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Ethics in law enforcement and policing
Ethics in the police force
Ethical challenges faced by the police
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When a person becomes a peace officer - or any position that has inherent authority - ethical dilemmas will soon present themselves. If such an individual has divorced the concept of morals and ethics from practical daily-living then you can expect their decision-making to end where the consideration of others begins and therein lies the root of much of the world’s ills. The result of such actions harms not only the officer and the victim but reflects on the whole of the American criminal justice system. Because of their visibility the necessity for officers to not only to have a working knowledge of ethics but to practice the highest conceivable notion of it - including morality and impartiality. Many consign such notions as either unachievable or impractical. Not only can one act in the highest capacity one can achieve but it has been done by countless others before us. The self-justification of the divorce of ethics and …show more content…
Another way to put this is to ask if the system as we have made it allows for the “best” ethical decision to be the easiest decision to make at the moment. The best ethical decision may be obvious but be the hardest thing to do thanks to how an officer feels their superiors - or public - may react. An officer may choose to lie under investigation as opposed to laying bare harsh truth that would see him ostracized or his department in serious trouble. The system we live under does not infrequently punish those that act in accordance to high ethical thinking and reward those that self-seek - it’s no wonder people find it easy to justify selfishness and complain altruism is impractical. Were our system to practice altruism then so to would its inhabitants; and those that took advantage of it would be judged by those more fit to judge than are our
Crank & Caldero (2004) discuss the notion of the noble cause that is widely used by police officers to justify their actions. Police officers feel that there are many obstacles that prevent them to do their job efficiently. They claim that courts only hinder the process of putting criminals behind bars. They also believe that they are true patriots with a noble cause of getting rid of bad guys. To further prove their point Crank & Caldero (2004) use works of many authors, who wrote about police ethics and corruption and about how the noble cause is interpreted by police officers. Each of the authors discusses a dilemma with which polices officers have to deal when deciding what action they need to take in order to deal with criminals. Cumulatively, it seems that police conduct themselves towards criminals and citizens with hostility and with actions that maybe constituted as unlawful and corruptive in nature. But to the police officers, who are seeking justice and are driven by a noble cause, all means are good to get the bad guys. There is also a philosophical twist that puts a poli...
The job of a law enforcement officer sometimes can be tough. Officer are sometimes plagued with situation that test their ability to enforce the law and maintain order. Police officers today face a constant battle to maintain higher ethical standards. This mission becomes tougher each day when one considers the importance of fighting terrorism, drugs, human trafficking,
In this essay, I will examine the ethical issues surrounding police corruption and discretion in the criminal justice system. I will also define legality and equity and how they relate to police corruption and discretion. Police corruption and discretion are ethical issues that have been negatively impacting the criminal justice system for years. Police corruption weakens the public 's confidence in law enforcement officers. It also hinders the effectiveness of law enforcement officers whose job is to serve and protect. I will also define police corruption and discretion and the reasons behind police misconduct.
Even though both police officers and attorneys are active in the Criminal Justice System on a daily basis, I deduce that police officers face more ethical issues. The complex duties that an officer has to undergo during his time on duty, may cause concerns on public satisfaction. Officers deal with everyday situations that require them to make split second decisions as society expects a ‘reaction’ from them. Compared to attorneys, officers are constantly in the public’s eye and unethical conduct is a character of
The fact that Law enforcement are now being trained in the area of ethics is something that is very essential to them as a whole. Law enforcement officers have endured a lot of ethical problems, which deal with them having to make choices under certain circumstances that may present themselves to them on a daily basics. Ethics are founded on the overall moral choices that deal with wrong or right things to do. When it comes to those individuals that deal with criminal justice, these professionals deal with those problems in ethics when they are dealing with those circumstances each and every day.
A Critical Assessment In defining police ethics, ethical policing and police ethics are not synonymous or interchangeable connotations to or for one another. Aside from establishing a police role independently from establishing any definition of ethics or police ethics, the semantics tend to complicate the defining process. Some of these complications include, but are not limited to, sociological aspects, psychological conditions, or philosophical reasoning. Examples of sociological complications include historical, political, cultural, or economic aspects. Some psychological examples include one’s ability to discern sociological implications from other implications; namely, the condition of post-traumatic stress disorder, hydrophobia, or even weary dreams. Lastly,
Dempsey, J. S., & Frost, L. S. (2012). Police Ethics and Police Deviance. An Introduction to Policing (6th ed.). Clifton Park, NY: Delmar Cengage Learning.
