ABSTRACT
Police recruitment and training have evolved significantly since 1829, with some important contemporary innovations. Police departments have adopted a range of tests designed to screen out applicants who have a record of misconduct or who appear vulnerable to misconduct. Aspects of testing also attempt to “select in” potential officers with qualities resistant to the pressures and temptations of police work. Preservice training presents further opportunities to eliminate candidates who display inappropriate behaviors. Once selected, recruits are then normally subject to training systems that communicate, test, and reinforce organizational ethical standards. Although there is little in the way of strong evidence of “what works” in ethics training, there is a range of ethical competencies and knowledge-such as codes of conduct positions and their rationales, and how to manage ethical dilemmas-that in principle should be communicated to all police over their career as part of the accountability obligations of police departments.
