Police Ethics

Paper Summary:

This paper focuses on the various issues that police officers have to face while enforcing the law and in particularly, looks at the ethical issues law enforcers will encounter. The author explains that ethical issues are very much different for law enforcers as the lines between strictly legal behavior and a pragmatic decision are blurred. The author goes on to discuss discretion in law enforcement and explains how discretion is not always an easy choice and that it might mean different things from different standpoints. Several examples are given to illustrate the author's point. Additionally, the paper discusses the feeling of exclusivity that policemen have and their notion of looking after and out for each other. The author explains why this notion might cause ethical problems for some law enforcers and in closing examines how skirting ethical issues to resolve a problem expeditiously might set officers on a slippery slope to criminal behavior.

Outline:
Introduction
Ethical Dilemmas faced in Law enforcement
Discretion
Duty
Honesty
Loyalty
Gratuity
Ethical Issues
Bibliography

From the Paper:

"Law enforcement is a different occupation than most. A policeman who walks out of the door one morning faces a greater likelihood of not returning home, than people from most other professions. Policemen are first responders to scenes of accidents and crimes. They have to deal with the lowest society has to offer, by using their experience, training as well as their instinct. Officers present the face of the judicial system--a key arm of the government--to the general public. This is an onerous task. And along with it comes other responsibilities. One is to uphold the law strictly, or bring to bear one's utilitarian leanings in the solution of problems that the police officer encounters several times a day. A police officer, as a representative of the judicial system also feels a sense of power."

Sample of Sources Used:

• BusinessWeek. (2004). Who will Fastow Implicate. Retrieved April 22, 2008, from http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/jan2004/nf20040115_1433_db035.htm
• Gilmartin, K. M., & Harris, J. J. (1998). Law Enforement Ethics: The Continuum of Compromise. Police Chief Magazine Retrieved April 22, 2008, from http://www.rcmp-learning.org/docs/ecdd1222.htm
• Higgins, T. E. (2000). Making Good Decision: Value from Fit. American Pyshcologist, 55(11), 1217-1230.
• Miller, D. J. (2000). The Necessity of Principles in Virtue Ethics. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 2(2), 107.
• Swift, A., Houston, J., & Anderson, R. (1993). Cops, Hacks and the Greater Good. Paper presented at the Ethics of Criminal Justice, Kansas City, MO.

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