Term Paper on "Law Enforcement Is a Different Occupation"

Term Paper 7 pages (2482 words) Sources: 4 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

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.

Within legal bounds, a police officer is the only entity that has the legal authority to respond to a situation with violence and openly carry and use (if necessary) firearms.

Does this power and authority cause officers to operate outside the law? Joseph Wambaugh, the novelist and former police detective in the Los Angeles Police Department wrote the "Choirboys." (Wambaugh, 1975) This work of quasi-fiction provided a lay person with an in depth looks into the goings on within a police department. The reader of this novel undoubtedly leaves the narrative feeling that police officers engage in almost-criminal activity that the rest of us would never be able to get away with. Police officers believe that they belong to an exclusive fraternity, a wall that very few can breach. The Internal Affairs Bureau (IAB) that oversees police behavior is called the rat-squad. This essay will explore the various issues that police have to face while enforcing the law. This essay will show that the dividing line between what constitutes strictly legal behavior and what is not harmful (if not legal) and is cloaked in utilitarianism. This essay will also explore the gradual decline for a police officer into criminal behavior.

Ethical Dilemmas faced in Law enforcement

As mentioned in the introduction, ethical issues are different in law enforcement, because the lines between strictly legal behavior and a pragmatic decision are blurred; they can make a difference between life and death for the officer and the person (or people) with whom the officer is interacting. Breach of ethics for a police officer is clear and distinct when there is open malfeasance. But in many instances, unethical behavior does not come from misconduct. In approaching the process of training an officer and the practice of law enforcement, ethical dilemmas arise if the following instances.

Discretion

We often hear the word, discretion; as in, "I'm leaving it up to your discretion." The person who uses discretion is allowed a choice. (Higgins, 2000) in law enforcement, this is not an easy choice. If an officer is offered a bribe to look the other way or allow criminal conduct, this is not an issue for discretion. But certainly, a non-violent offence that border on being a misdemeanor might be forgiven. In one episode of the television program, Cops, an officer asks a woman he has just pulled over for speeding to raise her right hand and repeat after him that she promised she would not drive over the speed limit again. This was a situation that the police officer diffused rather easily with humor. The girl who was caught speeding probably learned a valuable lesson for the rest of her life and also saved her self a hefty fine.

One might aver that the law required the police officer to give this offender a parking ticket, but he chose not to. A superior officer might frown at this behavior, but from a utilitarian standpoint, the officer did what felt right and the outcome was the best for all concerned. To use the analogy of the program, Cops, if a police officer had relented when a woman offered sexual favors to get out of speeding ticket, this would not be a case of discretion, but a criminal offence for soliciting on the part of the woman and pandering on the part of the officer. The incident involving the woman speeder, whom the officer let go was an example of the dilemma of Strict Legality

There are other sub-characterizations for discretion..For example, if a youth squeegees windshields at traffic lights in exchange for change, to a large number of people he is causing a nuisance. But if the officer finds out that this is the only way this youth can earn a living, he might use his discretion to not arrest the youth for vagrancy and put him a juvenile detention center, where he would be exposed to youth who were violent offenders. This issue comes under Dire Circumstances.

There are instances when even if the teleological imperative of utilitarianism takes root, the police officer is not sure what the best recourse is. These instances occur when the police officer is called upon to play the role of a social worker and finds that there is No one Clear Course of action that will be satisfactory.

In other cases, the officer is called upon to use his (or her) powers of distraction when Wrongdoing on the part of a police officer is involved. This is a particularly difficult situation, because the officer risks being ostracized by other members of the force if he does his legal duty, or endears himself to his officer cohort, but is aware that he's actions included abetting the officer who was in the wrong.

Duty

The issue of duty also has no clear cut demarcations. This is not much different from the duties the average citizen faces. While enforcing what is legally enforceable is straightforward, and depends on discretion, duty involves a utilitarian approach. Once again, we can use an example from the Choirboys. The least likable character in the novel (and the movie) is a bully of an officer named Roscoe Rules. He and his partner are called to deal with a lady who is threatening suicide. What this situation called for is a psychological expert who might use the right combination of promises and cajoling to talk the woman of the ledge. But Roscoe Rules' approach was to demean the woman and ask her to jump, which she does, and falls to her death. This is an instance where Roscoe Rules would not be penalized for his behavior because it was outside legal purview (since he did not physically push her over the ledge). But one might aver that it was his duty to calm her down and help her.

The same expectation of duty does not arise for citizens. This was explored in the last episode of the popular sitcom "Seinfeld." Seinfeld and his friends are stuck in a small town in Pennsylvania waiting for their chartered plane to be repaired. They see an obese man being mugged. While some might consider it their duty to help out or call for the police, they choose to do nothing and go on to make fun of the man's obesity. The result is that they are charged with a breaking a fictitious law called "The Good Samaritan Law."

One of the dilemmas faced by officers in the course of being dutiful is Copping Out. One example for this would be if an officer finds him (or her) self in a situation that is not criminal, but has the possibility to turn criminal, the officer does not have legal standing to act, but will use the power of his office to instill a sense of order and prevent a situation from escalating. Copping out could also involve an officer being legally justified but derelict in his duties.

Honesty

Honesty for most of us would be a natural: be truthful, show integrity and do not acquire what does not belong to you. But there is a teleological perspective and some gray areas to honesty too. In this case, teleology might be counter-indicative to honesty. Bribery is considered a felony. And when someone offers an officer a bribe to look the other way, certainly there's no question but to reject the offer and threaten the person offering the bribe. But from a utilitarian perspective (the greatest good for the most people), one must consider what would happen if during a search of a drug dealer's belongings, officers come across a large sum of money. The drug dealer will have no standing to complain because he might have to explain unpleasant questions as to how he came about a large sum of money. This issue of honesty is Self Enrichment. A police officer might aver that taking the money does society a favor because that money would be used in the procurement of drugs and guns, and society could ill-afford neither the drug business nor the itinerant violence. And ethical issue arises even if the it is a small sum of money.

Alternatively, if officers respond… READ MORE

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