PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT AND

ETHICAL STANDARDS
 CATEGORIES OF ETHICAL THEORIES

1. Normative Theory- Describe not only what ought to

be done, but also why things Should be done that in some
instances may appear counterintuitive to what is considered
as an ethical decision would be. Such a theory is often
called an ethical system because it provides a system that
allows people to determine ethical actions that individuals
should take.
 CATEGORIES OF ETHICAL THEORIES

2. Meta-ethics Theory- This theory does not address

how a person should behave; rather, meta-ethics is related
more to the study of the ethical theory itself. Here the
interest is For example, moral relativism is a meta-ethical In
evaluating moral and ethical theories and systems. theory
because it interprets discussions around ethics;
 CATEGORIES OF ETHICAL THEORIES

a question asked within moral relativism is "is ethics

culturally relative?" It is further defines as "a
discipline that investigates the meaning of ethical
systems and whether they are relative or are
universal, and are self-constructed or are Independent
of human creation."
 CATEGORIES OF ETHICAL THEORIES

3. Applied Ethics Theory- It describes the application of

normative theories to specific issues, usually related to work or
belonging to an organization; for example, policies and procedures
of organizations of ethical codes of mafia versus ethical codes of
police officers. Applied ethics is defined as "theories of ethics
concerned with the application of normative ethics to particular
ethical issues." An example is knowing and practicing the Philippine
National Police Ethical Standards as a police officer.
 Types of Normative Ethical Theory

With the overview of the three categories of ethical

theories, the Normative Ethical Theory will be further
analyzed.
1. Utilitarian Ethics- is a normative ethical system
that is primarily concerned with the consequences of
ethical decisions; therefore, it can be described as a
teleological theory or consequentialist theory, which
are essentially the same thing, both having a notion
that the consequence of the act is the most important
determinant of the act being moral or not.
Teleological reasoning takes into consideration that
the ethical decision is dependent upon the
consequences ("ends") of the actions. In teleological
reasoning, a person will do the right thing if the
consequences of his or her actions are good.
Additionally, if an action by a person was an act that
was “not good, but the consequences turned out to be
"good, under some theories of teleological reasoning,
the act may be deemed a good ethical act.
As a result, of the consequentialist nature of
utilitarianism, the means to get to the ethical decision
("end" are secondary: the result is that which must be
considered before determining the morality of the
decision
 Importance of Utilitarian Theory in Law
Enforcement Moral Dilemmas
Law enforcement officers possess a great deal of discretion
that must be exercised by all officers of every rank,
regardless of their experience. When exercising this
discretion, officers will be confronted daily with Issues that
are complex, and may not be covered in the agency's policy
and most certainly would not have been covered in their
formal education or police academy or other training.
 Importance of Utilitarian Theory in Law
Enforcement Moral Dilemmas
Law enforcement officers also are required to make exigent
decisions, without the ability to consult with senior officers
or policy and procedures. In some instances, when
confronted with decisions, officers may want to rely on
utilitarianism to make an ethical decision that is defensible
when scrutinized in the future.
2. Deontology- Probably the most complex of all the
ethical systems is the deontological theory.

The word deontology comes from the Greek word

deon, meaning "obligation" or "duty." It is an ethical
system primarily concerned with one's duty.
The notion of duty is important to law enforcement
officers who are bound by law to perform their duty.
A duty is something that is required to be executed,
regardless of whether the police officer wants or not.
The duty may have a personal or professional
negative consequence attached to it, but as it is a
requirement or obligation, it is absolute and
imperative.
 Importance of Deontological Theory in Law
Enforcement Moral Dilemmas
Law enforcement officers are required at times to fulfill
their duty no matter what the personal costs. When
confronted with a duty that they may not want to perform,
the officers should consider that they agreed to perform
duties when they swore their oath.
 Importance of Deontological Theory in Law
Enforcement Moral Dilemmas
These duties must be performed by someone, and when this
duty falls to them, they must do their duty. For example, a
Highway Patrol Group officer who does not want to issue a
citation ticket to a person who introduced himself as another
police officer must consider his duty and the oath that he
took when he joined the Philippine National Police.
 Importance of Deontological Theory in Law
Enforcement Moral Dilemmas
The caveat to duty is that the duty must be done in good
faith; that is, the task should not be performed if the officer
is aware that there is a lack of morality in the duty. It is
often said among experienced police officers, "you are paid
not for what you do, but for what you might have to do."
This maxim refers to the dangerous duty that you may not
want to do, but are paid to do, and ought to do.
3. Virtue Ethics
Virtue ethics has its historical background in ancient Greece
and was primarily developed by Aristotle. For law
enforcement, the major foundation in virtue ethics is the
idea that if you are a good person, you will do good things,
and to be good, you must do well. In essence, you do not do
good things because of an analysis of the result or of an
equation to decide how many people to help versus harm.
Instead, you do the right thing or good thing, because of
your good character as demonstrated throughout your life.
3. Virtue Ethics
Therefore, the good act is an automatic response requiring
little thought. However, when faced with complex ethical
dilemmas, the person who has demonstrated a life of good
character will show good character, using temperance and
intellect.
 Importance of Virtue Ethics Assist in Law
Enforcement Moral Dilemmas
Law enforcement agencies place a great emphasis
on the good behavior of their officers. One way to ensure a
strong likelihood of good behavior is to
hire those who have a moral character that reflects
the values of the organization. In clearly identifying
these characteristics, agencies are likely to attract those who
also identify with these characteristics.
 Importance of Virtue Ethics Assist in Law
Enforcement Moral Dilemmas

