 Whether you're a federal law enforcement training center employee new to the center, or a veteran, you are already aware of the tremendously important mission that we have, the training of thousands of law enforcement personnel from over 70 federal agencies at our three centers, Glencoe, Georgia, Artesia, New Mexico, and Tucson, Arizona. Providing state-of-the-art quality training expected by our client agencies is a challenge we are facing head-on and meeting successfully. But today I'm going to ask you to think about an equally important part of our mission. It's the issue of integrity, of maintaining the highest standards of conduct, both on and off the job. It's important no matter what, but when you consider that our mission is not just law enforcement, but the teaching of law enforcement, our maintenance of the highest standards of conduct becomes even more crucial. This video is intended to sensitize all of us to some of those standards and to issues and potential pitfalls we face in fulfilling our responsibilities. Our goal is not to scare or intimidate you about the consequences of violating a strict code of ethics, but instead to help you understand what that code is and why it's so important to us, to the federal law enforcement training center and to our responsibilities as public servants. Remember, public office is a public trust. Twenty years ago, it was called the Grand Experiment. The plan was to provide the highest caliber of training to federal law enforcement agencies from throughout the nation at a campus like setting in Glencoe, Georgia. Today, those ambitious dreams have become reality. The FLETC trains more than 20,000 students from 70 federal law enforcement agencies each year in a unique residential training facility with locations not only here at Glencoe, but also in Tucson, Arizona and Artesia, New Mexico. The federal law enforcement training center has matured into the largest, most cost-efficient training organization in the nation, if not the world. Hello, everyone. I'm Lee Webb. And I'm Marianne Christensen, and this is Integrity in the Workplace. From the federal law enforcement training center in Glencoe, Georgia, this is Integrity in the Workplace. And now here again is Marianne Christensen. As you heard the director say just a few moments ago, providing the highest level of state-of-the-art training is just part of the mission here at the FLETC. But there is another mission that is equally important, the mission of setting the best of examples by abiding by our high standards of conduct. To do so, of course, means playing by the rules. And we won't kid you, those rules are wide-ranging and sometimes complex. But if you familiarize yourself with the standards of conduct and use some common sense, you'll be well on your way toward doing your part to achieve and maintain integrity in the workplace. And there are several things that are very important to keep in mind. Because we work for the public, it's important not just to abide by the proper standards. We must guard against even the perception of unethical behavior. And if there is ever a question about what is the proper behavior or activity, you should first ask your supervisor or ethics advisor. At the FLETC, the designated ethics official is the legal counsel. As we said, the rules are wide-ranging and sometimes may seem complex. What we want to do now is to simplify and help you understand what the proper standards of conduct should be. Probably the first and most obvious to all of us are rules pertaining to government property. That means no matter how large or small the property may seem to you, it is always to be used for official purposes and never, never for your private or personal benefit. You don't have to be an employee of the government or even most private businesses to know that paperwork plays a major role in the workplace. And wherever there is paperwork, photocopying machines inevitably are nearby. That means people are nearby too, office workers. In this case, government employees. Maybe on your break or during lunch, you happen to read an interesting magazine or newspaper article. Or maybe it's something as harmless as a funny cartoon. You say, hey, I'd love to have a copy of that to share with your spouse or even a fellow office worker. So you make a copy. After all, it costs only a few cents. But that simple act constitutes misuse of government property. And it could be detrimental to your career. That's because the photocopy machine as well as the paper it prints doesn't belong to you. It belongs to the government, to taxpayers. And if you use it for any kind of personal purpose, it's the same as stealing. Of course, there are all kinds of government property. From the most simple and seemingly benign, such as pens, pencils and paperclips, to more valuable items such as gasoline, cameras, film, ammunition and weapons. Take a government-issued vehicle, for example. Like the photocopy machine, it is for official use only. But sometimes, given the hectic pace of modern life, there just doesn't seem to be enough time of the day. Or maybe it's just a matter of your car being in the repair shop. You might be tempted to make a quick trip to the mall. You've got the car. It's convenient. You'll save yourself an extra hassle, you think. Once again, it's the same problem and it's a very serious one. It's not your car. It's not to be used for personal use. Misuse by law mandates a minimum penalty of 30-day suspension without pay. Shooters, the line is loaded and ready. In other cases, maybe it's not so obvious. At the Fletsy, firearms training is part of the curriculum. Thousands upon thousands of rounds of ammunition are fired. And when bullets are fired, what's left? Empty shell casings for one thing. No one will ever miss them. Maybe you could just take some home where you've got your own ammo reloading kit. Well, you can't. In this case, the Fletsy uses those cases to sell a surplus, using the proceeds to buy more ammunition. But even property which may later be discarded or might even seem to you to be junk is property that can get you in trouble if you use it for your own benefit. So, the simple rule pertaining to government property, Mary Ann, is when it comes to personal purposes, don't use it. Don't abuse it because when it comes to your job, you may lose it. Questions surrounding the use of government property are one thing. But there's another aspect to government property, how it's acquired. That applies to services as well. The process is called procurement. And here, there are stringent requirements aimed at protecting the government from inflated prices, from fraud, as well as making sure that those who would sell goods and services