In this research, the researcher will discuss a pattern or a practice that was used in the past by the criminal justice system and considered ethical, but not so by today’s standards. The researcher will explain what change resulted in a societal acceptance of a higher ethical standard making sure to apply an ethical theory. An existing criminal justice practice that is unethical and should become a thing of the past will be presented and supported with evidence methodology for considering the shift.
Society impacts ethical behavior of law enforcement by holding them to a higher standard of expectation. Police officers act as protectors and liaisons in highly stressful situations with the power to make decisions over society. Holding this position requires trust and the ability to lead by example. Police officers may have to be able to recognize the ethical dilemmas, decide the
This goodness sparks the minds of human beings and helps them to make moral judgments. The idea of natural law, or self-preservation, “appealed to both Plato and his student Aristotle, who sought universal qualities in human nature” (Souryal, 2006). “Stoics, natural law signifies a search for moral absolutes that is identified as natural” (Pollock, 2007). Aristotle, in the Nicomachean Ethics, “provided the first systematic study of ethics in the history of the Western world”(Albanese, 2008 p.15). In this book, Aristotle pinpointed that the ethics of virtue that is concerned with virtuous habits. Aristotle suggested the intermediate path, or the golden mean, which strikes a balance between extreme behaviors. He prescribed 10 moral virtues or excellences that are to be cultivated they are as follows:” courage, temperance, prudence, justice, pride, ambition, having a good temper, being a good friend, truthfulness and wittiness” (Albanese, 2008). Every officer knows, or at least should know by now, that they live in very tight quarters as to what they can or cannot engage in. Everyone in all walks of life from friends, family and enemies watch every move law enforcement officers make both on and off duty I know because my daddy is an officer and people are always making assumptions. The fact is that the public criticize police officers more than most other professions, either because they're doubtful and hope to catch them screwing up or because they're hopeful and are looking for a good example and a strong leader. In either case, it's up to the officer to be above reproach in both his public and private life. This brings us to ethics and the
Police Officers Oath of Office and Code of Ethics, A Question of knowledge Richard W. Deshon (2000) retrieved from: www.emich.edu/cerns/downloads/papers/PoliceStaff/
Ethics in the justice system is something that may have some harsh consequences if certain lines are crossed. Law enforcement is usually perceived to be ethically correct. With the recent history of officer involved shootings, we wonder how law enforcement really deals with ethics and morals daily. In the tutorial we reviewed, the situation that the second officer is put in is a tough one because of how many decisions he has to make in order to get the best outcome. If he was to use a deontological approach, he would most likely confront his partner and ask why he had to disregard the policies that have been put in place. The partner might get upset but he may also realize the mistakes he made may cost him to lose that case or face disciplinary
Ethics is defined as rules of behavior based on ideas about what is morally good and bad by the Merriam Webster Dictionary. D. H Lawrence once said, “Ethics and equity and the principles of justice do not change with the calendar.” (Worth, 33). This quote means that one’s ethical values remain the same, no matter what changes around them. When asked to interview someone in the Criminal Justice field, a Police officer came to mind. Within law enforcement ethics plays a major role. Law enforcement officer are expected to be ethical. Meaning they should be responsible, impartial, trustworthy, honest, and honorable. I had the opportunity to interview Mrs. Glenda Sacaza. As a family friends, she was person that I enjoyed learn about law enforcement
Introduction It seems that of expert witnesses in common law courts have always the more Influence and dependence in the court to help the justice to find the truth and give each one his/her right, but some time it has been unfair for some people. Reading the comments of lawyers and judges, it is easy that expert witnesses are intruders who disrupt the truth. The expert is one of the people who will be invited to the court to participate in the case and he will be questioned with many questions by the judge to share his knowledge and experience to find out the truth in a clear picture and the court expecting from the expert to play a large role in the case. Also sometime the expert can be called other expertise to participate with his opinion to resolve issues or disagree in other issues in the court. To be an expert
Police decisions can affect life, liberty, and property, and as guardians of the interests of the public, police must maintain high standards of integrity. Police discretion concerning how to act in a given situation can often lead to ethical misconduct (Banks 29).