Honoring the Badge: Spotting and Avoiding Ethical Pitfalls

Modern policing takes place in an ethical minefield – from the street to the courthouse, from management to recruiting, from training to on and off-duty conduct. The mission of the Josephson Exemplary Policing Initiative at Drake University is to help agencies shape, enhance, and fortify their ethical culture and prevent misconduct from eroding confidence in the public sector.

The highly acclaimed Honoring the Badge police ethics Agency and Command Staff programs take a deep dive into applied ethics and deal with the hidden and ignored ethical challenges within law enforcement. The course was created by world-renowned ethicist Michael Josephson and Detective Captain James Dugan. Jim, whose highly decorated NJ police career was derailed by one bad judgment, provides a unique, sobering, and inspiring perspective.

This presentation addresses the following critical organizational needs:

• The major causes of unethical behavior within a law enforcement agency.

• The inherent career and officer wellness consequences of unethical behavior - long and short term.

• The Six Pillars of Character® - applying them within your agency.

About Jim Dugan, Lead Instructor:

During his 13-year law enforcement career, Jim worked primarily in narcotic enforcement and police training. He received numerous awards and accommodations for his work and spoke at several state-wide law enforcement conferences throughout the northeast. He achieved the rank of Captain of Detectives at 32 when he was appointed Director of a New Jersey State Certified Police Training Academy. Unfortunately, Jim’s highly decorated police career ended abruptly in 1997 because of an unethical compromise.

After a remarkably successful 25-year career in the private sector, Jim has now committed his time to educate and support the policing community by providing expert insights and resources that promote professional development in the critical area of police ethics. Since its creation in 2019, the “Honoring the Badge” police ethics program has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from the law enforcement community and is now available for the training of entire police agencies and command staffs. This training is a POST Certified police ethics course in California and is presented in both recruit and in-service training programs.

Josephson Exemplary Policing Initiative at Drake University

The Robert D. and Billie Ray Center at Drake University is home to the Josephson Exemplary Policing Initiative, which provides character and leadership development strategies to improve civility and develop ethical leaders throughout the law enforcement community.

To accomplish this, the Institute advocates five core principles:

1. Place public interest over all other considerations including personal or private interests.

2. Make decisions on the merits, free from partiality, prejudice, or conflicts of interest.

3. Conduct police operations openly, efficiently, equitably, and honorably.

4. Observe the letter and spirit of the law.

5. Avoid appearances of impropriety or unethical conduct.

Programs and Services

We offer a variety of approaches for ethics training that address specific agency needs and that are meaningful, measurable, and sustainable. Contact us for more information on our Department and Command Staff Trainings, Agency Cultural Assessments and keynote presentations for conferences and trainings.

Host or Publisher Drake University - Robert D. & Billie Ray Center