Ethics in Law Enforcement Essay
One similarity between ethics and the rule of law are their origins. Even before we have conceptualized what is considered as a written law, or even coined the term ethics, our ancestors have always known the idea of mores or laws which are the very foundation of what is right or what is wrong. Nevertheless, these mores are not exactly enforced or are just about for certain members of the society, even if people knew that doing do is not right.
An example of this could be slavery. For hundreds if not thousands of years, slavery is deemed acceptable and also practiced in most parts of the world. This idea is even inscribed in written laws, saying that slavery and forced work is mandatory for individuals who are considered slaves, but not for royalties. In those times, the concept of being unethical and law enforcement is not exactly questioned by mores (right not to die) – since our ancestors have not yet recovered it in their subconscious – and thus are both considered as enforced by law and ethical.
However, as time goes by and the intellectual machine of millions and millions of tinkers and scholars who have tapped into the subconscious have combined together to questions these other beliefs, the convergence of the rule of law, ethics, and mores have been inevitable. What this means is that today, what is considered a basic right (more: the right to live) is also enforced by the law and consequently, what is deemed ethical (by following it). In line with this, many people today believe that the statements contained in our rule of law are also what is considered as ethical for everybody and the continued existence of society. However, just as any system established by humans, even the rule of law has its own lapses and one of them is the process of law enforcement.
As seen in the news that circulates mass media today, there are cases where law enforcers such as policemen and military have undermined the rights of individuals and have violated these people while in service. In most of these cases, the conflict that happened is due to differences in races, religions, beliefs, or even gender. These puts forward the question of how ethical is law enforcement today, since at times, fulfilling these duties almost equates to doing things which fall outside what is ethical. Nevertheless, what is amusing is how flexible and adaptive law is in addressing these issues.
Ever since the beginning of time, our laws have adjusted to accommodate everyone and anyone as well as everything that humans should be concerned about. And, because of the recent commotions and distress about the events which are considered unethical, this flexibility has translated to additional laws and regulations which have been added so that law enforcers could not simply circumvent them and rationalize their unethical doings. An example of this law added states that any violence done to anyone, which is unnecessary and which is tied to reasons that include racial differences is punishable by dismissal from office as well as imprisonment. Based on this what is apparent is that as we grow and continue our existence here on this planet, the systems that we’ve made are now becoming more and more similar to the mores that existed above of us.
So, today, these mores depicted above, are what is considered as ethical, and therefore both the rule of law and law enforcement must strive to replicate them in order to be considered as so. And hopefully, time will finally come when both the rule of law and its enforcement become completely similar as the mores for which they are based on.
