answers to the following questions:
In Lecture Notes: Difficult Decision-Making, consider my decision to search
the residence for the fugitive. What is your opinion?
Do you conduct yourselves as if you are on video at all times? Have you done
things that you would not do in front of your grandmother? Why?
How do you feel about setting limits related to tolerable behavior?
Please read Philippians 2:3 – 8 and explain the leadership lesson.
Dilemma:
You are the assigned investigator in the abduction of a five year old girl.
Based off of your interrogation of the suspect, you believe that he is aware
of the girl’s whereabouts. To what lengths would you go to get the suspect
to reveal the location of the abducted child?
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Book CJUS350: CRIMINAL JUSTICE
featuring
Ethical Dilemmas and Decisions in Criminal Justice, 10th Edition
Joycelyn M. Pollock
Watch: It is Not Always Easy
I hope that we've set the stage thus far in talking about, yes, there's a right way to do things and there's
a wrong way to do things. Most of the decisions, unfortunately in our lives, will not be so easy. They will
not be black and white. They will not be go or stop. But somewhere in between. And it's going to require
us to analyze, to assess and make the best decision possible based on the information we have in hand.
Having moral courage to do the right thing. In the moment of adversity. How do we define integrity?
One of the best ways that I've ever heard integrity to find is we often hear of structural integrity. What's
the structural integrity of an airplane? The structural integrity of an airplane is calculated based on how
the airplane performs. Under pressure, atmospheric pressure, under difficult tough situations. That's no
different in my opinion than our own human or personal integrity. It's not how we do things when it's
easy. It's how we do things when the going gets tough. It's how we do things when we're challenged. It's
how we do things if we're sailing the ship in rough waters versus sailing the ship and calm waters with a
tail when our integrity as measured on the decisions we make and our actions when the going gets
tough. Oftentimes, officers and people in the criminal justice system look at what could be no, when
situations. On one hand, you could choose to stay loyal and be seen as a stand up cop. Continue to earn
the respect, the support, and loyalty of your colleagues. On the other hand, he could do what is right,
stand beside your moral and ethical values and run the distance. Understanding the risk of losing this
loyalty, acceptance, and support of your colleagues. One of the things that I've seen in talking about
ethics and making the right decision is the bill, the book and the candle, the bell, the book in the Candle.
Sounds strange, but it's actually really, really impressive. The bell, proud of making a decision, or their
bells going off. Are you getting these instinctive message? Is that something is wrong? Am I making the
right decision? The book? That's the law, policies, procedurals, manner manuals. Are you passing the
bell test? Is it passing the book test? And then what I think is most impressive is the candle test. That's
the public scrutiny by light of day, by light a candle. How will you be reviewed by public perception? Did
you do the right thing? Ladies and gentleman, too many people in leadership positions are leading by
the seat, relating by trying to impress upon people facts and beliefs that they don't believe in, that they
know that are not true. We end today's society must lead and must ensure that our actions are credible
or honest, or respectful or dignified, and being done in the interest of our criminal, that are our Christian
values and our ethics. Do you, as I've said before, live your lives as if you're being videotaped every day.
That doesn't mean we're going to lift perfect glass. We all know we're not perfect. We all know we're
going to make mistakes. We're going to sin. But the fact that we sin and we were pinned for our sands,
does that mean that we're not going to be held accountable to justice? And I think that's very important
for us to consider. And the ultimate test. Once you've made a decision, do you feel good about the
decision you made? You feel awkward or ill at ease about the decision you made. Me feel shaky about
the decision you made. And do I constantly look for waste, justify my decision? I have made so many
decisions where I am constantly trying to justify what I did when inevitably on though, that the decision I
made was not the correct decision. Many years ago, I was a swat team commander and we were
searching a neighborhood for three armed robbers who were last seen in the vicinity of this particular
neighborhood. I had a tactical team that was going door to door, asking if anybody had seen anything,
and then deciding which areas to cordon off to search. To be most strategic in the utilization of our
resources. We knocked on a particular door. A lady was there with her, two small children. She said she
hadn't seen anything, but she would really feel comfortable if we searched her house to ensure that the
fugitives were not there, add a decision to make. We had no reasonably they were there. We had
limited resources. But I had a lady that really wanted us to search are asked to give her peace of mind.
So when I elected to do which was a mistake, was I sent my team and to do a cursory search. We did so
and then we told her There's nobody here. We land. About one hour later, we receive the 911 call to
respond back to that house. We were still in the area looking for these three suspects. They were armed
with handguns who'd committed multiple robberies during the day. I'll never forget this as long as I live,
but we received a call to go back to the house. The dispatcher notified us that the woman was
whispering, that the fugitives were in her bedroom closet. We arrived at the house, we evacuated the
lady and her children. We went in and we apprehended the three arm suspects in her bedroom closet.
