Police Ethics-Chapter 10, Judgment Calls Flashcards
“A good referee should try to be invisible whenever possible. He shouldn’t control or even be a part of the game, if it isn’t absolutely necessary. He should just let’em play football.”
John Madden, football coach
perhaps the most cogent truism about police work is that its is all about
common sense
Aside from when laws conflict, sometimes they are vague and therefore difficult to understand.
Vagueness
A basic principle of what scholars label the ___ is that for a criminal statute to carry moral authority it must be specific. It must be understandable by the average person.
morality of law
By being written in a way that encompasses too large a number of citizens, laws can be thus criticized.
overbreadth
___penal codes sections are considered to be catch-alls. They provide the police with too much power
overly broad
Police like to have an edge or leverage when dealing with citizens
lever
The Chicago Ani-gang statue
1990s, city council of Chicago passed an ordiance making it a crime for three or more people to stand in the street with no apparent purpose. On grounds that it was “vague and overly broad” and gave unlimited discretion to police, US Supreme Crt declared the ordinance unconstitutional.
a classical liberal , who gave us the idea of natural rights and limited government, is who
John Locke- said individuals should almost always be left alone to live their own lives without interference from state or government
a classical conservative, who led the opposition to Locke’s ideas in England 300 yrs ago, who said that people cannot be trusted with their own decisions.
Edmund Burke….he called for stronger government, tight laws and increased police powers.
John Stuart Mill famous essay suggesting a formula for how power belonged in whose hands.
On Liberty
Mill said the Individuals should only be amenable to society for that conduct which directly harms another
harm principle. important for officer to remember
harm principle is important because
provided a good yardstick for making judgement calls.
Crimes for which there are no specific, individual complainants
victimless crimes
The characteristics of victimless crimes
- consenting participants on both sides..prostitutes, johns, gambling partners
- ongoing demand for goods/services that are provided.
- significant amounts of official corruption due to high profits and absence of witnesses/complaining parties when officials interact with criminals.
who wrote the policemans art
Bruce Smith.
More than 50 yrs ago, a sociologist suggested that police work was something between a blue-collar type of trade and a white-collar profession
Jerome Skolnick
who was the first to talk about how the potential of violence colored the police perception of the street.
Skolnick
classical conservatism
school of thought that was created as a reaction to liberalism; suggested that people were greedy, self centered, and driven by evil impulses and thus they need to be controlled by powerful gov agencies
classical liberalism
school of thought created during the Age of Enlightenment; suggested that society’s political, economic, social and legal institutions be organized along the lines of a meritocracy, as opposed to the aristocratic tradition that proceeded it
ethical dilemma
situation wherein a choice must be made between competing coureses of action, eachof which is ehtically defensible.
habeas corpus
latin for “bring forth the body” (of evidenct); Anglo American legal principle that citizens must be charged wiht a specific crime or else let free
harm prinicple
by Mill, suggest that individual citizens is only amenable to society for that conduct which directly harms interests of others
John Locke
one of the fathers of Western or English liberalism; wrote on ideas of meritocracy, individual rights, equal opportunity and polictical organizations
morality of law
principle relating to the specific requirements that are endemic to any morally defensible legal system, such as the requirement to have publicized laws
overbreadth
legal concept having to do with laws that are not narrowly focused enough and give police to much power
Prohibition
attempts in US between 1920 and 1933 to prohibit the distillation, distribution and possession of alcohol. , led to the creation of organized crimes,due to the financial boon which illegal alcohol sale provided.
vagueness
legal concept having to do with laws that are not specific enough to be fair when administered on street
victimless crimes
crimes wherein no particular, individual citizen is victimized, such as drug use and sales, prostitution, gambling and poss of porn
Criminal ethicist who attempted to help the individual decision maker (police officers) with such ethical dilemmas.
Joycelyn Pollock, “Ethics in Crime and Justice”, 3rd edition.
Pollocks analytical steps to clarifying ethical dilemmas.
- review all facts- what is known
- identify all potential values of each party thats relevant- life,law, family and self preservation
- identify all possible moral issues for each party
- decide what is most immediate moral or ethical issue facing each individual
- resolve ethical dilemma. Make an ethical judgment based on appropriate ethical system (our ethic to live by) and supported by moral rules (one must follow the law)
