The issues of ethical expectations and behaviors form the foundation of law enforcement professionalism and deserve strong, visible emphasis throughout every phase of a policing career. The following letter is something I provided to every new officer and his or her partner during my tenure as a police executive. I recommend that this type of letter, personalized by the agency head, be used as a valuable tool in the chief’s ethical tool chest.

My expectations of you in the areas of courage and ethical behavior

Welcome to our department and to the law enforcement profession. I join with you and your loved ones in the pride of your selection and in the excitement you justifiably feel as you anticipate a long and successful career in a most rewarding profession. The purpose of this letter is to hopefully ensure that you do not fail in my expectations by engaging in behavior that will cause you to lose all that you have worked so hard to attain — your career and reputation.

During your probationary period, you will have the opportunity to work and associate with a variety of training officers and senior personnel. I have every confidence that you will find most, if not all, of these men and women to be fine law enforcement officers and fine human beings, and that you will both learn from them and enjoy their acquaintance. I take very seriously my responsibility to ensure that you experience the very best training and mentorship possible, and I will take remedial measures should this ever not be the case. While I hope that such a situation does not arise, there is always the possibility that you could be confronted with a situation where you are asked or expected to condone or engage in inappropriate behavior. If that should occur, I want you to know exactly what I expect of you.

There are several reasons why I selected you. First, you met the basic qualifications in terms of education, health, fitness and psychological suitability — those factors are all givens. Equally as important is that I believe you to be a solid and mature person. Otherwise, I would not have hired you.

While you are new to the law enforcement profession, you are not new as a person. While I do not expect you to be an instant stellar performer in those skills that require much training and experience, such as investigations, report writing and interview techniques, I do expect that your knowledge in terms of what is right and ethical is solid and unwavering.

While all your verbal skills in terms of public speaking and interviewing techniques are most likely not completely refined, a critical factor in the decision to hire you was my confidence that you have the ability and courage to verbally deal with difficulties that may arise. This means courageous intervention — whether in public, with suspects or with co-workers! I expect your verbal skills to be put to instant use should you ever be confronted with a situation where you are asked or expected to condone inappropriate behavior!

I do expect every employee to prevent misconduct from occurring and to report it immediately if it does occur! Let me give you some examples of the type of behavior that I expect you to prevent or report. If you see another employee steal something, report it to a supervisor immediately; you became a cop to put thieves in jail, not to condone their crimes. If you see another employee who has become emotionally agitated and potentially on the verge of using unnecessary force, pull them aside and do not let it happen; report it if it does. If your partner is driving irresponsibly, immediately correct his or her behavior; it will be little consolation at a hospital or funeral that you intended to later discuss the matter. If your partner is starting to exhibit inappropriate personal interest in another person (street person, individual involved in criminal behavior, Explorer scout, etc.), stick your nose right into their business and tell them to clean up their act; if the inappropriate association does develop, report it. Silence and anything short of complete candor and cooperation are not options if misconduct
occurs!

While your probationary status appropriately places you in a subordinate position for the purpose of learning and development, you are not expected to endure or tolerate misconduct or criminal activity. If you engage in or condone things that you know to be wrong, you will not receive less scrutiny because of your subordinate probationary status, even if you may have been influenced by a senior officer.

Please do not think that I expect you to object every situation where you may disagree with the guidance of your superiors or training officers. To the contrary, as a new employee, you are expected to listen, learn and adapt to situations that may be foreign to you. Let there be no doubt that from time to time you will be called upon and expected to do things and perform tasks that are difficult, unpleasant and dangerous. These things “go with the territory” of our profession.

You will note an overriding theme in my expectations, and that is that we are one another’s keepers. More so than any other profession, we each play a role in governing the conduct of each other. Unlike a manufacturing company where there are safety devices on machines to keep problems from developing, we often serve as the safety devices for our colleagues. All of us, regardless of our positions, have survived in this profession in part based upon the intervention of loyal co-workers who have intervened as our safety devices a time or two during our careers. An officer who has just had his nose broken by a combative suspect may need a partner to prevent an unnecessary use of force; an officer and a parent who has just taken a child molestation suspect into custody may need a partner who has the special ability to calm a tense situation; an emotionally charged officer who is starting to become somewhat reckless in a high-speed pursuit may need a partner who has the courage and common sense to terminate that pursuit; and the young, single officer who has temptation eyes for that 17-year-old cadet who looks 21 may need to be reminded that those thoughts are both stupid and prohibited. While I absolutely expect that you will report misconduct, I also expect that you will try very hard to be that safety device for your brother and sister officers and prevent misconduct from occurring.

I know that these are sober thoughts. My guidance to you is not based on casual considerations, but rather on years of experience. I have seen far too many unfortunate instances where serious problems have developed and festered, which could have otherwise been avoided had a new employee demonstrated the courage that I expect of you. I trust that you will always conduct yourself in a manner that will validate the wisdom of my having selected you over the other candidates who wanted to wear the badge that is now on your chest.