Task: Ethics Essay

Approach

Step 1: Watch video (Time: from beginning to 4 mins. 21 seconds – stop at the point where the officers return to the station and begin interviewing)

The Bill Series 24 Episode 20 Corrupted Part 1

Synopsis of video:

When Will, Ben, Callum and Sally [Armstrong] are called to a disturbance at a nightclub, Sally ends up being rescued from a brawl by Andrew Tipping, an undercover officer. Tipping works at another station and Sally later learns he was the instigator of the disturbance and is in possession of cocaine. When he appeals to her to cover for him she makes a split-second decision that puts her career on the line.

Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu8pcCYgVPo

Step 2: Applying your learning and using relevant readings and resources from your (Ethics) studies, write an essay of approx 1200 words (10% only under or over is acceptable) that addresses the following questions/points:

1. Based upon your studies so far in relation to ethics in policing and the morally corrosive nature of police work, what ethical issues were faced by Constable Sally Armstrong in the video (10 marks);

2. Explain how the ethical dilemmas and complexities of policing (eg. police culture, loyalty, police power and authority, and the morally corrosive nature of police work) effected the behaviour of Constable Sally Armstrong (35 marks);

3. Discuss how the NSWPF Standards of Professional Conduct and Oath of Office promote ethical decision making by police officers and help create a police culture that is resistant to corruption. Consider how adhering to these standards might have led to a different outcome in the video (35 marks);

4. Ensure adherence to referencing (citing & reference list), grammar, punctuation, spelling, sentence structure and word counts (20 marks).

Please ensure that you allow yourself sufficient time for the writing phase of this task. Quite often a good piece of writing goes through several drafts before a satisfactory final product is produced.

Conduct your own independent research but the following references may also be useful.

References

Brien, A. (1999). Discretion and the rule of law, notes written for the old ADPP ethics subject PPP123, 1-13, retrieved from http://doms.csu.edu.au/csu/items/f635ac31-0142-18e6-94f1-aff3f779dcf7/1/brien-a.pdf

Charles Sturt Univeristy (2015). APA referencing summary, retrieved from http://doms.csu.edu.au/csu/items/4bbf5a46-dc91-11b6-a6c3-0857cd185fb2/1/APAReferencingSummary2013%20%283%29.pdf

Crime and Misconduct Commission Queensland (2013). Monitoring police ethics: a 2013 survey of Queensland recruits and First Year Constables, Research and Issues Number 13, retrieved from http://www.cmc.qld.gov.au/research-and-publications/publications/research/research-and-issues-papers/monitoring-police-ethics-a-2013-survey-of-queensland-recruits-and-first-year-constables-research-issues-paper-no.-13.doc

Crime and Misconduct Commission Queensland (2013). Reporting misconduct reporting in the QPS: the importance of ethical culture, Research and Issues Number 11, retrieved from http://www.bing.com/search?q=crime+and+misconduct+commission+improving+misconduct+reporting+in+the+qps&src=IE-SearchBox&FORM=IE8SRC

Kleinig, J. (2008). Tensions within the police role, Ethics and Criminal Justice, Cambridge University Press, New York, 51-70.

Miller, S., Blackler, J., & Alexandra, A. (2006). Police discretion, Police Ethics, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 93-94, retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/lib/csuau/docDetail.action?docID=10179806

Prenzler, T. (2009). Police Ethics, Ethics and Accountability in Criminal Justice, Australian Academic Press, Brisbane, 27-42, retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/lib/csuau/docDetail.action?docID=10545979

Sunahara, D.F. (2004). A Model of Unethical and Unprofessional Police Behaviour, The Canadian Review of Policing Research, Vol. 1, retrieved from http://crpr.icaap.org/index.php/crpr/article/view/17/16

only watch the video till the interview stage