Now, going back to the decision I made to do a cursory search of our house. It was not a thorough
search. To thoroughly searched a resident's takes hours. We elected to do or I elected to have my
people do a cursory search, which resulted in us not finding three suspects who are in the bedroom
closet armed at the time when people were in the house, what ended up happening was she was folding
clothes and putting clothes back in the laundry when she saw a male boot protruding from behind some
hanging clothes. There were no males live in the house. You knew that was not our boots, She knew was
a suspect. We went in and apprehended them of that incident. The problem was is I gave her a false
sense of security that no one was in her home that could do home that could do her or would do our
bodily harm or her children. In retrospect, I probably would've not search the house at all, explaining to
her that we had unlimited resources. There was no reason to believe they're in the house and to move
on with our operation. That has weighed on me for many, many years, for 20 years. Actually. We need
to ensure that we are trying to make the best decisions we can. And then if we make a bad decision, we
learn from that. We don't belabor that, but we learn from that. And when taking this test, what I knew
that I went back and tried to justify in my mind over and over that the decision I made to do a cursory
walk-through search was the right decision. I cannot justify that. It's absolutely critical that as we move
forward in lives, that we look at the decisions we make, how we make those. And are we living our lives
as if we're on video camera all the time. If we do something and make a decision, how will that look on
the front page of the local newspaper tomorrow? If that not, would not look so favorably, then you're
going down the wrong path to make an incorrect decision. Thank you.
CJUS 350
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LECTURE NOTES: DIFFICULT DECISION-MAKING
No Win Situations
On one hand, you can choose to stay loyal and be seen as the stand up cop. You will continue to
earn the respect, support, and loyalty of your colleagues. On the other hand, you can do what is
right, stand beside your moral and ethical values, and run the distinct risk of losing this loyalty,
acceptance, and support of your colleagues.
Setting Limits
Some officers address the potential of ethical dilemmas by establishing limits and clearly stating
such limits to their colleagues. For example, an officer may tell his colleagues that he does not
condone excessive force. Therefore, if a colleague uses excessive force, this will be addressed.
On the other hand, an officer may not have a serious problem if a colleague uses profanity on the
job. If the citizen does not complain, then the officer will not say anything as this activity falls
within the limits of acceptable behavior for this officer.
The Principle of Benefit Maximization
This principle holds that when we are faced with a conflict concerning what we should do about
any moral dilemma, we should attempt to weigh the consequences of our decision. If we judge
that one particular decision is likely to lead to the greatest amount of good for the greatest
number of people, then this is the decision we should make. As the President of the United
States, would you authorize shooting down the hijacked commercial airliner?
The Principle of Equal Respect
As opposed to the Principle of Benefit Maximization, the Principle of Equal Respect suggests
that all people should be treated the same.
The Bell, The Book, The Candle
The Bell—prior to making a decision, are there any warning bells ringing.
The Book—laws, regulations, code of ethics, and other forms of written guidance.
The Candle—how our decision be perceived when subjected to the light of day (public
scrutiny).
CJUS 350
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The Imaginary Video Camera
The information technology world is ever growing. Are our actions caught on tape? Consider the
Rodney King incident. We never know when we will be the star of an amateur video. Therefore,
we must always conduct ourselves as if we are being taped.
The following story was relayed from a police officer’s personal experience:
“Earlier this year, I was involved in an arrest situation in which the suspect resisted arrest. We
subdued the suspect with the utilization of minimal force (the amount of force necessary to
subdue the suspect—NO MORE). After the incident, the suspect complained that we used
excessive force. An investigation was conducted concerning this allegation. The next day, I was
contacted by a citizen who video taped the entire incident on his cellular telephone. Is not
technology great?”
Critical Thinking
We should refrain from taking any idea or point of view at face value, that we should examine it
carefully before making a personal judgment about it.
The following story was relayed from a police officer’s personal experience:
“I was conducting an internal investigation recently in which the complainant stated an officer
was rude to her during a traffic stop. I knew this would be an easy complaint to investigate as our
patrol vehicles are equipped with digital video and audio. I researched the data base for this
incident, and to my dismay, the officer’s audio body mic did not capture the conversation
between the complainant and the officer. Did I engage in critical thinking? No, I took this bit of
information at face value. I immediately jumped to the conclusion that the officer had neglected
to activate the wireless body mic, which is in violation of our policies and procedures. However,
during my discussion with the involved officer, he assured me that he always activates the
system. Upon further investigation, I determined that this particular system was defective. Had I
engaged in critical thinking, I would not have automatically taken this information at face value
without looking at all possibilities. Lesson learned.”
1. Will we resist the temptation to jump to conclusions about issues?
2. Will we be prepared and able to think independently?
3. Will we have the courage to be prepared to subject our own views and ideas to scrutiny
by ourselves and others?
4. Will we refrain from accepting blindly any point of view or idea that is offered?
5. We can demonstrate skills of reasoning that would include the ability to honestly weigh
the evidence, to trust only reliable sources of information, to disregard hearsay or
unsubstantiated opinions, and to think logically about an issue.
