What may not be so obvious to agency leaders are the ethical challenges that beat officers face as they attempt to straddle that fine line between partner and friend. A beat officer who is doing his or her job right will interact frequently with community members. In fact, nearly every workday a beat officer will see, talk to and meet with citizen volunteers, business owners and employees, neighborhood residents and other government employees. Given these circumstances, it's not unusual for a beat officer to have more contact with individuals outside of his or her agency than within. Friendships formed within this context are a natural outgrowth of the officer's efforts to build trust and foster productive communication.
Local elections can be a particularly trying time for beat officers.
During campaign season, it's not uncommon for incumbents, or those seeking election, to solicit their beat officer to pose for a photo, speak at a rally, or in some other way publicly support the candidate. These situations, regardless of the officer's personal feelings or goals for the community, can lead to an ethical quagmire. The first and best defense is to abide by a professional code of ethics. A law enforcement officer represents all the citizens of a community and every officer on every force. Using the position outside of that context is professionally unacceptable.