Should Government Workers Take Gratuities

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Gratuities are an amount of money given to a person (such as a waiter or waitress) who has performed a service as defined by Merriam- Webster (Merriam-Webster). As the definition states, gratuities are an amount of money, but gratuities can also be other things, for example, a cake or coffee. I can understand why government workers taking gratuities can be a hard to decide. Government workers do not want to seem like they are above someone trying to show them gratitude , nonetheless the person might be forced to say no to the nice old lady who made you a cake for saving her husband due to policy. Now the question is should government workers be allowed to take gifts, money, or free food from its community and should departments have a policy in place to assist officers in their decision. …show more content…
Now, I see money as a slippery slope towards corruption, however, I do not believe if an officer helps someone change a flat tire and the person decides to bake a cake for the officer as an issue. I understand that the cake is a form of gratuities and I understand they spent money to either put the cake together themselves or to buy the cake, but it all depends on the circumstance of the gift. If a merchant starts giving police free food, police presence is going to increase in the area causing a disproportionate police presence in other areas. Lastly, it depends on how many officers perceive the gratuity. If officers feel they are entitled to free coffee of twenty dollars for helping someone then they are not in the right profession and my worry is some police begin to think they deserve gratuities which might make people believe all police feel