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Ethical Decisions and Dilemmas in Criminal Justice, 7th edition

I. The Police Role A. The “crime fighter role” and Packer’s crime control model 1. Repressing crime is the most important job 2. If law enforcement fails, the result is a breakdown of order 3. Criminal process is the positive guarantor of social freedom 4. Efficiency is a top priority 5. Emphasis is on speed and finality 6. Conveyor belt serves as a model for the system 7. There is a presumption of guilt when dealing with a suspect - goal- successfully prosecuting suspects B. The “public servant” role 1. Criminals are not a separate group from the rest of society 2. Focus is order maintenance, not crime control 3. Police act as public servants: “public” includes criminals 4. This perception implies a very restrictive view of the use of force and power -emphasizes due process 5. Packer’s due process model: a. There is a possibility of error b. Finality is not a priority c. Emphasis is on prevention of mistakes d. Efficiency is rejected if it involves shortcuts e. Protection of the process is as important as protection of citizens f. The state’s coercive power is always subject to abuse C. History of policing: Public servant to crime fighter 1. Early police: a. Involved in social service activities b. Active in social control and employed utilitarian violence c. Graft and other corruption was commonplace - force served those in power 2. Professional movement a. Began in the 1920’s b. Loyalty shifted from bosses to the law c. Social services role diminished, police detached from community

- began training requirements 3. Community policing a. Relatively recent movement b. Involves fostering closer relationship with community c. Goal is to solve underlying problems that lead to disorder and crime d. Initially, widespread resistance to the move back toward “social work” - work together with community 4. Future of policing a. 9/11 spurred a retrenchment instricter “crime fighting” b. Community policing may no longer be dominant guiding philosophy -emphasis on security 1st II. Power and Discretion -min amount of force to have safe and secure society A. Authority: when one’s role produces an entitlement to be obeyed B. Power: the means to achieve domination C. Persuasion: overcoming resistance by using words, symbols, etc D. Force: physical power used to overcome another’s will E. Social contract: a. Citizens agree to relinquish certain rights in return for protection b. Police power should be limited to the minimum needed c. Police ethics are linked to the purpose F. Discretion: the authority to choose between two or more courses of action G. Duty: the responsibilities that are attached to a certain role H. Police utilize discretion daily: a. Police do not arrest or cite in every case where they have the right to b. Decisions influenced by location, suspect behavior, seriousness of the offense, whether a citizen initiated a call for service I. Wilson, Muir, Brown present typologies to explain use of discretion III. Formal Ethics for Police Officers A. Having a code of ethics is part of the definition of a profession B. Codes of ethics for police have at least four major themes:

1. Fairness: all should be treated equally 2. Service: police exist to serve the community 3. Primacy of the law: even their own behavior must be lawful 4. Personal conduct: involves a high standard of professional behavior IV. The Police Subculture A. Scheingold: Extreme nature of police subculture due to: 1. Police typically form a homogenous social group 2. They have a uniquely stressful work environment 3. They participate in a basically closed social system B. Themes and value systems 1. Police maintain stereotypes of the people they encounter 2. Sherman: common themes in the police culture: a. Loyalty to other police is essential b. The public, in general, is the enemy c. Police consider identities of victim and offender when using discretion d. Use of force is supported e. Due process is seen as a barrier to doing the job f. Crime control duties are given priority over social service duties C. An informal “Cop Code” is imparted to new officers through socialization D. Police culture and “noble cause” 1. “Noble Cause” justifies unethical behavior if the end result is desirable 2. Examples: lying on the witness stand, planting evidence 3. Fueled by a belief that it is sometimes necessary, when offender is guilty - less evident that in past thanks to increased diversity among the front-line ranks, threat of lawsuit, and better relationships between officers and administrators (some of which was brought about by the unions) E. Police culture and the blue curtain of secrecy 1. Simply defined: “don’t give up another cop” 2. Quinn: good officers are brought into cover-ups due to the nature of policing 3. Study: 61% of cops say officers do not always report even

