Personal Ethics And The Deontological Approach To Ethics

Ethics is a branch of philosophy that, at its core, seeks to understand and to determine how human actions are judged right or wrong. Those thought to be ethical are described in terms of their honesty, integrity and good character. For these reasons, personal ethics are said to be our foundation and, as such, often influence how we administer ethical codes of conduct in carrying out our organizational duties. While attempting to arrive at appropriate ethical decisions, it is helpful that police officers possess the capacity to exercise moral imagination. Moral imagination provides the ability to identify and assess alternatives and to effectively weigh the consequences when attempting to address issues that present ethical dilemmas.

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Principles, when constructed properly and followed, help to ensure equal treatment. It answers questions such as: procedural fairness, legality, due process, and value. However, one must consider where the principles come from to carry out these things. Some of these principles come from external laws and rules that govern how we conduct professional business and carry out our responsibilities. Having a strong set of individual principles matters; they make it easier for people to follow and uphold the laws and rules we are bound by in our professional lives.

The Teleology approach aims to produce the greatest happiness, good or pleasure for the greatest benefit of good over the evil consequences, for the greatest amount of people. Bentham’s “the ends justify the means” theory asserts that our actions are ethical as long as the benefit of the action outweighs the consequences, the fear of being caught and the subsequent punishment guides our behavior (Gortner, 2000) and actions. It considers the following questions: What are the consequences of my actions? What are the long-term effects? Do these long-term effects promote the greatest