Ethical Issues In Police Interrogation Techniques

If you have ever seen any of the many police dramas out on television then you have seen a police officer or detective employ questionable interrogation techniques at times. In the high stress environment of a police officer, the need to catch the perpetrator of a crime such as murder runs high. Officers often use a somewhat deceptive means of questioning when dealing with a criminal. For example, if two people are in custody and both face potential charges; the police will likely tell one that the other has already confessed in order to secure a confession. A murder charge is no different. With that said, which way should the officer go at this particular crossroads?

In my personal opinion, I don’t see anything wrong with an officer using a range of questioning techniques against a perpetrator. From an ethical standpoint however, I don’t see the way this would be an ethical decision in the case above. Under the guidance of formalism, it would not be a universal rule for officers to lie a little bit in the course of their duties. For example, an officer would not try and say an offender was going faster than they actually were when they get pulled over. In this case I have to cast my vote for formalism and its’ “All or Nothing” approach to ethics.

The War on Drugs

Specifically in this case, when it comes to information from an informant, officers involved have to be prudent with the way they use it. If an officer has information in his or her possession and is too careful, then an offender can get away with their crimes even though law enforcement has what they need. At the other end of the spectrum, if an officer is too carefree with the information it will be just as bad. With all of this said, there is not any means by which an officer can abuse confidential information and still be in the right