PCE2060

Ethical and professional policing

Colleen Lewis

8 points
* 3 hours per week
* First semester
* Caulfield

Objectives On completion of the subject students will be expected to understand the assumptions and values they bring to ethical inquiry; have a greater understanding of the consequences of police actions in terms of society, the individual and the policing profession; be able to use the tools of ethical analysis to work through moral dilemmas; make links between theory and practice; appreciate the difference between ethics training and ethics education.

Synopsis This subject assists students to develop analytic skills in examining ethical issues concerning policing. Special attention will be placed upon institutional culture, public accountability and the concept of professional policing. Topics covered will include, an introduction to theories of ethics, the moral foundations of policing, ethics training and education, the rule of law, police accountability, due process, police discretion, the use of force, institutional culture and individual character, deception, discrimination and the `slippery slope'.

Assessment Essay (3000 words): 40%
* Examination (2 hours): 40%
* Tutorial presentation and short paper (1000 words): 20%
* Students at the third-year level will be required to answer examination questions of a theoretical or conceptual nature.

Prescribed texts

Pollock-Byrne J M Ethics in crime and justice: Dilemmas and decisions Brooks Cole, 1994