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What are the best textbooks to study TODAY for YOUR police ethics exam?

The topic of police ethics seems like it should be simple, but it is not. It is quite complex. The topic matter list is quite extensive.

A Police Ethics Exam from any of the popular police ethics textbooks on this page will contain many difficult test questions.

Promotional Exams for any or all of the great textbooks listed on this page can be taken by you to use as study material within the Advanced Police Promotional Testing Course at PoliceCareer.com. You can also practice with a sample police in-basket assessment.

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The topic has not always been as popular as it is today in police promotion exams and assessment centers. Prior to around 1990, the topic was dealt with in theory and lecture format in a mostly cursory fashion. Most police academy curriculum had maybe 1 hour on the topic. Ethics at the time was covered mostly in black and white, right and wrong. There was always a little gray, but the difference between right and wrong was always known.

"Free cup of coffee, officer?"
1970's, 80's and maybe through the 90's - "Sure."
Early 2000's through today, it is more than likely, "No thank you" or "No way."

"Can I pay you $100 cash for you to not to write me that citation, officer?" Always, the answer has been "No." And then the handcuffs go on.

Police Ethics covers the space between the two short paragraphs above. Police ethics is the study of the how and the why things go south - sometimes very quickly, in individuals, squads and platoons, supervision and management, and sometimes even entire police agencies.

We have all read the news accounts of the officers and agencies crossing the line. Ethics is the study, sometimes up close and very personal, of just how they arrived at the point where their entire law enforcement careers ended. Sometimes it happened in an instant, sometimes it was a years-long process.

In the last 20 years, the police ethics exam has both expanded in content, and at the same time become highly focused on constant training and testing, from the first-day police recruit right up to the 8-hour assessment center for chief of police.

And, of course, the more phone camera and media scrutiny there is, the further police ethics will grow as a topic to be discussed almost daily in professional briefings, classes, articles, textbooks and of course promotional exams.

My BEST piece of advice on this page? Simple - if you are heading to a supervisory or management promotion of any type - buy and read all of these 5 police ethics textbooks - NOW.

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These my favorite police ethics textbooks (not in any order);

Character and Cops: Ethics in Policing by Edwin J. Delattre. From the publisher; Character and Cops has been considered the bible of police ethics training. The book is a comprehensive guide to the ethical challenges faced daily by police officers, especially in times of heightened security. Visit us for the Character and Cops: Ethics in Policing exam, test questions, study guide and flashcards.

Leadership, Ethics, and Policing: Challenges for the 21st Century - Patrick J. Ortmeier and Edwin Meese III. From me; A classic often-cited and used textbook in law enforcement promotion. From the publisher; From street cop to chief, this guide develops a wide-range of ethical leadership skills applicable to all police ranks. Moving beyond incident-driven techniques, the book embraces problem-oriented, intelligence-led policing and integrates both ethics and leadership concepts. This edition includes two new chapters to address today’s environment–one on Homeland Security and one on strategic policing. New case studies, examples and applications appear throughout the text and help officers develop essential ethical leadership competencies. For courses in Police Leadership, Administration, Management, Ethics and Supervision. Visit us for the Leadership, Ethics, and Policing exam, test questions, study guide and flashcards.

Police Ethics - a Matter of Character - Perez and Moore. From the publisher; Police Ethics, 2nd Edition complements traditional police training by illustrating the importance of and techniques for employing ethics in law enforcement. Ethical clarity is especially critical for the police professional - perhaps uniquely so - because the ethical point of view determines the way "police competence" is understood. In addition to the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics, the book promotes an "ethic to live by" for officers, and applies various schools of ethical thought to practical examples in policing. The authors avoid dictating rules and labeling behaviors as inherently good or bad, instead providing the tools necessary for making intelligent, impartial decisions from a positive perspective. Expanded to include philosophical background, practical applications, and more examples of ethics in action. Visit us for the Police Ethics - a Matter of Character exam, test questions, study guide and flashcards.

Police Ethics - The Corruption of Noble Cause - Ortmeier, Davis. Now in its 4th Edition. Very hard-hitting and thoughful, any lecture or class on ethics or any promotional exam taking ethics as a main topic needs to include this book. From the publisher; This book provides an examination of noble cause, how it emerges as a fundamental principle of police ethics and how it can provide the basis for corruption. The noble cause ― a commitment to "doing something about bad people" ― is a central "ends-based" police ethic that can be corrupted when officers violate the law on behalf of personally held moral values. This book is about the power that police use to do their work and how it can corrupt police at the individual and organizational levels. It provides students of policing with a realistic understanding of the kinds of problems they will confront in the practice of police work. Visit us for the Police Ethics - The Corruption of Noble Cause exam, test questions, study guide and flashcards.


Rising Through The Ranks - Leadership Tools and Techniques for Law Enforcement. From the Author and Publisher: Effective leadership is a journey, not a destination. Rising through the Ranks will be the starting point in that journey for thousands of men and women in law enforcement. Telling real stories of leadership and courage from police departments and investigative agencies, former DEA Leadership Fellow and Pittsfield, Massachusetts Police Chief Mike Wynn is the perfect author. As the only book of its kind, Rising through the Ranks will prepare effective leaders from local police officers to federal agents. From me: This is a short but very descriptive and hard-hitting book on leadership and courage in the face of adversity. Very good choice for promotion "through the ranks" from corporal through captain. Rising Through the Ranks promotion exam, test questions, study guide and flashcards.


Why Law Enforcement Organizations Fail: Mapping the Organizational Fault Lines in Policing - by Patrick O'Hara. Now in its 3rd Edition. From me; This is the ethics book directed at police managers and entire police agencies. This ethics book needs to be read by every police supervisor and above.
From the publisher; Why Law Enforcement Organizations Fail dissects headline cases to examine how things go wrong in criminal justice agencies. New third edition cases include the deadly police assault on New Orleans' Danziger Bridge after Hurricane Katrina; the deaths of Amadou Diallo and Trayvon Martin; and Bernard Kerik's fall from 9/11 hero to federal prisoner. Highlight cases that remain from the first edition include the Jon Benet Ramsey murder investigation and the conflagrations that ended the sieges in Waco and at the MOVE house in Philadelphia. These human tragedies and organizational debacles serve as starting points for exploring how common structural and cultural fault lines in police organizations set the stage for major failures. The author provides a framework for sorting through these cases to help readers recognize the distinct roles of operational mechanics, organizational structures, rank and file culture and executive hubris in making criminal justice agencies vulnerable to failure. The book examines how dysfunctions such as institutional racism, sexual harassment, systems abuse and renegade enforcement become established and then readily blossom into major scandals. Why Law Enforcement Organizations Fail also shows how managers and oversight officials can spot malignant individuals, identify perverse incentives, neutralize deviant cultures and recognize when reigning managerial philosophies or governing policies are producing diminishing or negative returns. Visit us for the Why Law Enforcement Organizations Fail exam, test questions, study guide and flashcards.

Promotional Exams for all these great police leadership textbooks can be taken by you to use as study material within the Advanced Police Promotional Testing Course at PoliceCareer.com.

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