Editor’s Note: In PoliceOne “First Person” essays, our Members and Columnists candidly share their own unique view of the world. This is a platform from which individual officers can share their own personal insights on issues confronting cops today, as well as opinions, observations, and advice on living life behind the thin blue line. This week’s essay comes from P1 Member Timothy F. Hoey, a patrol supervisor (Sgt.) for the Bridgewater Township Police Department with 15 years on the job. Do you want to share your own perspective with other P1 Members? Send us an e-mail with your story.
By Sgt. Timothy F. Hoey
Bridgewater Township PD
Integrity, as defined by the American Heritage Dictionary, is a steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code. A check of Merriam-Webster and Random House also makes reference to the adherence of moral values — the state of being whole, complete, undiminished.
Integrity, an easy enough word to say, only four (4) syllables, and easy to spell, so why is it such an unattainable attribute in some? When you think of the career we have chosen, or some think created for, integrity should be assumed. Why then, when you think about it, do we have locks on our lockers inside a police department? Do we lock up our personal belongings in our lockers at work because we do not trust the usual suspects (cleaning companies), or do we not trust the very men and women we entrust our lives to, break bread with, and share our lives with?
Integrity in law enforcement is of paramount importance for we are sworn to enforce the laws of our State. There can be no moral ambiguity when deciding when to enforce these laws and when to take action. Integrity is probably the most important character trait we bring with us as a law enforcement officer. Unlike many of the skills, tactics, and lessons we learn in the Police Academy and on the street, integrity cannot be taught. You either have it, or you don’t.
Integrity should also be applied when taking or initiating motor vehicle action. How many law enforcement professionals and administrators practice the “do as I say, not as I do (did) approach to law enforcement? Look with in your own agency, regardless of size, and see how many of your fellow officers and administrators have motor vehicle equipment violations on their personally-owned vehicles.
I would like to think I was an effective patrol officer. Not overly aggressive, stopped my share of cars, wrote an appropriate amount of summonses (no quotas), and made my arrests. I say this because nothing stung more than when you knew a person was guilty of something, but you could not connect the dots at the time. When I started my career there were only basic cell phones, nothing with the current capabilities of video or photos. I say this because it would have been easy enough to embellish my probable cause to get in the car(s), find the contraband that I knew was there but could not see, but I did not. There in lies the rub; does the end justify the means?
Whether it is fair or not, law enforcement officers are held to a much higher moral standard than the general public, and rightfully so. We have an awesome responsibility every time we go to work. Let’s think about that for a minute. We have the means and opportunity to take a human life, and generally speaking, we have to make a decision in a split second.
Integrity or the lack there of, is as important for your agency’s hierarchy as it is for the rank and file. If you have a superior officer who lacks integrity, or the respect of his or her subordinates, you have a group of people who respect only the rank, and not the person. This could lead to serious morale issues, as well as trust issues. There was a line from a recent popular song that goes “sometimes making the right decision and the hard decision are the same.”
Integrity is doing the right thing when nobody else is looking.
Integrity is doing the right thing when there is nothing to gain.
Integrity is doing the right thing when there is nobody present to impress.
Integrity is doing the right thing, period.
Unlike a bad penny, if you lose your integrity, you will never get it back.
