Free Ethics Essay Sample

Question 1

Emmanuel Kant is considered to be one of the pioneers of modern philosophy. His theories and concepts find a lot of applicability in human life. Kant is perhaps best known for his theories on ethics and morals. Most of this ethical theories have premise on both duty and moral standards (Neyroud & Beckley, 2001). According to Kant, every human being has the duty to exhibit good morals and behave as per the society’s expectations. Additionally, Kant ethical theories distinguish between what is good and what is wrong. According to Kant, individuals are endowed with the opportunity to make good choices that at the same time uphold moral standards. Another important component of Kant’s ethical theories is the concept of good will. This element is actually what guides’ individuals to make good or bad decisions.
These concepts from Kant’s ethical theories find great applicability in modern policing and can in fact be used to ensure that the police function in a better way and provide services of high quality to the society (Neyroud & Beckley, 2001). Generally, officers are accorded the duty of “protecting and serving”. When they are in the field, officers often have to make decisions on what is good and right and what is wrong and bad (Neyroud & Beckley, 2001). Kant’s ethical theories can be used to train officers on how make such decisions. Kant’s postulated that empirical observation are only able to deliver conclusions about things such as the relative advantages of good and moral behavior in particular circumstances or how such behavior might be pleasing to one’s eyes of the eyes of the public. Officers are constantly in the public eye and because of this, they must have good relationships with community members. If officers have good relationships with the community, this is reflected both in their actions out there in the field and also as how they portray or depict themselves. The members of the public should not fear the police, rather the police should ensure that the public perceives them positively. This will facilitate the building of cohesion and consequently contribute towards crime reduction and security enhancement. For this to take place, the police are required to have good will in their actions.
Finally, modern policing practices are significantly based on both honesty and respect. These moral values are once again underpinned by Kant’s ethical theories whereby Kant recommends strict adherence to for the common good of the society.
Therefore, Kant’s ethical theories find wide applicability in modern policing and if effectively utilized, they can elevate this discipline towards excellence.

Question 2

The criminal justice system has often been accused of violating ethical standards and behaviors and failing to put in measures to curb this. This has led to the establishment of various ethical standards that are meant to curb unethical behaviors (Neyroud & Beckley, 2001).
One of the ways through which this being done is by establishing an official code of ethics for every department or element of the criminal justice system. This code of ethics is supposed to guide every member’s behavior and failure to abide by this code can lead to harsh punishments. In fact, members of the criminal justice department are legally obliged to abide by the code, and they can be legally prosecuted in a court of law if they fail to abide by this code. This measure has greatly helped to eliminate unethical behavior in the system.
The oath of office that is normally taken by all members of the criminal justice system has also been refined to ensure that it contains several provisions for upholding, protecting and defending the constitution. In addition, the oath contains promises to conduct oneself in a sober, honest and honorable manner and to keep away from unethical behavior. Once again, when taking the oath of office, the members of the criminal justice system promise to conduct themselves ethically and violating the oath can also make one subject to legal prosecution and other punishments..

References

Neyroud, P., & Beckley, A. (2001). Policing, Ethics Human Rights. Routledge.