1. Virtue ethics, at its core, is also simplistic, having two

tenets that are important for law enforcement. There is no
need to measure consequences or the morality of the action,
simply, the task is to be good and do good acts. It officers
are good, they will act in a virtuous manner.
 Importance of Virtue Ethics Assist in Law
Enforcement Moral Dilemmas
2. There is a need to practice virtue. By practicing being
virtuous, you will become virtuous in difficult situations
automatically. Given this view, it is critical for Law
enforcement agencies to ensure that applicants wanting to
join the agency have practiced being virtuous to the point
where it has become a habit. Applicants who have practiced
the virtues listed above will be officers who demonstrate
those virtues by habit.
4. Ethics of Care-
Also known as feminist ethics, ethics of care is primarily
concerned with caring for others. This has evolved from the
need to care for those who cannot care for themselves, such
as infants. It is a system that assists your relations with other
people and thereby strengthens how you positively interact
with people.
The concept of ethics of care is consistent with many peace-
keeping and peace- making roles within law enforcement.
Officers routinely find themselves refereeing non-assault
domestic and civil arguments while attempting to bring a
peaceful resolution to the conflict. Ethics of care is, at times,
an important perspective for law enforcement officers when
they see a person in need and decide to perform an act of
care or kindness.
Officers who perform a caring act are, according to ethics of
care, acting out of compassion rather from a sense of duty; it
is within this context that ethics of care can be a reminder to
law enforcement officers that often an ethical solution may
be to make peace through consensus and understanding,
rather than resolve issues formally through charges.
Ethics of care also supports the notion that issues should be
resolved with compassion while building human
relationships. In this way, a person should strive to build
relationships with the community or individuals. With
individuals, the building of rapport is critical to providing
compassion to those in crisis and need.
 Importance of Ethics of Care Theory in Law
Enforcement Moral Dilemmas

Building rapport with members of the community is an

important aspect of community policing. This enables
officers to identify issues and to deal with them with
compassion. For example, an officer who builds rapport
with tricycle drivers may become aware of people wha are
involved in illegal drugs.
 Importance of Ethics of Care Theory in Law
Enforcement Moral Dilemmas

It is with compassion that the officer will be pushed to

action to resolve this issue. Or an officer who is called to a
convenience store to arrest a mentally ill street person who
is stealing food may, instead of arresting the suspect, find an
alternative route, such as connecting the person with a social
service agency, or arranging for a social worker to help the
person find a home.
 Importance of Ethics of Care Theory in Law
Enforcement Moral Dilemmas

Law enforcement officers should attempt, where possible, to

address such issues with compassion and respect for all the
parties involved.
5. Egoism

Unlike other theories that prescribe how you ought to

behave, egoism is a descriptive principle that does not tell
you necessarily how you ought to behave, but rather why
you behave the way you do. It infers that the person who
acts in an egotistical manner does so because it is natural to
act in this way, and therefore it is a moral action unto itself.
According to the tenets of egoism, the core reason that
someone does any action is self-serving by bringing
happiness or some other benefit to him-or herself. If
someone performs an action that appears to be altruistic, the
action was likely performed to give the actor gratification in
some way. This may come in many forms; for example in
the form of positive media attention, or just feeling good
about oneself.
 Importance of Egoism in Law Enforcement in Moral
Dilemmas

Egoism does not suggest that police officers should act in

their self-interest; certainly, this would not be appropriate
for law enforcement personnel. Where egoism may help is
to better understand why people do things that may appear
selfish. This may help them develop empathy for the
suspects that appear to be selfish and allow them to better
understand that their actions are driven by egoism,
 Importance of Egoism in Law Enforcement in Moral
Dilemmas

