(SpringerBriefs in Criminology) Heath B. Grant - Police Integrity in the Developing World Building a Culture of Lawfulness-Springer International Publishing (2018)
Organizational Level Integrity Many researchers believe that an agency’s culture of integrity is more important in shaping the ethics of police officers than hiring the right people (Klockars et al. 2004 ). Although training can impact an officer’s awareness of the rules and policies of an organization, it cannot change his or her ethics. There is no consensus on a definition for organizational integrity, but a synthesis of scholarship in the area focuses upon things such as the screening, early warning systems, training, and mechanisms for dealing with ethical violations. Adherents to the organizational focus for integrity have created checklists and surveys to rank the level of organizational integrity of police organizations. Given the nature of police work, and the fact that there is often very little direct supervision of officers while they are working with the public, there is increasing recognition that consequences or sanctions will never be enough. Integrity cannot simply be based upon the degree to which officers know the rules and regulations and observe them simply because of variations in incentives and consequences (Vicchio 1997 ). There will always be too many opportunities and situations in which officers are beyond the reach of management to rest on this alone. Although organizations cannot expect to create a cadre of highly ethical officers simply with training practices, comprehensive approaches to integrity management that combine best training practices with organizational reforms and incentives can make a difference in time on the overall culture of an organization, as we will discuss in the next chapter. Any integrity training needs to reflect this balance between individual and organizational integrity. The coordination needed to make it happen is almost never achieved in police training. Scope of Integrity Training As noted, stated concern for integrity training is not anything new within the United States or abroad. Integrity training is found in some form inmost departments however, 70% of agencies in a national study within the United States offered recruits less than 10 h of integrity training (Center for Society, Law, and Justice 2006 ). Even when such training is offered, it tended to focus more upon ethics appreciation than preparing officers for dealing with the real life problems they will 2 Integrity Training The Importance of a Moral Resoning and Rigorous Evaluations
be facing in the profession. Adequate ongoing emphasis on integrity practices by field training officers (FTOs) remains the exception rather than the rule. Additionally, many departments fail to continue with integrity training classes for mid-level managers and above, and even when implemented, they are often unfocused and offered on an optional basis only.
