The Role of Ethics in Security of a Community - Essay Example

THE ROLE OF ETHICS IN SECURITY OF A COMMUNITY Student Name Institution Date Abstract Security is considered as one of the important ways of ensuring the protection of people against crimes. It is one of the basic requirements in every nation as people have rights to the provision of proper security services within their areas of residence. In several occasions, however, the security of a person can be threatened by a number of criminal activities that require the intervention of the government to assist. In provision of security to the local communities, the ethical codes of conduct must also be considered. This is mainly because the social norms and values of a given community define the policies guidelines of that community. Security, therefore, can only act as a means of protecting the people when it has proper ethical considerations that do not infringe the rights of individuals and communities at large. Introduction The concept of security is one important consideration in ensuring the well- being of a society as it promotes people's adherence to the set rules and regulations within a given place or region. Generally. Security refers to a state of protection against danger. The most valuable definition of security, however, was formulated by Wolfers, who viewed security as a value (Manunta, 1998). However, according to David Baldwin (1997), there is the need to specify security for the different values since individuals, states, and social actors have different values ranging from economic welfare to the physical protection of the individuals. Baldwin also argues that the concept of security is vague if it does not specify the referent object. The author recognizes the different individuals and states and the interdependency of their security and argues that the search for the referent objects of security must be in line with the necessary conditions. Ethics is primarily concern with the principles of the human behavior, social structures, policies and laws (Burke et al., 2014). In the field of ethical studies, justification of the moral judgments are made based on the ethical principles of theories with the aim of seizing the human moral instinct about what is right or wrong. The theories commonly used in ethical studies include the consequentialism and deontology theories. Consequentialism approaches, provide an assumption that the actions in questions are so bad that the outcomes are adverse. However, deontology, there is the realization that people have moral obligations regardless of the consequences of their actions. Ethical and moral principles form the legislative principles and is important in helping the individuals and institutions within a country not only in considering the legality of their actions but also their morality (Mizzoni, 2010). The aim of this paper is to investigate whether security is an ethical justification to protect the Australian community. Discussion Community refers to a group of people living within the same geographical area and having shared values and ethics. Different communities have different social structures which indicate the governance of the community. Social systems commonly involve the organization of social patterns in a community that defines the social order. It is, therefore, important that the security systems be enhanced to help in ensuring proper human behavior within the different social structures. Australia, as a nation values its citizens and their property hence the need for security guidelines to ensure these considerations. Security in Australia is upheld and controlled by the National Security System which is mandated with the protection and solidification of the sovereignty of the nation, protection of the property of the citizens, infrastructure and institutions, ensuring the safety and resilience of the population as well as ensuring a safe internal environment that promotes development of the nation. The existence of a national body that oversees that oversees the security issues in Australia faces many threats that interfere with its ability to properly deal with security issues. Among the security threats that Australia faces is the interference by foreign nations, terrorism, propagation of weapons of mass destruction, organized crime and instability within the underdeveloped states. All these threats serve as security risks for the Australian population. Human Behavior in Society Security threats within any community can be as a result of various problems within the community that favor a group of people while adversely affecting the other, hence causing inequality within the community. According to the sociological theory, the behavior of human beings is a true reflection of their values, norms, and consensus. The sociologic theory attempts to explain why human beings behave as they do. Security, therefore, becomes an important ethical consideration in the protection of the society against some violent human behavior that can result in the death of members of a given community or even destruction of property. One of the theoretical perspectives that have been put forward in attempting to explain the behavior of human beings within their different social structures is the functionalism theory. According to this theory, the social systems within a community are viewed as important in achieving the needs of the society. The theory suggests that different roles are supposed to be performed to ensure that the society functions properly and every member of the community is expected to perform their duties is expected to perform their duties according to the societal norms and values. According to the theory, the society has institutions that ensure that each member performs their duties. Another theoretical insight that explains the behavior of human beings within the society is the conflict theory. In many societies in the world today, there are numerous conflicts that result in the impairment of the societies. The conflict theory attempts to explain the different behavior of the people within the community (Johnson, 2008). It identifies the inequalities between the political bigwigs and the other people within the society as a major case of conflict. Conflict is, therefore, viewed as a promoter of the social, cultural, political, religious and economic interests of the society (Turner, 2006). Security threats in Australian Communities Australian citizens face various security threats just like any other states in the world. Social stratification as one of the security issue refers to the division of people into different groups based on their socioeconomic capabilities. In many instances, such social stratification results from political power with only a few people controlling the resources of the country. Social stratification results into such problems as the spread of diseases within a given group of people, increased infant mortality, increased cases of obesity due to the lack of proper dieting, emotional depression and high prison populations (Lambert, 2011, Mendes, 2007). Another major social security threat in Australia is terrorism. According to the Australian Government (2010), terrorism activities, which is another form of security threat are commonly planned and are selective. Australia has also suffered from the hands of terrorists, such as attacks thus the need to protect the citizens from such threats. Among the