CASE STUDY ON ETHICAL ISSUES - Term Paper Example

He is seen to be making decisions that may put the police in question, but such actions often led to successful gathering of evidence against drug traffickers. In this case, the general ethical dilemma is choosing to behave ethically in the police force and lose evidence or behave unethically in order to gather evidence. The police usually face a lot of dilemmas, and if they do not have the courage to face such dilemmas and make quick decisions, their efforts may not be fruitful. The ethical codes of the police usually go beyond their individual moral values (Sharps, 2010).

The police need to develop an appropriate mechanism of apprehending criminals and obtaining evidence to be used in court while at the same time adhering to the police code of conduct. Some of the ethical issues that pose ethical dilemma to the police include: seduction and entrapment, deception, and issues related to selective enforcement, privacy and discretion. In order to identify and overcome ethical dilemmas, there are certain steps that need to be taken. First, it is important to understand the issues raised by the situation.

Secondly, it is important to identify the ethical principle that is being violated in the situation. The third step is to identify the steps that need to be taken in order to correct the situation. Lastly, the police should identify what they could have done in order to avoid the situation. When discharging their duties, police officers should avoid ethical dilemmas by performing their primary responsibility which is to act an official government representative trusted to work according to the law.

Ethically, police officers are required to perform their duties without favor or ill will. They should not discriminate people in terms of status, sex, religion, political inclination or aspiration while serving them. The police should also treat people equally with a lot of consideration and dignity. Furthermore, officers should not let