Ethics Speech

[TheDonna]

So, in a week or so I'm going to be delivering a 10min speech on ethics in law enforcement. We discussed in class briefly about off-duty police conduct and whether we believe that the department should be able to dictate what is acceptable for off-duty conduct. I've decided to make that the focus of my speech. SO, my question to you is, once I have it written out, would you guys mind reading it over and giving me your opinion on it? Whether it sucks, its full of crap or its actually decent. Haha :D

Its a 10min speech so it may be a lot of reading! Haha

[Samuel]

I'd be happy to... Make it a powerpoint presentation and put some spider pictures in it for countryboy...

[Trip]

Donna, if it's about ethics, I would give it to neither Samuel nor Countryboy. Those are the last two people....

ok j/k, HA Ha

[TheDonna]

Haha I REALLY appreciate getting your views on this guys! This is what I've gotten so far. Its not much but my brain has fuzzified and is finished for the night. Let me know if you see anything glaringly horrible with that I have so far! Haha


Hi, my name is -TheDonna- and today I will be discussing the importance of off duty police ethics and character. We had previously discussed in class whether a department should be allowed to govern their officer's actions when off duty and I believe they absolutely should. When I think of a police officer, I think about someone who is honorable, trustworthy and a good role model for all. While police officers are human like everyone else and make mistakes, my perception of a police officer is someone whose character and ethical and moral standards should be above the criminals that they arrest every day.

Off duty police conduct, in my opinion, is just as important as on-duty conduct. While they may not be working, their every action is still being scrutinized by the public and by the press. When an officer, whether on duty or off-duty breaks the law, it almost always becomes wide spread news. When this happens, citizens tend to loose just a little more faith and a little more trust in their local police officers regardless of whether the incident happened in their town or another state. An officers actions become not only a reflection of that officer but of officers everywhere. (to be continued...)

[Trip]

Hey, I'm not a LEO, but as Joe Q public, it resonated with me from the standpoint of cops being judged 24/7.

[retdetsgt]

Hey, I'm not a LEO, but as Joe Q public, it resonated with me from the standpoint of cops being judged 24/7.

I have a little different view than some. I strongly believe we should be accountable when we break the law, more so if we use the color of our office to do that. I also have no problem with being my department being concerned about what I do or say while representing myself as a police officer.

Other than that, leave me the hell alone. It's a job, I worked it 40 hours a week most times and the rest of the time I was on my own. If they wanted to pay me for 24-7, then they had a right, but they didn't. As long as I am within the framework of the law, I have the right to live my life as free as any other citizen.

Tobacco use is one example. Some departments don't allow its use even off duty. They say it's for insurance purposes, but unless you forbid its use by everyone working for that city, county or state, including elected officials, that's bull****. I don't use tobacco, but if I wanted to light up a stogie on my way home from work, it's nobody else's business. If they were that concerned about health, they would ban all employees from eating at McDonald's.

For all its faults, my old department is really good about your life being your own. We routinely blew off people calling and whining because they got into with their neighbor who happened to be a cop. And especially ex or soon to be ex spouses who wanted to call up and tell us what this officer was REALLY like! "We're really sorry that your husband/wife cheated on you and maybe the judge in your divorce court will care, we don't unless he/she did it on duty."

[Trip]

I was referring to you folks being unfairly judged 24/7, even when out of uniform....talking about from a perception standpoint only - from a newspaper standpoint only. Not from a reality standpoint. Running out the door for a f'ing 6 hour meeting i have to sit thru...will email ya back later RDS..... have a good holiday....

[retdetsgt]

Running out the door for a f'ing 6 hour meeting i have to sit thru...

Have you thought of joining a union?

[TheDonna]

So, Retdetsgt, do you agree or disagree with what i've stated so far? =/

[pac201]

I agree with RDS on the life after the shift being "our own" time. While I agree that there needs to be some amount of decorum in off duty conduct, we are not robots nor do we belong to the department 24 hours a day.

edited to add; as an aside you need to remember that if you're going to speak 10 minutes you will need about 10 hours of preparation.

[TheDonna]

I agree, I'll be stating somewhere down the line that a good example of off duty conduct would be all the officers who don't make it to the news, the ones who go home and spend time with their families every night and don't do stupid things (I have an example of the "stupid things").

[retdetsgt]

We had previously discussed in class whether a department should be allowed to govern their officer's actions when off duty and I believe they absolutely should.

Off duty police conduct, in my opinion, is just as important as on-duty conduct.

1st sentence: Only as far as criminal conduct and bringing direct discredit to the department. I was a paid employee, not a slave nor indentured servant.

2nd sentence: On duty, I conducted myself as a professional police officer when dealing with the public. Off duty, I sometimes used swear words and did other things that I wouldn't think of doing while working. If I get in an argument with my brother in law and call him an @sshole, that's none of their business. If I did that on duty speaking to a citizen, it is their concern.

While I agree that we should hire people who are decent human beings and can be trusted to make reasonably good decisions in their personal lives, I am offended by the idea that some bureaucrat in a command position can tell me that I can't do something the typical law abiding citizen can do.

When you start talking ethical behavior, you start getting into personal opinions of what that is. Some people that are very religious have different ideas of what is ethical and what isn't. Should a department be able to tell an officer he or she can't have sexual relations with someone they're dating? Or even worse, live together without being married? Some people think that's a moral abomination. Others see it as adult behavior.

There was a time that homosexual behavior off duty wouldn't be tolerated. I know some homosexual cops that do a damn good job.

You have to be very careful when you start telling getting into peoples' personal lives. We shouldn't have to forfeit all our rights to privacy because of what we do for a living as long as we are living within the framework of the law and again, not bringing discredit to our employer.

[TheDonna]

I'm not focusing on minor things like what choice words you use when off duty (or on duty for that matter), I'm focusing on off duty officers breaking the law and how that will effects the public's trust and the departments integrity. That's really the only point to my speech. I'm not focusing on officer's lives outside of the work, only on how dumb decisions while off duty can effect the public's trust and the depts. integrity.

While everything is pretty much personal opinion, blatantly breaking the law is something thats hard to dispute with.

Here is one of the examples I was going to use because its just ridiculous.

Example of bad off duty conduct that really can't be disputed with would be Officer Henry Rogowski who tried to steal $300+ worth of Harry Potter merchandise because the line was too long and he didn't feel like waiting.

http://www.cfnews13.com/article/news...dise-disappear

[retdetsgt]

I'm not focusing on minor things like what choice words you use when off duty (or on duty for that matter), I'm focusing on off duty officers breaking the law and how that will effects the public's trust and the departments integrity. That's really the only point to my speech. I'm not focusing on officer's lives outside of the work, only on how dumb decisions while off duty can effect the public's trust and the depts. integrity.

I agree with that. But that's not what you said.

Reread these comments:

We had previously discussed in class whether a department should be allowed to govern their officer's actions when off duty and I believe they absolutely should.

Off duty police conduct, in my opinion, is just as important as on-duty conduct.

Those are pretty all encompassing, don't you think? "Governing their officer's actions when off duty" sound kinda Orwellian. And the second statement is non limiting too.

Donna, your statements are too black and white, IMO.

[TheDonna]

okay so I need to better state what my intentions are then so that there arn't any misconceptions about what my point is.

Haha thats why I made this thread!! THANK YOU!!!! :D I'll have a revised version in a bit.