Egoism may also assist them in understanding the motives

of others, allowing them to look at these motives with more
skeptically than we would otherwise. Egoism can also
provide explanations of misconduct among law enforcement
officers. Officers who abuse the trust placed on them by
society and abuse their authority could be said to be acting
in an egoistic state.
6.Religion or Divine Command Theory

Religion is often considered the most widely used. system to

make ethical decisions and to conduct moral reasoning.
Throughout the world, people rely on a variety of religions
to help them determine the most ethical action to take.
While divine command theory is widely used throughout the
world, there are differences: the application of the theory
may differ from religion to religion, and it may differ within
each religion.
6.Religion or Divine Command Theory

One of the basic tenets for divine command theory is to use

God as the source for all principles. In this way, to rely upon
divine command theory, a person must believe that there is a
willful and rational god that has provided the direction
toward an ethical outcome. It is from God's commands that
actions are determined to be right or wrong. and, because of
this, divine command theory provides an objective
assessment of what is ethical or moral.
6.Religion or Divine Command Theory

However, there is ambiguity in the way in which some

scripture is interpreted.
 Importance of Divine Command Theory in Law
Enforcement Moral Dilemmas

Generally, for officers who believe in God, a source of comfort may

be present when facing death or other traumatic events that
nonbelievers may not experience. Officers dealing with death may
find comfort in the belief that those who die may be in a better place
that their soul is eternal and that death may mean that the soul goes
to heaven. Believing that death is not the end, but a new beginning
may help officers who practice religion deal with pain and suffering.
 Importance of Divine Command Theory in Law
Enforcement Moral Dilemmas
Officers are routinely involved in circumstances in which situations
appear to be unfair and where innocent bystanders are victimized
with tragic outcomes. Officers who believe in God are also able to
look at these situations and find comfort in the belief that God has a
plan for everyone, even those who have been unfairly victimized.
These officers can draw strength from their belief that the random
victimization wasn't so random, and that God was acting in a way
that, while hard to explain, is planned for some reason only known to
God.
 Importance of Divine Command Theory in Law
Enforcement Moral Dilemmas
Specifically, divine command theory can offer officers a written
prescribed direction to morality. Officers who are faced with a
situation in which their values clash with society may fall back on
divine command theory for direction in grey areas. An officer who is
surrounded with unethical activity by officers, other criminal justice
workers, and people on the street may be able to withstand pressure
to join in the immoral practice with the belief that God commands
moral behavior toward everyone and prohibits such things as theft
through Corruption,
 Importance of Divine Command Theory in Law
Enforcement Moral Dilemmas

Officers could also use divine command theory to reaffirm in their

minds what is right, even when the Criminal Code or other
legislation is unclear on a particular issue. By officers asking
themselves what would God command or prohibit, they may be able
to make a decision that they can justify
 Importance of Divine Command Theory in Law
Enforcement Moral Dilemmas

Finally, officers who believe that God is always good would,

therefore, believe that all of God's commands and prohibitions are
good. By interpreting scripture, following the directions of religious
authority, or making individual interpretations of God's command
and prohibitions, officers are therefore able to do good,
understanding that ultimately it is God's commands that they follow,
and therefore their actions are good.
7.Natural Law

Natural law was espoused by Saint Thomas Aquinas, who viewed the
world as being created by God and understood that humans are
rational beings capable of using their intellect to comprehend the
world. By extension, God enabled humans to reason naturally to
make ethical choices. Aquinas viewed the first principle of natural
law as. "good is to be done and promoted, and evil is to be avoided."
Simply put, natural law asserts that what is good is natural, and what
is natural is good.
 Importance of Natural In Law Enforcement in
Moral Dilemmas
Natural law can reaffirm in officers the importance of
their job, that being to preserve their own life part of
the human species, Officers could be reminded that
property is not as important as life and that their sole
function should be public safety, rather than the
protection of property, which is one of the common
law duties of police officers.
Importance of Natural In Law Law Enforcement
in Moral Dilemmas

Officers could also use natural law as a reminder of

the importance to preserve their own lives when
confronted with dangerous situations, and that is
natural to want to protect oneself.
8. Social Contract Theory

Social contract theory is another descriptive theory

about society and the relationship between rules and
laws, and why society needs them. Accordingly, a
society without rules and laws to govern actions
would be a dreadful place to live, In such a state,
people would act on their own accord, without any
responsibility to their community.
 Importance of Social Contract Theory in Law
Enforcement in Moral Dilemmas