to the government are treated equally and fairly. The government procures all kinds of goods and services, especially at a location as diverse in purpose as the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, where virtually everything you see around you, whether it is furniture, office equipment, or even the food services, is purchased from the private sector. Even the television production facilities, camera crews, and videotape with which you're able to watch this program is a key part of the procurement process, which ensures that Uncle Sam gets the best deal. Anyone who plays any role in the purchase of goods or services is subject to the strict rules of procurement, whether it's in deciding what to buy, how much, and especially in establishing specifications of the product. John Richardson is the division chief of the FLETC procurement office. The procurement rules are there to protect both the government and the contractors who want to do business with the government. If the competition is fair and equal, both sides win. The thing we have to guard against is conflicts of interest. A person involved in the procurement process for the government cannot do business with a relative or a company in which they own stock. This doesn't mean that the company can't compete for the government's business. What it means is that individual must recuse themselves from that procurement process. A common business practice is to give samples of the product you're trying to sell. Is that allowed? Yes, for government review and evaluation it is allowed, but for personal use it is not allowed. Now there are a few minor exceptions, and I would recommend that anyone who has offered a sample or a gift from a contractor discuss it with their supervisor or legal counsel before they accept the item. I understand there are also restrictions in talking to businesses or contractors about going to work for them. There are various post-employment restrictions on government employees, particularly those who have participated substantially in a procurement process. Part of the problem is that a contractor may be seeking and may receive preferential treatment even prior to an award process, even though an individual may never go to work for that company. The other problems that may occur are that the employee may take proprietary information that belongs to the government or to other contractors to his new employer, thereby giving them an unfair advantage and this is against the law. The rules in the area of procurement are constantly being revised. So much emphasis is placed upon them. Employees involved in the procurement process may be asked to sign forms showing they fully understand the rules. But in the simplest of terms, keep it fair, keep it reasonable, and keep it at arm's length. And if there is any question, see your supervisor or the legal counsel. Because, Lee, it's like the old saying, it's better to be safe than sorry. Mary Ann, in that segment, you raised the red flag about discussing terms of future employment with anyone who might be doing business with the government. But it's not just future employment that's of concern when you work for the federal government. Sometimes people might want to get a second job to moonlight a few hours a week. After all, most of us can always use a little extra income. But as a government employee, that's not always possible. In fact, even some non-paid or volunteer activities might be prohibited. Let's take a closer look at what I'm talking about. As a full-time employee of the federal government, there can be no mistaking to whom you owe the number one allegiance, Uncle Sam, which is the same as saying the public as a whole. Because of that, it may not be in the public's interest for you to have certain kinds of outside employment or activity. Scott Richards, Fletzig's personnel officer, explains why. Well, there's two reasons. The first is that it is in the best interest of the government and the public that the energies of the employee be put on their full-time job. Oftentimes, when a person has a second job, it tends to interfere with their regular work. They come to work tired or there's increased use of sick leave or annual leave. The second reason is that there could be the potential for conflict of interest or even the appearance of conflict of interest, which could result from certain types of outside employment. You seem to leave the door open. What is it exactly that a federal employee is allowed to do? Well, if an employee is interested in outside employment, first, they must put a request in, in writing, through their supervisory chain, outlining exactly what it is that they would like to do. We would ask that they identify the hours of work and give us an indication of how much time would be involved over a period of time. Let me give you an example. An employee that is an artist and may want to paint in the evenings or weekends and might want to display that art or even sell that art, that request may very well be approved. But if we have an employee that wants to teach and use information that wouldn't be available to the public, now that type of employment may not be approved. You mentioned even volunteer or non-paid activities. That's correct. If an employee is interested, whether it is paid or non-paid, they both require the permission granted before the work can be started. And that will be looked at for the reasons mentioned and also to ensure that there is no conflict or even the appearance of conflict of interest. The bottom line is that if it has the possibility of looking bad, you shouldn't do it. But again, this isn't a case of if you have a question you should ask. This is a case of where you're required to ask and in writing. That's for the employee's protection as well. Lee, outside activities may involve more than just a second job. There are a couple of other areas where caution and discretion must be used. You heard at the beginning of the program that over 20,000 students come through the FLETC in any given year. That's a lot of students taught by a lot of instructors. And if discretion is not used, the possibility could arise leading to the abuse or appearance of abuse of professional relationships. This is one of the most sensitive areas involving the FLETC's standards of conduct. It's the question of fraternization. Another way of putting that is whether personal relationships might get in the way of official duties here at the Center. Steve Baudelet is the legal counsel for the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center and is responsible for advising us on federal employee ethics. The Center has a long-standing policy that forbids relationships of an