The ultimate test:
CJUS 350
Page 3 of 3
1. Do I feel good about the decision I made?
2. Do I feel awkward or ill at ease about the decision I made?
3. Do I feel shaky about the decision I made?
4. Do I constantly look for ways to justify my decision?
The following story was relayed from a police officer’s personal experience:
“Recently we assisted another jurisdiction with a fugitive search. I came upon a residence where
a woman was at home with her 2 children. The fugitive, who had stolen 40 firearms in a
residential burglary, had been seen by another police officer running in the vicinity of this
residence. However, we did not have any knowledge, or belief, that the fugitive had entered this
dwelling. I spoke with the woman to see if she had observed the suspect. She stated she had not,
but her basement door had been left unlocked, and she asked us if we would search her home for
her peace of mind. I knew we had limited human resources for this operation, but I also wanted
to put this citizen’s mind at ease. Therefore, I directed additional personnel to search the
residence. We performed a very poor search in order to limit the time we spent “easing her
mind” as we did not have any reason to believe this fugitive would have entered a stranger’s
home to evade capture. After performing a cursory search of the residence at best, she thanked us
for checking, and we continued with our search efforts. Two hours later, this woman found the
fugitive hiding in her bedroom closet. Officers responded back to the residence and took the
fugitive into custody without incident. You may have seen this on the news. Yes, I am
responsible for failing to end this 2 hours earlier.”
Did I feel good about my decision to search the house? YES
Did I feel awkward or ill at ease about the decision I made? NO, not until I learned the fugitive
was actually in the residence the entire time.
Do I constantly look for ways to justify the poor / inadequate search? ABSOLUTELY! To this
day, I contemplate how horrible this could have ended. This desperate fugitive could have taken
this family hostage. I underestimated his will not to be apprehended. I still try to justify the
cursory search due to the fact that I did not have any reason to believe the fugitive entered this
residence. No matter how I try, I cannot justify my decision to have allowed us not to thoroughly
search this house. I have done a lot of soul searching but the bottom line is I failed.
Running head: CRIMINAL JUSTICE 1
Conduct Becoming
Name
Course
Tutor
Date
CRIMINAL JUSTICE 2
Conduct Becoming
Your decision to search the residence for the fugitive was ethical, given it was aimed at
benefiting the resident, who stated that she would feel more at ease if her house was searched.
However, it was negligent of you and the other officers to conduct a poor search given the fact
that the burglar had been seen heading in the direction of the house and the report by the resident
that her basement door had been left open. This called for a thorough search of every place that a
person could hide within the house. The poor search put the residents' lives at risk because you
failed to think critically about the situation before conducting the search.
I conduct myself as if I am in a video at all times because it is proper that I do the right
thing by respecting the law. Also, you never know when someone could be watching, so it is
vital for me to always ensure that I do what is right so that in case a video comes out, I will be on
the right side of the law. I have done things that I would not do in front of my grandmother
because there are things that she and I disagree on. There are significant ideological differences
between us, making her perception about things different from mine. For example, I would not
be able to use a gun in front of her because she believes that guns do not help solve problems.
Setting limits related to tolerable behaviour is necessary, especially in law enforcement,
to make sure that the police do not misuse their authority (Pollock, 2021). For example, while it
is tolerable to use force when a suspect resists arrest, this should be limited to ensure that the
police do not use unreasonable or excessive force on civilians. Setting limits helps ensure that
people are held accountable when they go beyond the set limit. I believe in setting limits to
behaviour that can be tolerated for the protection of law enforcement officers and civilians as
well.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE 3
Philippians 2:3 – 8 says, “ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in
humility, value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the
interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another have the same mindset as Christ
Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used
to his own advantage 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a
servant, being made in human likeness.8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled
himself.” This verse talks about servant leadership and not having selfish ambition but valuing
the needs of others over ourselves, just like Jesus was. The leadership lesson is that as leaders,
we should not misuse our position by pursuing selfish interests but lead in humility by serving
others, just like God did when he made man in his own likeness, and Jesus took the form of man
and even died on the cross for those that he was leading. Another significant lesson derived from
this verse is that leaders should treat their servants the way they expect to be treated and act as
their equals rather than having pride and ambition and seeing themselves as better than others.
If I believe that the suspect is aware of the whereabouts of a missing girl after
interrogating them, I will take necessary measures to ensure that he gives up the abducted child’s
location. However, I will not go to extreme lengths like using violence because it will be a
violation of the suspect’s Constitutional rights. I will critically examine the situation to establish
another approach to investigating to help find the girl. I will not do anything that is against the
limits set by the law because the consequences could cost me my career or even make things
worse. For instance, there is no guarantee that a person would disclose the information if they are
tortured. And using torture to interrogate a suspect is illegal. Therefore, if I use excess force, I
risk losing my job, not getting the information about the abducted girl’s location and facing legal
consequences.
