Ethical decision making in law enforcement: A comparison of education level, moral development, and personal conduct

Ethical decision making has always been a concern within law enforcement agencies across America. This study was designed to measure possible correlations among education, moral development, and personal conduct among police officers. The hypothesis was that police officers with higher education levels would have higher moral development scores and fewer personnel complaints.;Data sets for the variables were analyzed to measure correlations among them. Members of both groups with higher education scored higher on the SSMS. Field officers with higher education levels who also had higher moral development scores had considerably fewer personnel complaints.;The study used a voluntary sample of both recruit and field officers from law enforcement agencies. Participants responded to an online survey comprised of a demographic questionnaire and the Stewart-Sprinthall Management Survey (SSMS). The SSMS measured individual moral development levels; the demographics section measured self-reported education levels and number of sustained personnel complaints.