other-than-professional nature between students and staff. This position policy applies to our instructors, to anyone in a position to influence grades, and to any other person at the Center where an appearance of impropriety could be associated with a particular relationship. It's similar to policies that are in place in colleges and universities and in military installations where there are fraternization restrictions between students and permanent staff. It is designed to prevent questions of favoritism, to ensure the credibility of FLETC's grading system, and to guarantee that people who graduate from FLETC are truly qualified to perform law enforcement duties. The Center takes this policy very seriously. Violations of the policy can result in severe repercussions for an individual's career. So we strongly urge anyone who begins to encounter a potential relationship with a student to contact his or her supervisor or this office for guidance on how to handle the matter. There's another area of what might be considered private business that isn't necessarily the case when you're a federal employee. It's the area of partisan political activity. While your rights to vote and hold political convictions are fully protected, public political activity is limited. Under the Hatch Act, federal employees are allowed a range of political involvement but are prohibited from holding partisan political office and cannot in any way use their government positions or resources to support a political candidate. This is a sensitive area and you should check with the Bureau's ethics official if you wish to participate in any political activities. The final area we're going to look at today also draws a line between which information and records held by the federal government are open and available to the public and which are not. One thing you know the federal government has no shortage of is information, reams of it, probably enough to reach the moon and back. And for the most part, the information of the government is something that belongs to the public, but not always. Lisa Stevens is in charge of both of these areas at the FLETC. The public information which is available under the Freedom of Information Act and information which is not available protected under what's known as the Privacy Act and under exemptions found in the Freedom of Information Act. My responsibilities as the disclosure officer are to ensure that the center complies with all of the requirements of the act and the biggest responsibility is the determination factor as to whether information should be disclosed or should not be disclosed. The majority of the information requested can be disclosed as public information and it's available. That which must be withheld is information pertaining to training techniques on how we search vehicles, that sort of thing. We cannot have the criminal element of public information, so that's not available and it's exempted from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. But sometimes protection of information is for reasons other than law enforcement and security, right? That's right. Personal information, for example, an employee's address, their social security number, that information is not public information and there are penalties for disclosing it under the Privacy Act side and an employee is afforded protection. The contractors that we do business with, the confidential financial information that they've provided to us is protected under the law and we cannot disclose it. So I really have a two-sided responsibility, one, to disclose that information which is public and should be made available to them and also to protect that which is not. What is the employee's responsibility if they receive a request for information? Very good question. I'm glad you asked because it's very important that they not disclose any information other than what is routine to their office. For example, personnel could give out job announcements, procurement office could give out invitations to bid, that type of routine business, but any request for information other than what is routine to their office should not be handled by that employee and should be turned over to the disclosure office for processing. Mary Ann, as you heard, sometimes protection of the public's interest might mean the eventual disclosure of information, other times not. Lee, we've seen today that there is an enormous responsibility entrusted to those who are employees of the federal government, especially here at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. Let's briefly recap what we've learned. Government property is for official use only. Just what it says, personal use is not only against the rules, but against the law. Procurement, the way government buys goods and services. Fair and equal competition is paramount and any conflict of interest must be disclosed and avoided. Outside employment, as you've seen, that applies to even non-paid activities as well. Before you can get a second job or engage in outside activities, written permission is needed. Personal activities, whether it's fraternization, procurement, or the Hatch Act, the key is to familiarize yourself with the rules. Ask if you don't know, and if it seems wrong, don't do it. Finally, the disclosure of government information. There's a strict line between what is public and what is not. Only the disclosure officer should make that decision. Thanks, Mary Ann. As you heard the directors say in the program, a public position is a public trust, especially here at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, where the mission is to actually teach those who are charged with enforcing the rule of law. As we said, the purpose of this program was not to scare or intimidate you, but to help inform and give you guidance. It is only an introduction to government employee ethics and addresses only a few areas of particular concern to the FLETC. A federal employee must be aware of and are required to know all the standards of ethical conduct required of you. They are contained in regulations which are provided to each employee during initial ethics indoctrination. We want to sensitize you to why ethics and rules are important, and to ensure that you avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest with your official duties. We want to help employees avoid getting into trouble, when you're unsure about an ethics matter, ask the FLETC's legal counsel for an opinion. We are confident you realize that it's not only in the public's interest that you maintain the highest standards of conduct, it's in your interest too. For Mary Ann Christensen, I'm Lee Webb, reminding you that your integrity is your most important asset.