¶ … Police Use 'Fake News' in Sting Aimed at California Gang," ABC news reporter Melley (2016) describes a recent and unusual tactic used by Santa Monica Police Chief Ralph Martin. The story details how Police Chief Martin issued a press release that was picked up by the Santa Monica Sun. The press release said that two gang members had been arrested. It later turned out the press release was false, issued by the Police Chief in order to entrap other members of the gang. Investigators later deemed the fake press release legal, even if it does raise serious ethical issues about the behavior of the Chief of Police. "There was nothing illegal about what police did, but it could raise questions about the department's future credibility," said one journalism professor interviewed for the story (Melley, 2016). Harming the credibility of the police could in itself be considered a significant ethical violation on the part of the Department's chief -- its leader and its representative as interface between law enforcement and the community. In an era in which trust between citizens and law enforcement has already become dangerously eroded, this act does continue to undermine police credibility. The reasoning behind the action was, according to the chief, to serve in a sting operation. Sting operations "routinely use ruses to lure deadbeat parents, traffic-fine...
However, police codes of ethics mandate that police "protect the innocent against deception," (Grant, 2002, p. 11). If a person is innocent until proven guilty, then the use of deception is patently unethical, especially from an officer in a position of leadership. Deceiving the general public and the media is also unethical, because, as one newspaper spokesperson said, the Chief of Police "used a public system paid for with public dollars to present false information to the public," (Melley, 2016). The role of the media in this case is multifaceted and varied. The police used the media to accomplish their self-serving goals, showing great disrespect of the media on the part of law enforcement. The ends do not always justify the means; there were other ways to catch the gang members. However, the police chief defends his own actions using a utilitarian framework: if the consequences worked out, then the ends do justify the means. In response, the media…
By comparison, more proactive, crime-focused, or zero tolerance policing strategies make discretion more difficult to control administratively for several reasons. Specifically, proactive officers generally function more autonomously in choosing where to initiate police action; consequently, they are involved in much higher proportions of serious criminal matters, requiring many more spontaneous opportunities to exercise discretion. As a general rule, proactive police officers engaged in crime prevention-focused administrative strategies encounter more dangerous situations and
The middle of the decade of the 1980's was witness to the creation of the Technology Assessment Program Information Center and the Technology Program Advisory Agency. Their functions were as follows: Technology Assessment Program Information Center: Picked up laboratories for testing equipment, supervised the testing process, published reports concerning the results that the lab released after testing. Technology Program Advisory Agency: This was a large advisory body of senior local and federal
Law Enforcement Khalid (2012) describes one incident in the ongoing conflict between American law enforcement and minority communities. Recently, the FBI hired an informant to pose as a Muslim in order to spy on the Iowan Muslim community in search of terrorist ties. The imposter went to mosque and forged ties with local Muslims. When the espionage was exposed, the Muslim community public expressed utter betrayal, according to Khalid (2012). In
Law Enforcement Responses on Terrorism Law Enforcement on Terrorism The paper covers the topic, Law Enforcement Responses on Terrorism. It creates the understanding of Terrorism and the impact on the society, as well as the threats it poses to law enforcement agents. The paper identifies various tactics that law enforcement officials employ in order to deal with terrorist activities, for example, the use of technology such as GIS (Geographical information systems). The
Law Enforcement and Hiring Laws Types of Policing Community policing primarily consists of law enforcement through police patrol and presence. Problem oriented policing is very similar to community policing, except that instead of merely patrols actions are directed to address a specific problem. A problem oriented policing response is exemplified by increased patrols at problem traffic intersections or enforcement of pedestrian crossing from speeding traffic. Problem oriented policing is noted to have
Law enforcement and corrections can be influenced by several external threats. These consist of external communication gaps and many environmental influences. One of the key external threats that impacts both corrections and law enforcement is politics. In delineation, politics is the art of wielding one's authority and power over the government or public affairs. In particular, political action can give rise to the imposition of one's interests within the government,
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now