In order for any “job” to become a “profession”:
certain rules or guides must be developed in order to measure the
work and attitudes of the employees. Law enforcement is no exception
to this rule. Since 1956, the law enforcement profession has maintained
its own standard of conduct, the Peace Officer Code of Ethics. Only
be constant vigilance can the law enforcement officer keep their profession
exactly what it is – a profession.
Canons of Police Ethics
| ARTICLE 1. |
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY OF JOB |
The primary responsibility of the police service, and of the individual
officer, is the protection of the people of the United States through
the upholding of their laws; chief among these is the Constitution
of the United States and its amendments. The peace officer always
represents the whole of the community and its legally expressed will
and is never the arm of any political party or clique.
The first duty of a peace officer, as upholder of the law is to know
its bounds upon them while enforcing it. Because they represent the
legal will of the community, be it local, state, or federal, they
must be aware of the limitations and proscriptions which the people,
through law, have placed upon them. They must recognize the genius
of the American system of government which gives no person, groups
of people, or institution, absolute power, and they must insure that
officers, as prime defenders of that system, do not pervert its character.