unethical behaviors
than any other public servants. These curricula also include instructional goals that discuss the
reasons for engaging in unethical conduct. Contrary to the low road approach, the focus here
shifts from memorization of a “don’t do” list to an understanding of the unwritten influences
that may drive police officers to misconduct. Three main categories of motivation to act unethic-
ally were identified. The first is the need for acceptance and approval, and the fear of being ostra-
cized by peers. The second pertains to feelings of frustration, cynicism, an “us versus them”
mentality and a general disillusionment with the criminal justice system. Lastly, the third category
includes the desire to engage in thrill-seeking and risk-taking behaviors.

Law enforcement ethos

The third dimension of our analysis depicts the law enforcement ethos, that is, the guiding values
and principles that characterize ethics in the law enforcement profession as reflected in state-
mandated training curricula. Ethos is a synthesis between the individual’s personal values and
beliefs and the collective culture and history of the group which the individual is part of
€
(Ostman, N€asman, Eriksson, & Nystr€ om, 2019). The ethos dimension is addressed by all 33 cur-
ricula in the sample (100%, n ¼ 33) and two values, fairness and impartiality, and ethical discre-
tion emerge from the data as essential for ethics in policing.
First, an ethos of fairness and impartiality seems to be central for police ethics. Twenty-five (25)
states include a discussion about the ethical responsibility of a peace officer to exercise fair and
impartial enforcement of the law. This broad category includes racial and other minority groups
profiling that officers interact with in their job such as gender, sexual orientation and religion.
The rationale, as stated by Maine’s curriculum, is threefold: “Officers are bound by the Fourth
Amendment, policy and ethics” to avoid unfair and partial treatment (Maine, POBTC, 2020, p. 24).
The instructional goals for fairness and impartiality focus on two main areas. The first goal is to
familiarize students with the ethical considerations related to implicit human biases. These objec-
tives include teaching cadets to recognize their own human biases and understand how implicit bias
can challenge personal perceptions and behavior. The second set of goals centers around the concept
of procedural justice as it relates to law enforcement, particularly, how fairness and impartiality
 IN PURSUIT OF POLICE ETHICS 299

promote procedural justice and police legitimacy. The recurring objective is to increase recruits’
understanding of how an impartial decision-making process enables officers to be both safe and
effective at their jobs. As indicated in Minnesota’s curriculum, procedural justice provides
“respectful opportunity for a voice and transparency in actions, bolsters positive community rela-
tions and enhances officer and community safety” (Minnesota, POBTC, 2019, p. 10).
An ethos of ethical discretion is the second most mentioned in the curricula, with fifteen (15)
states referring to it as a foundational value in police ethics. The curricula discuss how the use of
ethical discretionary powers applies to law enforcement and particularly, how the inappropriate
use of discretion may lead to a biased and partial behavior. Interestingly, we identified two dis-
tinct goals for the teaching of discretion among states. Some states focus on the goal to enhance
cadets’ ethical discretion capacities in their overall job duties; while other states focus on fostering
ethical discretion using specifically targeted issues.
For example, exemplifying the first goal, the Michigan curriculum states that because full
enforcement of laws is not always possible in policing, officers must learn how to exercise public
servants’ discretion which is broadly defined as “the freedom to act or make decisions” without
supervision, in a reasonable manner (Michigan, POBTC, 2020, p. 178). Moreover, the curriculum
provides a guide to officers on which factors they should consider when exercising discretion
(e.g., the nature of the offense, the degree of intent to commit the offense, and the ability to
achieve a better solution to the problem). Differently, the Utah curriculum, exemplifies the
second goal as it uses a task-specific definition for police discretion, that is the ability to “choose
between arrest and non-arrest solely on the basis of the officer’s judgment” (Utah, POBTC, 2021,
p. 111). In this case, the curriculum focuses on identifying the factors that limit officer’s discre-
tion (e.g., departmental policy, officer safety) and understanding the negative aspects of unethical
use of discretionary power, especially as it relates to public support.