terrorist attacks that have dawned on Australia include the bombings in Sydney and Melbourne in 1982 and 1986 respectively and the other attacks on Australians both within and abroad since 2001. This puts Australian populations in danger and calls for the government interventions (Robyn, 2010). cybercrime is another security challenge in Australia. In many areas in Australia today, the production, sale, and distribution of malicious software is considered as a lucrative criminal business today. Owing to the lack of boundaries within the internet, it becomes difficult to distinguish between hackers, terrorists, industry spies and foreign intelligent spies. The difficulty in controlling cybercrime is also associated with the difficulty in determining the source of the different crimes. Cybercrimes affect industries, business people, the government and trickle down to the community. Another threat to the security of the Australian communities is the research conducted within the country by different organizations and individuals. Research, especially in medicine expose the study group to different security threats (Cola et al., 2006). Security of the participants of such research practices is important because it reduces chances of ridicule and stigma from the public. In many instances, certain research about people have resulted in suicides. Ways of Protecting Populations Jennifer welsh (2009) provides different ways of ensuring the protection of communities within different states. One such way of protecting the communities is through capacity building. Capacity building can be done through increased public participation in security matters, education, and training of the public. The security surveillance system of any country should be in such a way that it is able to detect the looming security threats to the people and provide warnings for the people to prepare adequately. For instance, the early detection of cyclones and warning of the people can help in reducing fatalities when the cyclone strikes. Furthermore, the protection of the communities can be achieved through involvement of the organizations within those regions and timely response strategies. Ethics and Security Security is considered as an important ethical tool in the protection of communities. In research, for example, security acts as a regulator of the activities of the researchers on the subjects, this way protecting the community from public scrutiny. Ethically, it is important that the participants of an interview for a research are aware of the research and the implications of their participation in the research. As a way of protecting its citizens, Australia has put in place many strategies of ensuring that research does not cause havoc in the community. Policies provide that the researchers must provide the subjects with prior informed consent indicating the requirements of the research. The decision to participate in the research should be left to the participants, and no coercions should be done (Quigley, 2008). This way security provides the communities with protection from the breach of their rights, an ethical consideration in the Australian community. Another reason why security is justified as an ethical way of protecting the communities is because it offers a means of protecting people, especially children from the exposure to illegal content and cyber grooming for the sake of sexual exploitation (In Lehto and In Neittaanmäki, 2015). Among the security policies provided by the Australian Government as a means of protecting its young people is cybercrime protection strategies. Ethically, the exposure of children to sexual videos and sexual exploitation is considered as ruining the morals of the children. Security helps in protecting the children against such practices by legally suing the perpetrator of such crimes, hence helping the children to develop in an upright manner. Cybercrime protection not only helps the youths within the nation but also the people engaged in online businesses, the government institutions as well as industries that are directly affected by computer crime issues. Another way in which security is considered as an ethical way of protecting the community is through the measures of countering terrorism. Terrorism is commonly sophisticated and very highly organized. Protection of the local communities against such attacks is an important security consideration. The mass killing of people does not conform to the social norms and values of the country hence the need for the protection of the community against such crimes. One of the ways through which security helps in the protection of the people in an ethical way is through community policing. Community policing involves the involvement of the communities in identifying security threats (Weber, 2014). This kind of community engagement important and ethical as it helps in developing mutual trust between the members of the society and the protective arm of the government. This way the community can be secure from criminal activities by surrendering criminals to the police. The protection of people against terrorism is also enabled through the arrest and prosecution of the individuals within the community that are involved in terrorism, thus ensuring that the lives and property of the people are protected. The security of a community is not only threatened by threatened by terror attacks or cybercrimes but also epidemics and natural catastrophes. (Ramraj, 2012). Among the societal values of the Australian community is ensuring the health of each citizen. The constitution also provides the members with the right to good health. In the event of epidemics, ethical security provision involves the quick response of the state or any other governing body to the situation to prevent the death of the people. In cases of emergency, the security agents provide both food and shelter to the people until the situation calms. In the events of natural catastrophes, protection of the communities involves evacuation of the people from the sites of perceived danger to the safer sites within the country. This provision of early warning systems helps in reducing the number of fatalities within the community. Conclusion From the above discussion, it is evident that security is a crucial tool in ensuring the protection of the community in an ethical manner without the breaching of the rights of the individuals. Ethics provide a basis for many policies that are used in the protection of the rights of individuals and the communities at large. It is, therefore, important that the security policies within any given country, are in line with the social norms and values of the people of that country to provide protection of the people in a manner that is acceptable to the society. References Australia. (2010). Counter-terrorism white paper: Securing Australia; protecting our community 2010. Canberra, A.C.T: Dept. of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Baldwin, D. A. (1997). The Concept of Security. British International Studies Association. Perth, Australia: EBook Library. Burke, A., Lee-Koo, K., & McDonald, M. (2014). Ethics and global security: A cosmopolitan approach. Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge Cola, P. A., Fedor, C. A., & Pierre, C. (2006). Responsible research: A guide for coordinators. London: Remedica. In Lehto, M., & In Neittaanmäki, P. (2015). 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