The criminal justice system often is examined using political, organizational, or sociological approaches [or lenses] (Pollock, 2010). Asking [simply] whether something is legal [or illegal]…is not necessarily the same question as asking whether something is right [or wrong] (Pollock, 2010). The term “ethics” or “ethical” refers to something “being in accordance with the accepted principles of right and wrong that govern the conduct of a profession.” In the case of police officers, use of discretion, or a lack thereof, in the application of force has direct ethical consequences to which the objectivity of the police officer on scene is subjugated by the subjectivity of a review board after the fact. Actors at every stage in the justice process
…show more content…
Ethical formalism defines the ethical or moral character of an act through logic rather than through content. An officer’s determination that force may be necessary is a logical determination based upon a cause/effect scale, and usually relies on circumstance, condition, training, discretion and necessity. While this ethical perspective is considered an absolutist system, meaning that if something is wrong, it is wrong all the time (Pollock, 2010), this does not establish fact in that if something is right, then it is right all the time. Use of force by law enforcement, in the conduct of their duties, is discretionary, and based upon this element, through the ethical formalist lens, the determination of right and wrong are not concrete, and subject to variables which at times establish that the act is right and at other times establish that the act is …show more content…
They [legislators] criminalize behavior usually because it threatens public safety but sometimes [they] also employ moral definitions for deciding which behaviors should be [deemed] legal and which should be [deemed] illegal [at times under subjective standards, while at other times under objective standards] (Pollock, 2010). “Protection of public morality” is the rationale for a number of laws, including those involving drugs, gambling, and prostitution (Pollock, 2010). This perspective of utilitarianism is an ethical mentalist theory which holds that the right or proper course of action is one which maximizes the overall good of society as a whole. Under such a form of consequentialism, this utilitarianist lens establishes that the moral worth of an act or an action is determined by its result or outcome. Police officers, who enforce the laws created by legislators, have a great deal of discretionary power (Pollock, 2010). For instance, they have: 1.) the power to deprive people of their liberty (through arrest); 2.) the power to decide which individuals to investigate and perhaps target for undercover operations, and; 3.) the power to issue a ticket or provide “mercy” and let a driver off with a warning (Pollock, 2010). Most importantly, police officers are imparted with an ability, under policy, to use force when necessary. The use of force is a mitigating
Ethical formalism defines the ethical or moral character of an act through logic rather than through content. An officer’s determination that force may be necessary is a logical determination based upon a cause/effect scale, and usually relies on circumstance, condition, training, discretion and necessity. While this ethical perspective is considered an absolutist system, meaning that if something is wrong, it is wrong all the time (Pollock, 2010), this does not establish fact in that if something is right, then it is right all the time. Use of force by law enforcement, in the conduct of their duties, is discretionary, and based upon this element, through the ethical formalist lens, the determination of right and wrong are not concrete, and subject to variables which at times establish that the act is right and at other times establish that the act is …show more content…
They [legislators] criminalize behavior usually because it threatens public safety but sometimes [they] also employ moral definitions for deciding which behaviors should be [deemed] legal and which should be [deemed] illegal [at times under subjective standards, while at other times under objective standards] (Pollock, 2010). “Protection of public morality” is the rationale for a number of laws, including those involving drugs, gambling, and prostitution (Pollock, 2010). This perspective of utilitarianism is an ethical mentalist theory which holds that the right or proper course of action is one which maximizes the overall good of society as a whole. Under such a form of consequentialism, this utilitarianist lens establishes that the moral worth of an act or an action is determined by its result or outcome. Police officers, who enforce the laws created by legislators, have a great deal of discretionary power (Pollock, 2010). For instance, they have: 1.) the power to deprive people of their liberty (through arrest); 2.) the power to decide which individuals to investigate and perhaps target for undercover operations, and; 3.) the power to issue a ticket or provide “mercy” and let a driver off with a warning (Pollock, 2010). Most importantly, police officers are imparted with an ability, under policy, to use force when necessary. The use of force is a mitigating