While social contract theory does not tell people how

they ought to behave, it does provide a basis to
understand why society has implemented rules,
regulations, and laws. If not for the social contract
theory; our understanding of the need for these rules
would be limited.
 Importance of Social Contract Theory in Law
Enforcement in Moral Dilemmas
Specifically for law enforcement, social contract theory is
important to justify the power that law enforcement can
exert over the population as a whole. The power imbalance,
held by law enforcement, is part of the contract that society
has agreed upon in exchange for security. Where the
contract can be problematic is when the power used by law
enforcement exceeds what is expected by the society under
the contract.
9. Rawls' Theory of Justice
John Rawls (1921-2002) was a contemporary philosopher
who studied theories surrounding Justice. His theories are
not focused on helping Individuals cope with ethical
dilemmas; rather they address general concepts that
consider how the criminal justice system ought to behave
and function in a liberal democracy. It is for this reason that
it important that all law enforcement personnel be aware of
Rawls' theories of justice or at least have a general
understanding of the major concepts that he puts forth.
9. Rawls' Theory of Justice

1. Each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive

basic liberty compatible with a similar liberty for others.

2. Social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that

they are both (a) reasonablyexpected to be to everyone's
advantage (b) attached to positions and offices open to all.
9. Rawls' Theory of Justice

These principles should be adhered to, according to Rawls, to

ensure that disadvantages are neutralized and everyone receives
the same benefits of justice. Rawls further addresses ethics in
the individual, though this is not the central tenet of his theory,
and is somewhat of a general statement of how moral people
should behave.
 MODERN ETHICAL ISSUES IN LAW
ENFORCEMENT

Five modern ethical Issues in law enforcement involve

the officer's off-duty life, upholding the law and your
rights, using necessary force, and acting impartially.
 MODERN ETHICAL ISSUES IN LAW
ENFORCEMENT
Off-Duty Life
Police officers are held to an extremely high standard
that requires their personal lives to reflect the integrity of
their position. They must maintain a professional image
at all times because they are under constant public
scrutiny and rely on the public's trust to maintain their
power position.
 MODERN ETHICAL ISSUES IN LAW
ENFORCEMENT
Off-Duty Life
While most jobs end when the individual clocks out,
policeman are faced with the ethical issues of
maintaining their level of social respect and adherence to
the law every moment. This often puts them in direct
conflict with society, especially those that have little
respect for the law or the badge.
 MODERN ETHICAL ISSUES IN LAW
ENFORCEMENT
Upholding the Law and the Citizen's Rights
Each officer swears an oath to uphold the law and to
defend an individual's constitutional rights. One of the
ethical issues that an officer faces daily is the ability to
uphold these baths when they are seemingly
contradictory.
 MODERN ETHICAL ISSUES IN LAW
ENFORCEMENT
Upholding the Law and the Citizen's Rights
One of the biggest contradictions can be found in the present government
drug wars, which force police officers to act in the best interest of the
state rather than the individual. When someone is caught using or
peddling illegal drugs, they could be arrested or shot to death because
they are "nan laban" to the arresting police officers. A cop, sometimes,
cannot consider the right to life and liberty issues because they are under
instruction to put an end to drug menace at all costs.
 MODERN ETHICAL ISSUES IN LAW
ENFORCEMENT
Necessary Force
All police officers have the authority to use necessary
force to uphold the law, but in some cases their use of
force is unjustified. This ethical issue cops face each day
can, and does, put their lives in danger when dealing
with those Individuals that are non-compliant.
 MODERN ETHICAL ISSUES IN LAW
ENFORCEMENT
Necessary Force
In the majority of cases, an officer must make a split-second decision on
what level of force is necessary, and a misjudgment could result in injury
or death for the officer. Research about obedience to authority proved
that a person's perception of losing his freedoms would provoke him to
react and officers can easily be coerced in high-stress environments to
use unnecessary force.
 MODERN ETHICAL ISSUES IN LAW
ENFORCEMENT
Acting Impartially
One of the ethical issues officers are faced with is the
requirement to act impartially. This idealistic type of oath
causes a host of problems in real-world situations. It's not
always possible to act impartially, especially for local officers
that handle the same crowds of people throughout their career.
 MODERN ETHICAL ISSUES IN LAW
ENFORCEMENT
Acting Impartially
A real world example of this would be an officer that knows
where the drug lords houses are but has no court- acceptable
evidence to pursue the case. The officer is expected to follow
law enforcement ethics, but he is also limited in his authority to
uphold the law by following certain procedures. He therefore
Sometimes resort to unethical ways to arrest the drug lords.
THANK YOU
AND
GOD BLESS
To be Continued….

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