Ethics control mechanisms

Lastly, our analysis shifts to the ethics control mechanisms dimension. Whichever rationale, ethics
training approach, and ethos states choose to apply in their ethics training, do they also provide
strategies or mechanisms that are aimed to improve agencies’ ethical climate? Of the 33 sample
curricula, 31 curricula (94%, n ¼ 31) addressed this dimension. Our analysis here focused on the
distinction between external control mechanisms that are based on detailed rules and procedures
which limit the individual’s ethical decision-making (Fox, 2001), and internal control mechanisms
that rely on the individual’s self-control and promote individual decision making rather than con-
straining it (Maesschalck, 2004).
We identified two forms of external control mechanisms: The Law Enforcement Code of Ethics
and whistle-blowing channels. Originally written in 1957 by the International Association of Chiefs
of Police (IACP), The Law Enforcement Code of Ethics is a document that represents the founda-
tion for ethical conduct in American law enforcement. All police recruits in the U.S. learn this code
during their basic training and recite it as an oath of office during their graduation ceremony. The
oath remains morally binding throughout their entire career as peace officers (Grant, 2002).
References to The Law Enforcement Code of Ethics as a code-base mechanism for ethics external
control are made in 24 curricula. For example, in Massachusetts, the curriculum states that officers
“must apply the code of ethics to any problem … this is done to clarify roles and ensure the prob-
lem is defined honestly, professionally and without bias” (Massachusetts POBTC, 2020, p. 35).
All 24 curricula require cadets to learn, paraphrase, summarize and discuss key phrases and
other components of the law enforcement code of ethics. Only eleven (11) states seem to go
beyond the objective of memorization of the code to include aspects of application of the code,
such as how the code relates to community policing in terms of actions and performances,
and more broadly, how to identify and apply specific components of the code to their problem-
300 COHEN

solving process. In Wisconsin, for example, students are asked to analyze case studies and support
the decisions they make by citing specific portions of the Code of Ethics or Oath of Honor.
The second form of external control mechanism is the whistleblowing process. Sixteen (16)
states devote a section in their curricula to the topic of reporting unethical conduct by a fellow
officer, and in some cases, also misconduct performed by a supervisor. Cadets are provided with
methods for handling and reporting illegal behavior and immoral orders from informal actions,
such as expressing verbal disapproval of minor infractions, to formal actions such as reporting
within the chain of command.
The whistleblowing system is widely recognized in the literature as a critical mechanism for
maintaining an ethical climate in organizations (e.g., Apaza & Chang, 2011; Lindsay, Lindsay, &
Irvine, 1996). Nonetheless, it becomes particularly complicated in the context of law enforcement
as the closed and distrusting culture of policing makes this, already difficult, endeavor much less
likely to occur (Johnson, 2006). As a result, we found an interesting concentration in the curric-
ula on objectives that specifically address “blue on blue encounters” and the “blue code of
silence”. For example, in North Dakota, cadets need to identify the dangers associated with
“covering up for substance-abusing officers” (North Dakota, POBTC, 2017, p. 14) and the sources
of stress related to reporting officer misconduct. In Oklahoma, recruits discuss “five reasons why
officers remain silent when faced with unethical behavior exhibited by their fellow officers”
(Oklahoma, POBTC, 2019, p. 1).
For internal controls, the mechanism that emerged from our analysis is the use of decision-making
and problem-solving models when applying ethical judgment. Twenty-two (22) states incorporated
components of decision making and/or problem-solving strategies aimed to guide the cadet’s critical
thinking process, from basic principles and simple techniques of problem-solving to fully elaborated
models that provide step-by-step methods for decision making. Some states also highlight the innov-
ation needed for developing ethical solutions (e.g., Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota), implying even more
internal control by allowing police officers to bring their creative impulses into the decision-making
process (Cooper, 1998).
Furthermore, some states utilize ethical decision-making models which target specific issues
such as making proper shoot/no-shoot and other use of force decisions (e.g., Oregon,
Connecticut), or decisions related to sexual harassment in the workplace (e.g., New Jersey). In
other states, the curricula apply models that guide broader ethical thinking patterns. For example,
in Wisconsin, the course description states that the course is focused on thinking and problem-
solving processes instead of on “having the right or wrong answer to a problem” (Wisconsin,
POBTC, 2020, p. 8). In addition, the Florida curriculum emphasizes the importance of reinforcing
ethical decision-making for law enforcement officers both on and off duty, in their private lives.

