Deliverable Length: Main post: 300 words (minimum); 2 response posts: 75 words each (minimum)
OBJECTIVES
In your own words, answer this unit’s discussion questions in a main post (recommended minimum 300 words), and respond to at least 2 peers’ postings (recommended minimum 75 words).
After you have reviewed the Assignment Details below, click the Discussion Board link under the My Work heading above to open the Discussion Board and make your post.
Assignment Details
You are an administrative officer, and you discover that an undercover officer is working two separate jobs simultaneously—and is receiving two paychecks for working for two separate employers at the exact same time.
The undercover officer is assigned to work a shift from 3:00 PM to 12:00 AM every day for his law enforcement agency. Due to the secretive nature of his cop job, he has very little supervision or oversight for what he does with his time.
One day each week, he is also simultaneously working a second job from 7:00 PM until 9:00 PM each night as an instructor for a driver improvement class for drivers who are court-ordered to attend.
He routinely accepts both paychecks for working both jobs at the exact same time
For this assignment, discuss the following:
Describe the legal and ethical implications of accepting paychecks from both employers, when only one job is being performed.
Look up the term moral turpitude, and decide whether this kind of behavior falls into that category.
Describe the kinds of behaviors that cannot be tolerated from criminal justice personnel.
Discussion Board Reminders:
JS410 U2DB Assignment Overview: Unit 2 Discussion Board
In the selected case scenario, an officer works two jobs simultaneously; as an undercover cop and an instructor for a driver improvement class. Also, the officer receives paychecks for both of his roles at the same time. Based on an analysis of this scenario, there exists a legal and ethical issue in accepting paychecks from both employers as the officer does not have the necessary caveats to be working a second job.
The main legal and ethical issue surrounding the case scenario is the acceptance of paychecks by a police officer without caveats from the respective law enforcement department. Notably, it is expected that the officer works on a full-time basis as an undercover cop, despite having to work in shifts from 3:00 pm to 12:00 am each day. As such, in the instance where the officer decides to take a second job, they should inform their department to ensure that necessary caveats are instituted to prevent the interference of other roles on the officer’s primary task. However, the officer failed to report his involvement in the second job and continues to accept paychecks without proper caveats, thus creating an ethical and legal issue in his line of work.
In my opinion, the officer’s behavior falls under the category of moral turpitude. Moral turpitude is a behavior that violates the standards of a community. In this context, the officer’s conduct appears to violate the legal standards of the law enforcement community as he indulges in a second job without permission from his department. Furthermore, he accepts a paycheck from the second job without the knowledge of his supervisor. This act can be interpreted as an attempt to make extra money while still working as a full-time police officer. The highlighted actions of going against the standards of the law enforcement community qualify as moral turpitude.
Apart from the ethical issues displayed by the officer, several other behaviors may also not be tolerated by criminal justice personnel. These behaviors include the use of an officer’s position for private gain and holding financial interests that conflict with the performance of their duties. Furthermore, police officers are not allowed to accept gifts from individuals seeking official action from the law enforcement agency.