Click on the following links. Please note these will open in a new window.

Learning Objectives

10-1:  Define police discretion and the factors that influence it.

10-2:  Assess factors that can affect the use of discretion by police.

10-3:  Define the term ethics and discuss its importance in the field of policing.

10-4:  Identify and describe various organizational strategies that can be used to mitigate unethical police conduct.

Video Link 1
Buffalo Police to mandate ethics training
This video discusses an initiative to mandate ethics training for officers in an effort to improve community relations.

1. Why is ethics training important for officers?
2. How can ethics training improve police-community relations?

Audio Link 1
Despite Laws and Lawsuits, Quota-Based Policing Lingers
This NPR story discusses the persistence of quotas despite laws deterring them and their effects on departments.

1. Why do laws aim to deter quotas?
2. How and why do quotas persist?
3. What are the impacts of quotas on organizational culture and community-police relations?