serious violations 4. Egoistic and utilitarian reasons exist for participating in a cover-up 5. Egoistic and utilitarian reasons also exist for coming forward 6. Perception of crime fighter or public servant can influence decision 7. Life-and-death nature of the job requires uncalculating loyalty 8. Detachment from community also can lead to strong police loyalty - less evident than in past thanks to increased diversity among the front-line ranks, threat of lawsuit, and better relationships between officers and administrators (some of which was brought about by the unions) F. Police culture today 1. Increased diversity of recruits has eliminated homogeneity 2. Unions have formalized relationships between officers and administration 3. Civil litigation has increased the risk of covering for another officer V. Crime Fighter and Public Servant? A. Police take their cue from the community they serve B. New York’s “zero tolerance” is an example of strict “crime control” model 1. Crime dropped sharply 2. Citizen complaints against police rose sharply C. Code of ethics stresses “public servant” but informal code favors “crime fighter”

CHAPTER SIX OUTLINE: I. Challenges Related to Discretion A. Most police officers’ ethical dilemmas come from their powers of discretion B. Police moral dilemmas are frequent, usually complex, and dealt with alone

C. Elements that lead to dilemmas: discrimination, investigative practices, use of force D. Ethical dilemmas should be resolved by considering: 1. What does the law require? 2. What does policy require? 3. What does individual ethical system require? II. Discretion and Discrimination A. Individual prejudices and views of groups can influence decisionMaking Ex: attitudes toward women, gays, ethnic groups B. The police occupational culture reinforces prejudicial views C. Discrimination can result in enforcing the law differentially or withholding services D. Minority groups perceive law enforcement as fundamentally Racist - can be because of more interactions with police 1. Lower-class African Americans have more negative interactions with police 2. Middle-class African Americans indicate more of a negative attitude toward police than lower-class bl a c kswe r es t opp e d1. 5t i me sa sof t e na st he i rpo p ul a t i o n p e r c e nt a g ewou l dha v ei ndi c a t e d -b l a c ko ffic e r swe r ej us t a sl i k e l ya swhi t eoffic e r st os t op b l a c ksi ndi s p r o por t i ona t enu mb e r s E. Study: suspect’s demeanor (attitude/ state of mind) is strongest influence on police use of force, disrespect F. Study: blacks no more likely to receive disrespect, but 1.5 times as likely to be stopped G. Racial profiling: controversial technique with legal and ethical Issues - Pretext stop- the use of a minor traffic offense to justify stopping an individuals with the expectation that a subsequent search or investigation on the scene will reveal evidence of criminal activity - Utilitarian allows if it led to successful crime solving - Ethical formalism disagrees because individuals are being used as means to an end o Not everyone would agree to being treated this way

III. Discretion and Criminal Investigations A. Proactive investigations – initiating an investigation rather than responding to a crime 1. Often involves undercover work and informants 2. Often involves deception: placebos (best interest of the person being lied to) ex: t e l l i ngt hene xtofki no famur de rv i c t i mt ha tt he v i c t i mdi dn ’ ts u ffe r “blue,” (substitute for use of force) ex: can be used to get the suspect to come to the station tolerated,( “necessary evils” ex: de c e pt i ont a c t i ci na ni nt e r r o g a t i o n ,a n dade vi a n tl i e i sones uc ha sp e r j ur yorfil i n gaf a l s ea ffid a v i t deviant lies accepted lied (serving a legitimate purpose) ex: undercover operation 3. Central questions: who is the target, and why? 4. Some operations create opportunities for crime; this is an ethical issue - reactive investigations occurs after the crime has occurs and the police are seeking the perpetrator B. Informants 1. Individuals who are not police officers but assist by providing information 2. Police must beware of possibility unethical conduct due to informant 3. Reliability of informant is often questionable C. Undercover officers 1. Ethical issue: may observe or participate in illegal acts to maintain cover 2. Legal issue: avoiding entrapment - encouraging or enticing the otherwise innocent person to commit an illegal act 3. Generally, the utilitarian view of ethics applies to undercover work as long as it is good to the public - deontological ethics do not support bad acts even if it is in pursuit to a good end 4. Cohen and Marx proposed test for ethical justification of police

