Moral and morality what do these two terms mean? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary we find the following:
mor-al
- 1 a: of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior: ETHICAL
- b: expressing or teaching a conception of right behavior
- c: conforming to a standard of right behavior
- d: sanctioned by or operative on one's conscience or ethical judgment
- e: capable of right and wrong action
- 1 a: a moral discourse, statement, or lesson b: a literary or other imaginative work teaching a moral lesson
- 2 a: a doctrine or system of moral conduct plural: particular moral principles or rules of conduct
- 3: conformity to ideals of right human conduct
- 4: moral conduct : VIRTUE
Right and wrong in behavior - clear cut, a doctrine or system of moral conduct. End of the story right? Is it? Taken in context of policy and procedure these are acceptable behaviors. These are the codes all police officers should live and demonstrate to the people they serve and work with.
Internal affairs investigators are no different - only a step ahead. They should adhere above and beyond what is required. What about the rest of the department? Look at definition 1b. Internal investigators should instill in our officers the ability to display correct behavior by teaching and giving them policies and procedures they can abide by. Look again at the last part of the statement.
How do internal affairs investigators give policy? In most cases they don't write them. However, investigations should reveal problems in policy. It is up to command staff to make the change. Furthermore, investigators must teach and display correct behavior. Bottom line "walk the walk and talk the talk."
How do investigators accomplish this? Simple, talk and meet with your training division, or if at all possible combine the units. Send use of force reports to the trainers. Ask their input. They are the folks who do the training and can see where a problem may begin. They can then take the issue and turn it around.
Explain how important it is to instill morals into our troops. Morals for police officers begins in their training. An old friend and former Sheriff had a saying that I hear from my chief to this day "You can't change behavior". They are right, but we can mold our officers into moral people who know right from wrong. Once we instill the morals we want in them the chances of them straying into an immoral situation will be lessened. They will strive to be better officers.
A memo, disciplinary action, or other adverse personnel action is not always the right answer. Command staff knows that this is where we make change. Not every action should start with a knee jerk that may send the wrong message.
Send a positive message. Think of morals and morale. If WE have a problem then all of US must participate in the process of change. Obtain input from the line officer up. Even the old guys (like me) will take change differently if it is presented positively.
Take a look at the synonyms for moral. MORAL, ETHICAL, VIRTUOUS, RIGHTEOUS, NOBLE mean conforming to a standard of what is right and good.
- MORAL implies conformity to established sanctioned codes or accepted notions of right and wrong (the basic moral values of a community).
- ETHICAL may suggest the involvement of more difficult or subtle questions of rightness, fairness, or equity (committed to the highest ethical principles).
- VIRTUOUS implies the possession or manifestation of moral excellence in character (not a religious person, but virtuous nevertheless).
- RIGHTEOUS stresses guiltlessness or blamelessness and often suggests the sanctimonious (wished to be righteous before God and the world) .
- NOBLE implies moral eminence and freedom from anything petty, mean, or dubious in conduct and character (had the noblest of reasons for seeking office).
With the definition complete, what do these terms mean to us as investigators? Will our jobs be easier? Will the chief sleep easier at night? If handled the right way we will all rest better.
