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Prevention of Police Misconduct / Early
Intervention
Length of Seminar:
3 Days
Instructor: Steve Rothlein
Course Overview:
Introduction: Outline of the program...causes and impact
of misconduct in a law enforcement agency...corruption
and strategies to prevent misconduct from invading a
police agency including Early Intervention Systems.
History
of Police Misconduct: From the Wickersham Commission
in 1931 to recent reports including Rampart and the
Department of Justice Pattern and Practice litigation,
law enforcement
agencies have struggled with issues of misconduct...what
are the lessons learned from history including Rodney
King, the Miami River Cops and other major cases that have
tarnished
the image of the law enforcement profession.
Ethics in Law
Enforcement: What causes a good officer to make bad decisions...how
does an agency move from being
rule-driven to value driven...understanding police sub-culture
and how to manage the culture from the top to the bottom
of the organization.
Police Misconduct: What defines malfeasance,
misfeasance, and nonfeasance and who is responsible to
sanction officers
who engage in inappropriate behavior...the role of supervisors
versus internal affairs...the impact one act of misconduct
can have on a police agency.
Police Sexual Misconduct: What happens when a police officer uses their position
of authority to exploit citizens for
sexual purposes...seven profiles of this type of behavior
will be examined and strategies for prevention will be
discussed.
Early Intervention Systems: How to implement
an Early Intervention System (EWS)...what are the indicators
to
build into a system and what are the appropriate responses
once an officer has been identified...Pro’s and Con’s
of engaging this type of system and strategies for implementation.
Areas
of Supervisory Liability: Failure to train, investigate
and direct law enforcement personnel in an appropriate
manner can leave an agency and involved supervisors exposed
to major liability...this will be fully discussed with
solutions to reduce exposure by taking proactive measures.
Policy
Failure: High liability areas of law enforcement are
fertile ground for misconduct if departmental policy
is insufficient...confidential informants, money seizures,
search warrants, off-duty details and complaint acceptance
are all potential problems if weak policy exists to guide
behavior...this will be discussed with recommendations
to strengthen policy.
Police Corruption: What defines
police corruption, how does it spread, and what types of
preventive measures can
be implemented to reduce the opportunity for corruption
to thrive...different concepts will be discussed including “Donut
Shop Ethics” and the consequences of accepting gratuities.
Audits/Stings:
As a preventive measure, how can an agency conduct a
sting on their employees to determine if they
are handling their duties according to established guidelines...what
are the ethical questions and morale issues involved
when engaging this type of management practice...examples
will
be given to facilitate discussion of these issues.
Officer
Involved Domestic Violence: What happens when a police
officer is involved in domestic violence...who
should handle these calls...what type of policy should
be in place to ensure the violator is not given preferential
treatment because of their position...recommendations
will be offered to ensure these types of issues are handled
in accordance with model policies.
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