Self-policing
Encyclopedia
Self-policing, a form of self-regulation
, is the process whereby an organization is asked, or volunteers, to monitor its own adherence to legal, ethical, or safety standards, rather than have an outside, independent agency such as a governmental entity monitor and enforce those standards.
campaign to repair such damage.
in asking any organization to police itself. If the public becomes aware of this failure, an external, independent organization is often given the duty of policing them, sometimes with highly punitive measures taken against the organization.
Not all businesses will voluntarily meet best practice standards, leaving some users exposed.
Example: Self-regulation for online child pornography.
Self-regulation
The term self-regulation can signify:*Autoregulation*Homeostasis, in systems theory*Self-control, in sociology / psychology*Self-regulated learning, in educational psychology*Self-regulation theory , a system of conscious personal health management...
, is the process whereby an organization is asked, or volunteers, to monitor its own adherence to legal, ethical, or safety standards, rather than have an outside, independent agency such as a governmental entity monitor and enforce those standards.
To the organization
An organization can maintain control over the standards to which they are held by successfully self-policing themselves. If they can keep the public from becoming aware of their internal problems, this also serves in place of a public relationsPublic relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
campaign to repair such damage.
To the organization
Self-policing attempts may well fail, due to the inherent conflict of interestConflict of interest
A conflict of interest occurs when an individual or organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in the other....
in asking any organization to police itself. If the public becomes aware of this failure, an external, independent organization is often given the duty of policing them, sometimes with highly punitive measures taken against the organization.
To the public
The results can be disastrous, such as a military with no external, independent oversight, which may commit human rights violations against the public.Not all businesses will voluntarily meet best practice standards, leaving some users exposed.
Example: Self-regulation for online child pornography.
Forms of self-policing organizations
- In direct self-policing, the organization directly monitors and punishes its own members. For example, many small organizations have the ability to remove any member by a vote of all members.
- Another common form is where the organization establishes an external policing organization. This organization is established, and controlled by, the parent organization, so cannot be considered independent, however.
- In another form, the organization sets up a committee or division for policing the remainder of the organization. The House Ethics Committee is an example in the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
government, while various police departments employ an Internal AffairsInternal affairs (law enforcement)The internal affairs division of a law enforcement agency investigates incidents and plausible suspicions of lawbreaking and professional misconduct attributed to officers on the force...
division to perform a similar function.
List of self-policing organizations
- American Bar AssociationAmerican Bar AssociationThe American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
(ABA) formulates model ethical codes related to the legal profession. The ABA has 410,000 members. - Every state bar association in the U.S. is a self-policing organization.
- Canadian Disc Jockey AssociationCanadian Disc Jockey AssociationThe Canadian Disc Jockey Association is a not-for-profit trade association for disc jockeys across Canada. The CDJA was formed in 1976 and incorporated in 1978 to serve not only the disc jockey trade but the consumer, as well....
Examples of government-initiated self-policing programs
See also
- Conflict of interest#Examples
- Outline of self
- Ethical codeEthical codeAn ethical code is adopted by an organization in an attempt to assist those in the organization called upon to make a decision understand the difference between 'right' and 'wrong' and to apply this understanding to their decision...