This essay is examining an ethical dilemma I may encounter as a Police Officer. The New Zealand Police (n.d.) have stated that the police officer’s main roles are to seek to prevent crime, advance public safety, find offenders, and uphold law and order. Due to the role of maintaining law and order, a Police Officer should not be rebelling against the law. This relates to the ethical dilemma I am researching; Whether or not a Police Officer should report illegal activity by friends or family. In this assignment, I will be analyzing both of the arguments this dilemma holds; what happens if I report the illegal activity, and what will happen if I do not report the illegal activity? in relation to virtue ethics.
By having ethics, an individual
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Eudaimonism holds an idea that any action is considered positive, as an individual’s aim of the action is to create a positive outcome (SEOP, 2012). For example, if an individual decides to quit smoking, they are creating a positive outcome as it will benefit their bodily health. The ethics of care can be defined as a theory that focuses on the interdependence of people (The ethics of international engagement & service-learning [EIESL], 2011). The term ethics of care can refer to the morality of making ethical decisions (Britannica, n.d.). The ethics of care relates to virtue ethics as caring is one of the many virtues that the theory values (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, n.d.). As the ethics of care relates to equity between male and female, it means a Police officer should not discriminate against gender as it is not ethically correct. Agent based and focused theories hold are divided in two. The agent focused theory believe that virtuous people have good personal morals opposed to the agent based theory which evaluates the causes of the ethical judgements an individual will make (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, …show more content…
Class A includes methamphetamine, magic mushrooms, cocaine, heroin and LSD (New Zealand Police, n.d.). Along with imprisonment from possession, an individual may also receive life imprisonment from supplying or manufacturing Class A drugs (New Zealand Police, n.d.). By reporting this offender, the police officer will have to deal with the guilt of ‘betraying’ a friend. Due to the drinking culture of New Zealand, it is very common for minors to drink alcohol at parties etc. If a police officer has a teenage child, they will be very likely to encounter their child very drunk, which is illegal when the child has no consent from the parent or legal guardian. If the police officer reports their child’s misconduct, the child will be punished by being given a fine (New Zealand Police, n.d.). These offences are illegal, and it is a Police Officers duty to report any illegal activity, which means the Police officer could get terminated of its duty if they fail to report any offense. If the police officer wants to report a crime, but does not want the offender to know they reported them, they can report via crimestoppers.com, as it is completely
Virtue ethics is an approach that “deemphasizes rules, consequences and particular acts and places the focus on the kind of person who is acting” (Garrett, 2005). A person’s character is the totality of his character traits. Our character traits can be goo...
Pollock, J. M. (2010). Ethical Dilemmas and Decisions in Criminal Justice Sixth Edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
The ethical theory I will rely on for my scenario is formalism. Considering that this is a public servant and that the main goal of formalism is to carry out obligation and duty, formalism is the theory that will apply. Adhering to this theory means you treat everyone, regardless of status or relationship, the same. It would also mean that you could not use one person as a means to an end (Albanese, 2012). Therefore, doing a favor for the mayor for personal gain, such as a promotion, is clearly not alright.
Each position in criminal justice holds power and responsibility, and therefore, it is very important that said people in those positions do not abuse it. Unethical behavior in the criminal justice system takes away trust and respect from authority, and as a consequence, the law is more easily disregarded if the people lack faith in the system. It can, also, contribute to crime and/or cause citizens to not report crimes. Society should have indubitable confidence in the men and women of the criminal justice system. Law enforcement officers violating even the smallest rule could lead to more serious infractions. Syed (1997) states, "Every instance of corruption bends or violates a rule or law and, similar to the granting of impunity, may contribute to an officer's perceptions of the law as applying differently to different people and increase the ease with which violations can be rationalized." Having less than ethical persons in our criminal justice system can lead to a weakened society, the ruining of lives, and even add to crime.
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.
As stated in the textbook, police often have to make decisions on their own, with only their moral compass to guide them. Most ethical dilemmas that police officers face derive from their powers of discretion. Moral dilemmas that police officers face are often frequent and unavoidable. They are often unpopular with many people, resolved quickly, and are often dealt with alone.
Police officers often encounter situations where the decision to use discretion challenges the way and the type of job that officers would normally conduct. Each day an officer is on the job, discretion when it comes to job duties appears, sometimes without any warning. Officers constantly struggle with the appearance of discretion, and often times do not know how to handle the situation when it does appear. Discretion may take many different forms in the job duties, but it always involves the officer letting a crime “slide,” rather than questioning every suspicious person. Letting a crime “slide,” for certain offenders, is of great concern for the administrators of police departments, because there is potential for ethical issues to surface later on. This essay will examine police discretion, factors that influence discretion, whether exercising discretion is appropriate, and the concerns that administrators have when it comes to police using discretion in the field.
"Proper use of discretion is probably the most important measure of a police officer or department." -- Rich Kinsey (retired police detective)
Police ethics are extremely important because ethics are the typical of “fair and honest conduct” (pg 460). People may have a different definition of what is fair and what is honest, and there are different circumstances where officers may not be able to be honest; such as covert investigations. Society in general determines what our ethical standards and moral principles are. Individual morals vary among all of us as they are what we as an individual consider to be right or wrong. We also have morals that are set by society. These are what we as a society consider to be right or wrong and may go hand in hand with individual morals. Morals change as society and people change, therefore we as a country have to adapt to what the changing morals are.
In a correctional setting, if the correctional officer gets complacent or decides to do the bare minimum work then an array of things can happen. With the case of the of a union work slowdown due to budget cuts and likely layoffs it can produce many ethical dilemmas. A correctional officer has duties “referring to those actions that an individual must perform to be considered moral.” (Pollock, 2016) This will also bring up ethical formalism which tells the officer to do your duty, but when there are conflicting duties it does not help. This is because you have to choose between a work slowdown and doing what you know is morally correct. When a correctional officer does not complete their duties then this would bring up an ethical dilemma. Due to these factors of a work slowdown by correctional staff it can affect many different groups of people, and not just officers. This work slowdown could also affect administration as well as the inmate population. If there are fewer officers due to budget cuts, then the safety of the inmates could be in jeopardy if there are less officers, or if they are doing the bare minimum work. It could also result in a cut in the
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,
The important question every officer should ask themselves is if the method used to resolve a problem or the outcome more important to them. This is an ethical dilemma that tests every officer because of their influence on society — both the legal and anarchic. How an officer deals with a predicament says whic...
Virginia Held brings up many criticisms of traditional ethical theories in her essay. The ethics of care can be considered as a suitable substitution for other widely accepted ethical theories such as Kantian ethics. The ethics of care recognizes the importance of interpersonal relationships, especially those within the family unit. All people need care at some point during their life, be it at birth or old age. Caring for people that can not provide sufficient care for themselves is a fundamental part of a moral society. Ethical theories based on the importance of a rational and independent individual excludes the importance of interpersonal reliance.
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 play a huge role in a police officers line of work. Since police are given such a high degree of trust and authority, it can unfortunately be very easy for an officer to fall into some unethical behavior. This can range from just minor acts that are frowned upon, to actual downright illegal activity. Even though there are a countless number of acts and behaviors that can be considered unethical, in the following paper I will focus primarily on those incidents involving police officers who steal for their own personal gain, and discuss my position on the issue.