Conclusion and recommendations

The data reported in this study shines a new light on the presentation of ethics in American law
enforcement by raising a critical question. If the ethical skills and knowledge of future police offi-
cers are based primarily on the content and hours reflected in these curricula, is it fair, or even
realistic, to expect police officers to be able to make split-seconds ethical decisions? Or maybe, as
White (2006) noted, we are getting exactly the police officers we are training?
Our curricula content analysis suggests that while states in the U.S. aspire to promote a law
enforcement ethos of ethical discretion, fairness and impartiality; in reality, their training content
does not prepare police officers to fulfill their new role in society. As our findings show, police
ethics training is grounded in a rationale that aims to limit liability in the workplace, a teaching
approach that emphasizes “don’t do, or else” low-road strategies and ethics controls that focus on
external mechanisms aimed to constrain the officer’s decision-making capacity.
 IN PURSUIT OF POLICE ETHICS 301

Given the enormous amount of discretionary power the police profession is entrusted with, the
American people have every right to expect their officers to demonstrate full commitment to the
strictest ethical standards. However, we must recognize that police work is paved with ethical and
moral dilemmas that cannot always be solved through the memorization of written rules and that
also require the exercise of a ethical judgment. With that said, police officers should not be expected
to know how to exercise good ethical judgment without the appropriate ethics training, just as they
are not expected to know how to shoot a gun without the appropriate firearms training.
Although in the view of some researchers, ethics and morals cannot be taught (Delattre, 1996),
it would be a mistake to assume that ethical maturity is a skill that police recruits “either have or
they don’t”. The maturity to differentiate between right and wrong while enforcing the law can
be developed through the teaching and practicing of ethical decision-making and problem-solving
skills (Blumberg et al., 2018). Unfortunately, these objectives cannot be achieved with the struc-
ture and content of ethics training recruits are currently receiving.
If we are to address police ethics training reform in a meaningful way, two principles must be
applied-training must be proactive and relevant. First, police leaders must abandon the traditional
reactive police training models and embrace a more proactive approach to training. Too often, the
immediate response to publicized events of police misconduct is the incorporation of more use of
force/de-escalation departmental policies and training. However, increasing the number of training
hours is a too simplistic approach. A true police training reform cannot emerge from training that
is aimed to contain a bad situation and that responds to decisions that were clearly wrong, in
retrospect. It must be holistic in nature and grounded in evidence-based approach.
Second, it is a common practice for basic academies to borrow curriculum content from each
other. While this practice might be efficient in terms of time and cost, it is not necessarily an
effective way to produce relevant training curricula. The curriculum taught in each police training
academy should complement the needs of the specific community it serves. Police chiefs are (or
should be) the subject matter experts on their community’s and officers’ needs. Their input on
what content areas need to be covered in the training curriculum their recruits are receiving is
imperative for developing training that is relevant for the job.
Nonetheless, it is important to remember that training is not a panacea for the challenges police
is facing nowadays. Even the most rigorous, evidence-based training will not have a lasting impact
unless agencies provide officers with the opportunity to apply their learning into the realities of the
job. Leadership is vital here. The leadership team should act as a conduit who ensures that the eth-
ics training officers receive in the academy is being implemented and practiced in their daily work
activities. This means that once recruits begin their service, chiefs and their command staff must
continue to build and develop their officers’ ethical thinking capacity by promoting an organiza-
tional culture of ethical behavior and zero tolerance for misconduct.
Police chiefs have the power to shape the ethical climate in their departments in multiple ways.
For example, they can create opportunities for the younger officers to learn from their veteran col-
leagues through leadership circles, peer support groups, and mentorship programs. Moreover, they
can involve local professionals and community leaders in their training advisory boards, and other
advisory-type forums (e.g., chief’s advisory council), to provide a fresh “outsider’s” feedback on
departmental policies as well as recommendations for best practices for education and training.
There is a simple principle of reciprocal determinism (Bandura, 1978) behind such activities – if
new police officers perceive that their leadership “follows-through” with their commitment to eth-
ical standards and takes actions to reinforce it, they would accept it as something that is valued and
will be less likely to engage in unethical conduct (Trevino & Weaver, 1994).
Most importantly, what is really required here is a dialogue between public administration and
policing scholars. The public administration scholarship has detached itself from police adminis-
tration research for too long (Fleming, 2008). Public administration scholars, who are champions
for public service ethics, must take part in the effort to develop a police ethics agenda in which
302 COHEN

ethics is perceived as a career-long commitment to exercising ethical discretion, and not as

another mandatory two-hours training block in the basic police program.

Notes
1. It is important to note that these mandatory training standards reflect the benchmark requirements which
all regional basic police academies in that state are legally required to teach, although many of the
individual academies report to exceed them.
2. The State of Hawaii does not have state-mandated training standards

Notes on contributor
Galia Cohen is department head and assistant professor in the Department of Public Administration at Tarleton
State University, Texas. She is also law enforcement instructor conducting professional development workshops for
law enforcement professionals in police management schools across the U.S. Her research focuses on public safety
collaboration, police training and police administration.