deception D. Reactive investigations – crime has occurred and police are seeking the perpetrator 1. Prejudice can influence how evidence is interpreted 2. Concluding too early who is guilty can lead to “noble-cause” corruption E. Interrogation 1. Frequently involves the use of deception 2. Physical coercion no longer permissible but may still occur 3. Suspects often don’t understand rights and are prone to manipulation 4. Pursuing a resisting subject too far may result in a false confession 5. Utilitarianism would not approve of tactics that lead to false confession 6. Deontological ethics require the officer to behave lawfully in interrogation 7. Ethical formalism disapproves of tactics that betray the categorical imperative IV. Discretion and the Use of Force A. Review Klockars’ definitions of authority, power, persuasion, force (Ch. 5) B. Force is involved when one’s authority is challenged or persuasion is ineffective C. A small percentage of officers represents disproportionate amount of force incidents D. Suspect’s demeanor is factor most likely to lead to use of force E. Large disparity in citizen reports of force and “official” reports F. Highest rate of force use: Hispanic officers to Hispanic suspects G. “Culture of Force” similar throughout police organizations; some clearly more H. Excessive force used rarely; most often after vehicle pursuit I. Policy: “Continuum of force” or escalating force allows for escalating use of force in response to suspect

CHAPTER SEVEN OUTLINE:

I.

Scope of the Problem a. Public’s perception of the prevalence if police misconduct is justified A. Many city-level task forces investigating police corruption B. “Misconduct” goes beyond corruption and has not been extensively studied C. Public perception of corrupt police is widespread D. Transparency International charts worldwide police corruption

II. Types of Corruption A. Cohen’s definition of corruption B. Grass-eaters (passive deviance) EX: accepting a bribe or gratuity and Meat-eaters (shakedowns, other active deviance) C. Barker & Carter: abuse of authority can be physical, psychological, or legal D. Fyfe & Kane: police crime, police corruption, abuse of power E. Gratuities: items of value received because of one’s position 1. Arguments for acceptance of gratuities (build community relations, etc) 2. Ethical if gratuity is given without expectation of reciprocal future act 3. Not ethical if giver expects preferential treatment in return 4. Cons: duty can become complicated by personal relationship, etc 5. Gratuities may alter the pattern of police patrol, this is not “equal protection” 6. Professional ethics discourage gifts for those making discretionary judgments 7. Ethical formalism relates to gratuities; acceptance depends upon intentions 8. Utilitarian ethics: must weigh the benefits against the drawbacks 9. Ethics of virtue: considers gratuities in light of individual officers’ virtues F. Professional courtesy (preferential treatment for another officer) 1. Violates both utilitarian and deontological ethics 2. Minor courtesies can evolve into other forms of misconduct G. On-duty use of drugs and alcohol

1. Study: up to 20% of officers in one city used marijuana on duty 2. Some undercover officers become socialized into the drug culture 3. Alcohol use more acceptable but still brings problems H. Graft: the exploitation of one’s role by accepting bribes or protection money - ex: receiving a kickback after car being towed - second most serious officer offence (behind theft from a crime scene) I. Sexual misconduct: 1. Can range from non-valid traffic stops to sexual shakedowns and rape 2. Intra-department sexual harassment is also a common problem -70 percent of felmate cops report being sexually harassed by other officers J. Criminal cops: numerous examples in the chapter III. Explanations of Deviance A. Individual 1. Gender: some types of misconduct are more common among men or women 2. Age: younger officers more likely to be terminated during probation 3. Education: college-educated officers receive fewer citizen complaints 4. Race: blacks more likely to be terminated for misconduct 5. Prior experience: prior conduct (military, academy, etc) predicts future conduct 6. Social learning, deterrence, life course theories apply B. Institutional 1. Rapid hiring without adequate background checks 2. Lax supervision: “corruption continuum” shows administrative influence 3. Subcultural support for misconduct C. Systemic / societal

1. Desire to have police ignore certain laws 2. “Watchman” style of order maintenance leads to differential policing 3. “Legalistic” style of enforcing laws leads to tolerance of use of force IV. Reducing Police Corruption A. Individual methods 1. Improve screening 2. Better education and training 3. Integrity testing (similar to a “sting”) 4. Early-warning systems B. Institutional methods 1. Internal affairs model 2. Citizen review boards 3. Change the culture 4. Ethical leadership (“open” is better than “strict”) Malloy- increasing pay, eliminating unenforceable laws, utilizing civilian review boards, and improving training -administration changes Metz-setting realistic goals, providing ethical leadership, developing a written code of ethics and training in ethics, and establishing a whistle blowing procedure - administration changes...