Character and Cops: Ethics in Policing By Edwin J. Delattre AEI Press, 2006, $25

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In his book Character and Cops: Ethics in Policing (AEI Press, fifth edition), author Edwin J. Delattre sets the standard for examining ethics in law enforcement, discussing how today’s police officers can meet the ethical challenges of policing while fulfilling heightened demands for better security.

Delattre writes, “Simply put, civilization cannot defend itself: people must stand up for it. The specific people who are on the front lines--the police--are thus essential to civilized life, even though there are limits to what they can do.” In essence, the character of those who swear to protect us is paramount. The quandaries law-enforcement officials face on a daily basis require thoughtful deliberation and support from those in positions of authority within their organizations. In this comprehensive book, the author examines the ethical questions most often raised by police and other law-enforcement officials in the criminal-justice system.

In Character and Cops, Delattre considers:

• excellence of character in police
• the mission of police
• public trust and probity
• leadership and the character of a police department
• fundamental tenets of character and training
• deliberation and issues of morality in training
• the O. J. Simpson trial and race
• the spirit of public service and individual conscience
• terrorism and policing

In a newly added final chapter, the author examines actual cases, offering four examples of competence and moral probity in law enforcement: the thorough investigation of the massacre at Columbine High School conducted under FBI leadership; the effective transformation of the police force in the Rampart Area of Los Angeles following catastrophic police corruption and misconduct in the 1990s; the successful anti-gang effort conducted by the Fairfax County Police in Virginia; and the design and progress of the New York State Office of Homeland Security. Although the author focuses specifically on the importance of character in law enforcement, the book has a broader application to questions of public trust and ethics education, and contains an insightful look at these four cases of law-enforcement ethics in action.

Edwin J. Delattre is an adjunct scholar at AEI. He is also a resident scholar in applied ethics and professor of philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences at Boston University, and a professor of education and former dean of the university’s School of Education.

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