ORCID
Galia Cohen http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5364-9925

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304 COHEN

Appendix

Table A1. Summary of Ethics and Ethics-Related Courses Found in Basic Police Training Curricula (N ¼ 50)
Minimum required Total hours for basic
State Course title course hours training program
Mean Number of Hours 8.14
(n ¼ 39)
Mean % of Total Program
Hours 1.27%
Alabama Law Enforcement Ethics and Professionalism 4 520
ADA/Sexual Harassment 1
Alaska Ethics X 650
Decision Making X
Sexual Harassment X
Arizona Ethics & Professionalism 6 585
Sexual Harassment 2
Arkansas Ethics 2 520
Sexual Harassment 2
California Leadership, Professionalism & Ethics 8 664
Sexual Harassment 3
Effective Problem Solving 4
Colorado Law Enforcement Ethics and Anti-Bias Policing 8 556
Connecticut Police Ethics and Moral Issues 2 871
Police Authority and Discretion 2
Fair and Impartial Policing 6
Supervisor Subordinate Relations 1
Delaware Police Discipline and Ethics 8 584
Florida Criminal Justice Values and Ethics 2 770
Sexual Harassment 2
Georgia Ethics and Professionalism 2 408
Hawaii  _ _ X
Idaho Ethical Decision Making X X
Illinois Ethics 7 560
Indiana _ _ 480
Iowa Ethics and professionalism 1 620
Discretion 2
Kansas Ethics and Discretion in Law Enforcement 7 560
Fair and Impartial Policing 6
Kentucky Ethics and Related Offenses 1 800
Ethics 3
Problem-Solving Models 2
Decision-Making 5
Louisiana Standards of conduct 3 496
Maine Police Ethics, Moral Issues and Discretion 6 720
Harassment 2
Supervisor-Subordinate Relations 2
Professional Value System 1
Maryland Ethics X 750
Massachusetts Who we are/ Ethics, morals and professionalism 6 797
Problem solving 6
Michigan Ethics in Policing 8 594
Minnesota Ethical Reasoning X X
Critical Thinking, Logical Reasoning and Problem X
Solving
Decision Making and Discretion X
Mississippi Police Ethics and Moral Issues 4 480
Police Power, Authority and Discretion 2
Missouri Ethics 4 600
Montana Ethics 2 508
Sexual Harassment 2
21st Century Policing/ Fair and Impartial Policing 6
Nebraska Ethics 3 626
Nevada  Ethics in law enforcement X 480
New Hampshire_ _ 653
(continued)
 IN PURSUIT OF POLICE ETHICS 305

Table A1. Continued.

Minimum required Total hours for basic
State Course title course hours training program
New Jersey Morals and Ethics X X
Ethical Decision Making X
Problem Solving X
New Mexico Ethics and Moral Issues/Sexual Harassment 8 675
New York Ethics and Professionalism 8 699
Decision Making Skills 8
Discretionary Powers 2
North Carolina Ethics for Professional Law Enforcement 4 640
North Dakota Ethics and Moral Issues X X
Police Discretion X
Ohio Ethics & Professionalism 5 737
Oklahoma Ethics 14 583
Oregon Ethics 8 640
Problem Solving 1.5
Pennsylvania Ethics and Moral Issues 12 859
Rhode Island Police Code of Ethics 4 953
Fair & Impartial Policing 8
South Carolina Ethics and Misconduct in Law Enforcement 2.5 463.5
South Dakota Ethics 2 520
Fair & Impartial Treatment 2
Tennessee Professional and Ethical Conduct 3 480
Just and Fair Policing 4
Texas Professionalism and Ethics 12 696
Utah Ethical Decision Making 2 551
Ethical Standards 2
Vermont Police Ethics 4 795
Sexual Harassment Policy 1
Fair & Impartial Policing 4
Virginia Professionalism X 480
Washington Professional Ethics 3 720
Critical Thinking 1
Professional Ethics B 2
West Virginia Police ethics and moral issues 2 800
Sexual harassment 2
Core values 4
Supervisor/subordinate relations 2
Wisconsin Ethics II: Moral Reasoning and professional 4 720
Conduct
ETHICS I: Individual Character, values, and ethics 4
Critical Thinking and Decision-Making 8
Wyoming Ethical Issues in Policing 8.5 605
States with no defined minimum training hours.
States that did not meet the inclusion criteria.