Summary
"The purpose of this study was to determine the state of ethics and ethics training in Canadian police organizations. This topic is of increasing importance not only to police, but to Canadians in general, because of the fundamental changes in modern police organizations. Current events in Canada indicate that the traditional means for managing the ethics in police services are increasingly becoming obsolete and must be replaced by more active promotion of ethical conduct and by more effective development and maintenance of individual ethics.The literature review used as a theoretical backdrop for the study focuses on three related areas: adult education and critical thinking; individual and organizational ethics; and, police ethics and ethics training. The study comprises two main components. The first is a detailed review of existing police training programs and the paucity of ethics training.The second part consists of a detailed survey on the promotion and management of ethics in Canadian police services. The analysis and interpretations of the survey results present a very mixed picture of ethics in Canadian police organizations and highlight the need for a more cohesive and determined effort to promote ethics in the Canadian police universe. The discussion and recommendation section outlines how ethics in Canadian police organizations might be promoted in a more consistent, effective and determined manner,and present some ideas that may be useful for the future evolution of police management and leadership. This section also comments on the role of comprehensive ethics training in the promotion of promotion and maintenance of ethics in Canadian police organizations."--Abstract.