Philosophical and Practical Approaches to Ethical Dilemmas in Law

This essay explores the philosophical and practical approaches to balancing complex issues in law enforcement, including individual rights versus public protection, reward and punishment in criminal justice, and the use of immoral means for desirable ends. It examines deontological and utilitari...Read More

Running Head: ASSIGNMENT 3 1
Philosophical and Practical Approach for Balancing Issues
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ASSIGNMENT 3 2
Individual Human rights and the Society’s Security
The job of law enforcement officers is a very challenging one. Being responsible of
law enforcement and order implies that you are always under huge pressure to observe the set
standards and operating procedure, prompt decision making and influence from personal
judgement on the cause of action to take in every occasion. It is challenging for an officer to
safeguard the rights of a single individual at the expense of the larger public due to multiple
conflicting interest and rights. Moreover, in order to ensure that they perform the job in a
responsible manner, it is essential to have a philosophy together with a practical approach
that facilitates the accomplishment of balance between issues.
In order to strike a balance between individual rights and public protection, the
deontological approach, which is premised on the philosophy that the actions instead of the
reactions or consequences are what determine ethicality of an issue (Andrews, Bonta, &
Wormith, 2011). The deontological approach focuses on the actions instead of reactions and
thus is able to reduce the harm done. For instance, during a mass demonstration, there are
huge crowds of people, some of whom might have negative intentions. In such situations, it
would be appropriate to restrict the public from engaging in the protest altogether. This might
be interpreted as denying people the right to assemble and confront the government and
discourage such kind of activities to cause more harm.
Using Reward and Penalty in Criminal Justice
One of the major responsibilities of the criminal justice system is transforming
individuals who have been convicted of various criminal offences. In order to accomplish the
reform agenda, correctional systems apply a series of reward programs as well as punishment
systems that discourage continuous negative conduct and encourage positive behavior. This is
usually known as “carrot and stick approach” The utilitarianism ethical theory posits that
everything that brings happiness to the majority is ethical, while rights and duties theories,

ASSIGNMENT 3 3
justice, consider fairness and achievement of justice as what should be considered ethical.
Punishment, negative reinforcement, is a form of discouraging undesirable behavior, while a
reward, positive reinforcement, encourages positive behavior (Berenji, Chou, & D'Orsogna,
2014). The utilitarianism theory applied in the context of legal systems for punishment and
reward will facilitate the accomplishment of balance in this issue. A law enforcement official
will use a method that derives maximum benefits to the majority, while at the same time
using the methods delineated in law to promote the reform of convicted individuals. For
instance, in a correctional facility, the isolation units act as a punitive measure of offenses.
Placing an individual involved in violent behaviors in these isolation cells is a punishment
that is aimed at discouraging such kind of bad behaviors and is within the set standards of
punishing inmates (Schön, 2017).Moreover, it would be of great benefit to the other convicts
as well as the correctional officer.
The practice of immoral techniques to Achieve Desired Ends
Not everything that is legal is moral, and not that is immoral is illegal. Within the
process of carrying out their day to day duties, law enforcement officers are in some instance
compelled to do whatever they can in an effort to accomplish a greater good (Yemini,2014).
For instance, it may be appropriate to lie to suspects in order to make sure that an
investigation is completed. Moreover, they can pay for information which is equivalent to
bribing witnesses and could be perceived as immoral.
A consequentialism approach focused on determining the ethicality of an issue will
enable a law enforcement official to strike a balance between philosophical and practicality in
this case. Under this concept, “the end justifies the means.” Therefore it is possible for an
officer of the law to use an immoral approach if the same facilitates the accomplishment of a
greater good (Yemini, 2014). For instance, Guantanamo Bay holding for suspected terrorists
and the allegations of the correction center using enhanced interrogation methods to achieve a

ASSIGNMENT 3 4
greater good. Terrorists cause death and destruction of property. If the use of enhanced
methods in interrogations will facilitate the extraction of information from suspected
terrorists, then it is ethically appropriate to do that, which can further be justified by the
utilitarianism ethical theories. The outcome of such a process is a source of happiness for the
majority. By using enhanced interrogation methods, law enforcement officials are able to
avert the loss of human life and destruction of property caused by terrorist activity (Bush, &
Dodson, 2014).
Ethics of Care and Conciliatory Criminology
Officers of the law have a responsibility, an obligation to foster public safety by using
any means available. However, despite have the leeway to individually determine how they
can enforce laws, police officers’ first moral, ethical and legal responsibility is to use
nonviolent means in enforcing the law. The ethics of care and peacemaking is found on these
principles (Wellington, 2015). A police officer has a duty to first use amicable approaches in
addressing issues and only resort to violent or other means when amicable solutions fail.
Moreover, with the increased need to include the society through community policing
initiatives, it has become imperative for law enforcement officials to use amicable methods
that foster good relationships with the community, as the society perceives police officers as
humane if they adopt and use the ethics of care and peacemaking as the guiding ethical and
moral principles. Further, in instances where suspects are violent such as shooting at the
police, responding in kind could also be considered as acting under these principles.

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References
Andrews, D. A., Bonta, J., & Wormith, J. S. (2011). The risk-need-responsivity (RNR)
model: Does adding the good lives model contribute to effective crime prevention?
Criminal Justice and Behavior, 38(7), 735-755.
Berenji, B., Chou, T., & D'Orsogna, M. R. (2014). Recidivism and rehabilitation of criminal
offenders: A carrot and stick evolutionary game. PloS one, 9(1), e85531
Bush, M. D., & Dodson, K. D. (2014). Police Officers as Peace Officers: A Philosophical
and Theoretical Examination of Policing from a Peacemaking Approach. Journal of
Theoretical & Philosophical Criminology, 6(3).
Schön, D. A. (2017). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action.
Routledge.
Wellington, J. (2015). Educational research: Contemporary issues and practical approaches.
Bloomsbury Publishing
Yemini, M. (2014). Conflictual Moralities, Ethical Torture: Revisiting the Problem of “Dirty
Hands”. Ethical theory and moral practice, 17(1), 163-180.