Should Police Officers be Allowed to Accept Gratuities?
One of the questions that is frequently asked is should
police officers be allowed to accept gratuities like free meals and coffee,
free lunches, half-price dinners, and gifts from merchant during the holiday
season? As pointed out in Criminal
Justice Ethics, this is a vexed and much discussed issue within policing. Research
has shown that some people believe that it is perfectly okay for police
officers to accept gifts and other gratuities. According to Banks, Richard
Kania, a former police officer from Louisiana is one of those who believe that
it is ethical for police officers to accept gifts; he argued that police
officers ought to be encouraged to accept gratuities under certain circumstances,
because most people offering the gratuities do not have any intention of
corrupting the police but are expressing a debt to the police for their
services….
Well, Although
Kania made an interesting point I am in total disagreement with his position
when it comes to officer being allowed to accept gifts. One of my reasons for this
is because, as Banks explains, accepting gratuities may well have an effect on
how police conduct themselves. This means that officers may choose to spend
more time around those establishments that offer gratuities than they should,
which could affect the distribution of police services within the community.
Another reason why I believe that police should not be allowed to accept
gratuities is because it I believe it can be developed in to police corruption.
Banks,
C. (2013). Criminal justice ethics (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks: SAGE
Evans,
ReplyDeleteI generally agree with your premise that abuse of any kind leads to corruption. We see examples of that in all facets of life. My concern is that the all or nothing approach to fixing things never seems to work. In addition, most private businesses and all government agencies have established guidelines on this very issue. Even government employees are allowed to receive gifts at a cost not to exceed twenty dollars. (Government, 2013)
For example, If you or I received a free snack at an establishment, no one would think twice about it. But if a policeman is offered the same snack, he or she is expected to turn it down at the risk of falling into corruption. The policemen may run into trouble for accepting gratuities.
It’s interesting how we, as a nation, strive to protect our basic rights as citizens to include the freedom of expression, but are not allowed to freely express our sympathies to those who are sworn to protect us and uphold the law.
References:
Government, U. S. (2013, May 05). United States Office of Government Ethics. Retrieved from Gifts from Outside Sources: http://www.oge.gov/Topics/Gifts-and-Payments/Gifts-from-Outside-Sources/
I agree with you that taking gratuities is a bad idea. I can see how that can take away from the community being fully protected. Also understand that it can lead to corruption. My main concern is how you can regulate that police officers don’t take gratuities. The police Department can write a policy, but can it really stop police officers from taking gratuities. I know many police officers in Hampton Roads area that ride by themselves, so how can you really account for their actions?
ReplyDeleteAs an Army Military Police (MP) officer, I have accepted free cups of coffee from store clerks and patrons alike when wearing my uniform in public during a deployment or on duty. I considered it a gift from a kind soul wanting to express their thanks and appreciation to me in the performance of my military duties during the War on Terrorism. I reciprocated by leaving a monetary tip for the server and exchanging pleasantries with the donors.
ReplyDeleteEvans: I enjoyed reading your first blog. I like the way you cited references for your position. Professor Taylor
ReplyDelete