Ethical Police Variables and the Factors Influencing Police Discretion

Ethical Police Variables
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Ethical Police Variables
When discharging their mandate, police officers display different behavioral characteristics that vary from one officer to another. These variables ultimately determine the performance of the officers and their general image. Some of the most common variables in the police include police behavior, bureaucratic regulations, competence, adventure, and safety among others (Huff, 2021). These have a significant bearing on how the police work.
Behavior varies from one officer to the other and at times, it may be shaped by the prevailing circumstances. For instance, behavior may depend on other people’s attitudes towards them. As O'Donnell (2011) puts it, the way police officers treat others largely depends on how they are treated. Another determining factor is age; young officers tend to be more aggressive and punitive than older officers (Huff, 2021). In addition, behavior also depends on natural traits, some officers engage in misconduct without any misgiving while others will not. The way a female officer behaves in a given situation may be in stark contrast to how her male counterpart would approach the same. The behavior of citizens especially witnesses and suspects also determine how the police discharge their responsibilities.
Bureaucratic regulations are another variable that defines police ethics. Different police departments have a set of rules that officers need to follow in the performance of their duties. These rules may be formal or informal. In America, for instance, officers observe a code of silence known as the Blue Curtain (U.S Department of State, 2011). This is aimed at maintaining good relations amongst themselves as well as protecting each other in case of ethical lapses. These regulations are also used to assign duties to different officers stipulating disciplinary measures in case of a misdemeanor.
The competence of officers refers to the ability to assert authority effectively and in a manner that will earn respect from both the public and fellow officers. The types of authority exercised by officers could be determined by the gender of citizens, their social class, as well as their demeanor (Schulenberg, 2015). Police officers will arguably tend to exercise more assertiveness on low-class citizens as opposed to high-class citizens. Conventionally, officers are gentle on women unless they pose danger to them, themselves, or other citizens and the contrary is true. Also, they may feel the need to be more assertive if the demeanor of the people they are dealing with dictates so. Competence is also largely dependent on age and experience.
Safety and adventure go hand in hand in the determination of how officers do their work. Because officers, in their lin...