The American policing industry has undergone considerable change as it evolved through three distinct eras delineated as Political (1840–1920), Reform (1920–1970), and Community Policing (1970–present). The many different elements of ethical issues, the development of codes of ethics, importance of rationales for training and public sector leadership and theories within policing were examined. Because municipal police chiefs have a wide span of responsibilities with expectations placed upon them by elected officials, the public, and police employee organizations, the maintenance of ethics within their police departments is of the utmost importance.

A descriptive qualitative design that employed a survey instrument with open-ended questions sought answers to two research questions: How does a police chief demonstrate his or her personal ethics-based leadership standards? How does a police chief maintain his or her ethical standards within the police department? Thirty-six police chiefs responded to the survey out of 68 eligible municipal police chiefs throughout the state of Arizona during the summer of 2007. Their responses were categorized as to (a) external and internal ethics-related influences on Arizona police chiefs; (b) their personal methodologies for displaying leadership; and (c) their guidelines for establishing and sustaining ethics standards within their departments.

The research concluded that Arizona police chiefs were predominately influenced by example from within the law enforcement community itself. Their definition of ethics was either an intrinsic sense of what was right, being moral, or in their words, "doing what was right." They relied on their own industry for standards in ethics and codes of ethics. Input from city management regarding the police department code of ethics was minimal. Difficult ethical dilemmas were dealing with political pressures pertaining to elected officials who attempted to influence investigations and even threatening employment. Another problematic area was dealing with employee misconduct involving issues of honesty and integrity along with the refusal to be truthful in matters under investigation. Police chiefs displayed no reticence in maintaining a firm hand in the preservation of ethical standards and the discipline of subordinates, including the termination of those who lied during investigations.