ETHICS IN POLICING • Linking leadership to the Code of Ethics and ethical behaviour • 17
The policing Code of Ethics was introduced by the College of Policing in 2014, and sets out the principles and values that every member of the policing profession in England and Wales is expected to uphold. It also describes expected standards of behaviour. The main aims of this research were to provide evidence of the importance of ethical leadership in policing and the importance of the policing Code of Ethics for ethical behaviour.
Ethical leaders are fair and principled decision makers who care about the people they work with and wider society. Ethical leadership can be considered as consisting of three components: the leader being an ethical example; them treating people fairly; and the active management of ethics. Dr Graham collaborated on this research study with Dr Yuyan Zheng, who also works in the Policing Research Unit at the Durham University Business School. The study design was inspired by the research of Professor Robert Lord, who leads the Centre for Leadership and Followership at Durham University Business School. A test of the Lord and Brown (2001) theoretical model, of the link between leadership and behaviour through followers’ self-regulatory structures of values and identity, was conducted.
Although there is prior research evidence that ethical leadership reduces followers’ unethical behaviour, there is limited empirical evidence for a positive relationship with ethical behaviour.
Using ethical leadership theory, we examined how leaders can act as role models to influence an individual’s values, identity and ethical behaviour.
Values and identities are important driving forces in people’s lives. Prior research has demonstrated that personal values are an important factor for the understanding of ethical behaviour. To measure police officer and staff values, values congruence theory was used to develop a measure for the level of alignment of individuals’ personal values to that of the value system promoted by the Code of Ethics. To measure identity, role identity theory was used and developed a measure of integrity role identity.
The findings provided support for the Lord and Brown (2001) theoretical model and their assertion that values directly affect behaviour, but have a more positive impact through identity. The findings also demonstrate the importance of ethical leadership for increasing the salience in police professionals of the values underpinning the Code of Ethics and of the importance of the Code of Ethics for ethical behaviour in policing. This research is part of a wider research project in policing. Dr Graham leads the Policing Research Unit, which is currently collaborating with 35 police forces across the UK to conduct longitudinal research on the impact of workplace factors, such as leadership and fairness, on individuals’ well-being, engagement and ethical behaviour. The research is underpinned by, and builds upon, the research from the Centre for Leadership and Followership (CLF). The project is part-funded by research awards from the College of Policing, Durham University Seed-Corn funding and the ESRC IAA research fund. It is supported by the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC).
Ethical leadership can be considered as consisting of three components: the leader being an ethical example; them treating people fairly; and the active management of ethics. Pictured left: Chief Constable Iain Spittal (National Lead for Ethics in Policing) and Dr Les Graham (Durham University Business School) at the National Policing Professional Standards and Ethics Conference.