Final Essay Assignment Zach Frank
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Running head: INTEGRITY IN POLICE INTERNAL INVESTIGATIONS
Final Essay
Zachary Frank
Liberty University
CJUS530
Professor Wells
07 July 2023
1
INTEGRITY IN POLICE INTERNAL INVESTIGATIONS
Abstract
Integrity is one of the foundational traits that is paramount for someone to be successful in any
career field in the world. In the criminal justice system and others like it, employee’s integrity
has an additional weight placed upon it based on the nature of the job as well as the
consequences of a lack of integrity. When a police officer lies during an internal investigation,
the entire structure and stability of the police department is put at risk and the liability for the
department greatly increases. When these issues occur, police administrative leadership must be
swift to act and ensure that the consequence of the violation of integrity fits the offense. There
may even be hesitation to terminate someone for an integrity issue, especially if they are a high
performing employee or someone who has been around for a long period of time and has a
wealth of knowledge and experience. Unfortunately, the person must face termination because
the moment someone violates their integrity, they instantly lose all credibility and can almost
never fully recover.
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INTEGRITY IN POLICE INTERNAL INVESTIGATIONS
Integrity is one of the most paramount character traits that a supervisor can search for and
desire in an employee. Most jobs and careers see integrity as a requirement instead of a want in
their employees and the moment that the integrity is sacrificed, everything from that point on
changes. Police officers, correction officers and judges are required to uphold an extremely high
standard of conduct to be successful and trusted in the job the fulfill. Schofield states, “Public
trust is undermined whenever officers lie or remain silent when questioned about law
enforcement matters” (Schofield, 1998, p.28). Public trust is paramount in a public service job
and when the public doesn’t trust the police or criminal justice system, the attitude, mentality,
and hostility seen in America today towards police officers, is ultimately the result. Police
officers are human, and humans make mistakes. There are going to be instances where everyone
makes mistakes at some point in their lives. Integrity violations, however, are incredibly hard to
overcome because they show a fundamental weakness in human nature and shed light on the
individuals’ lack of self-control.
Terminating an officer can have substantial effects on that person’s ability to get a job in
the future. When there is an integrity issue and an officer is fired for such an offense, that
documentation is carried forward with that officer, to every future job they attempt to do.
Likewise, when someone fills out a job application, they normally are required to put down
where their last place of work was and provide references at that specific job. This would be
problematic because the references would undoubtedly bring up the integrity issues with the
officer. The fairness to this process is very simple. There is a saying that if someone “plays
stupid games, they win stupid prizes”. This goes hand in hand with integrity issues. Integrity is a
vital trait every employer wants in their employees. Even Proverbs outlines this idea when it
says, “
Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is perverse in his
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INTEGRITY IN POLICE INTERNAL INVESTIGATIONS
ways.” (RSVCE, 1965, Prov 28:6). There is also an argument in this discussion that firing people
based on an integrity violation could cause a loss of talent or good personnel withing the
organization. The answer to this argument is yes, there is a possibility for a loss of good talent.
Integrity doesn’t just violate in underperforming individuals. Integrity violations can affect all
people and sometimes an organizations most prized and hardworking workers. However, if there
is ever a doubt that the trust of that person has been compromised, then the employer must
choose to fire that employee. Ultimately, the company may never know how many other integrity
violations this person had prior to this instance, but they cannot in good faith allow that person to
get away with that behavior.
The effects of firing or keeping an officer with integrity issues can be felt by more than
just the people within the organization. Police officers’ families of the fired for instance will have
to deal with the fallout of the provider in their family being fired and losing their job. “Job loss
increases marital conflict, ups the risk of divorce, and leads to more ineffective parenting,
sometimes too harsh, sometimes too neglectful. Children pay a severe price for the hard
economic times their parents endure” (Melson, 2014, para. 2). There will undoubtedly be a
struggle with the family unit if they are fired for integrity issues, but the law enforcement
administrative side must keep the wellbeing of the department at the forefront of their decision.
On the other hand, if there is a major integrity issue with a hard-working police officer and the
department chooses to maintain that employee employed, they must understand the negative
effect that can have on their department. Rumors spread within organizations easily but in a tight
knit group like a police department, word will travel around the department like a wildfire. This
will create a lot of discontent among the employees of the department and the overall trust of the
department leadership will be called into question. 2 Corinthians 8:21 states, “for we aim at what
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INTEGRITY IN POLICE INTERNAL INVESTIGATIONS
is honorable not only in the Lord’s sight but also in the sight of men” (RSVCE, 1965, 2 Cor
8:21).
Integrity is one of the most important character traits that a law enforcement organization
can look for in their people. Having integrity shows others someone can be trusted and relied on
to do their job both ethically and correctly. Daniel Schofield
d states in his conclusion that,
“safeguarding an officer's constitutional right to due process and Fifth Amendment privilege
against self-incrimination may impede a department's efforts to acquire information relevant to
officer integrity and accountability” (Schofield, 1998, p.32) Daniel is telling the readers that
integrity is extremely important and paramount when looking for good law enforcement officers.
There are however boundaries and barriers in Supreme Court precedence that can make it
difficult for a department to force integrity compliance on one of their officers. A
recommendation for police organizations is indeed to have a zero-tolerance policy on integrity
violations with an organization, especially in terms of internal investigations. The important idea
however is to always consult the departments legal counsel to ensure that no boundaries or rights
are being violated. Legal counsel within a police department is a vital source of information that
police chiefs and administrators must take advantage of to ensure that they are not going to
violate someone’s rights and put an investigation at risk. Police administrator should also be
required to take a class on a rotating schedule such as once per year on the importance of legal
counsel and the rights of both the organization and the officers being questioned. Remembering
the Parable of the Dishonest Manager, it says, “
He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also
in much; and he who is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much.” (RSVCE, 1965, Lk
16:10).
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INTEGRITY IN POLICE INTERNAL INVESTIGATIONS
References
English Standard Version Bible. (2001). ESV Online.
https://esv.literalword.com/
Melson, G. (2014, January 22).
Parents lose jobs, and children suffer
.
Www.psychologytoday.com.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/why-the-wild-
things-are/201401/parents-lose-jobs-and-children-suffer#:~:text=Job%20loss
%20increases%20marital%20conflict
Schofield, D. L. (1998). Ensuring officer integrity and accountability: Recent court decisions.
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 67(8), 28-32.
https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/trade-
journals/ensuring-officer-integrity-accountability-recent/docview/204130565/se-2
6
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