Professional policing and the role of autonomy and discretion in decision-making: A qualitative study from a virtue ethical perspective

Within an overarching identified construct of ‘autonomy and discretion’, this paper uses four themes to discuss how 30 interviewed UK police officers respond to challenging, ethically charged situations and what frameworks guide and structure their decision-making. These themes, elicited through qualitative thematic analysis, are personal judgement, doing the right thing, effective and adaptive communication, and emotional regulation. The relevance of these themes is discussed in the context of police professionalization and the Code of Ethics in England and Wales. The findings illustrate that the professional autonomy of police officers, when grounded in virtue ethics rather than more formulaic deontology, supports morally good policing and safeguards police legitimacy.