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Police Ethics - For preserving and personal and professional integrity

Description

This handbook aims to provide the educational content that will serve as the basis for in-service training and as the supplement to basic and specialist training courses that already include lessons in police ethics. It is designed as a kind of tool and guide that will enable police officers to enhance and improve their professional, ethical and law-based conduct.

Summary

The handbook for police officers on police ethics has been prepared in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Interior and the OSCE Mission to Serbia, signed on 7 September 2009 within the framework of cooperation in the first priority area - police accountability, coordinated by the Internal Police Control Sector.

Training in ethics is indisputably a contribution to the protection of police officers because it enables them to recognise the situations where a wrong and inattentive decision or action can compromise their career, job, personal reputation and reputation of their organisation. This type of training also facilitates work and helps to maintain public confidence in the police. It is quite certain that only properly educated and trained police officers are able to respond appropriately to the moral and ethical dilemmas in this profession. Only those police officers who are able to adequately resolve these dilemmas can perform their duties professionally and for the benefit of community. And it is not enough to rely only on their own intuition and experience, or to be well acquainted with the principles of police ethics and ethical standards of their profession, but it is a common goal that life and actions of every police officer in Serbia reflect the values upheld by the Ministry as an organisation and the police as a profession.

The Handbook is intended for both police officers and all employees of the Ministry of Interior – while on and off duty. 

It is important to note that the Handbook is recommended to be used on workshops conducted by competent trainers.

This Handbook is the result of the combined efforts of representatives of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, the Internal Control Sector and the Directorate for Police Education, Professional Training, Development and Science of the Ministry.