Ethical Dilemmas & Decisions, Ch.6

Question 0

entrapment

Answer 0

when an otherwise innocent person commits an illegal act because of police encouragement or enticement

Question 1

informants

Answer 1

civilians who are used to obtain information about criminal activity and/or participate in it so evidence can be obtained for an arrest

Question 2

Dirty Harry problem

Answer 2

the question whether police should use immoral means to reach a desired moral end

Question 3

3 questions concerning racial profiling

Answer 3

• What is the most effective method to identify criminals?
• What is the officer’s legal duty?
• What are the civil rights of the individual?

Question 4

racial profiling

Answer 4

when a police officer uses a ‘profile’ as reasonable suspicion to stop a driver, primarily to request consent of search

Question 5

‘accepted’ lies

Answer 5

lies used in undercover investigations

Question 6

‘tolerated’ lies

Answer 6

lying about selective enforcement

Question 7

‘deviant’ lies

Answer 7

lies used in court to make a case or cover up wrongdoing

Question 8

[South] ethical issues with informants

Answer 8

• building a close relationship with an informant
• overestimating information
• becoming an instrument of the informant
• creating crimes by allowing the informant to entrap others
• engaging in unethical/illegal activity with informant
• allowing the informant to invade personal life
• using coercion/intimidation to get informant’s cooperation

Question 9

[Skolwick & Leo] typology of deceptive interrogation techniques

Answer 9

• referring to questioning as interview
• mumbling Miranda warning
• misrepresenting nature of offense (leaving out victim’s death)
• using manipulative appeals to conscience
• misrepresenting moral severity of offense (victim ‘deserved’ it)
• promising lesser or no prosecution
• misrepresenting identity (posing as a lawyer or priest)
• using fabricated evidence

Question 10

[Worden & Catlin] psychological traits of police officers who use excessive force

Answer 10

• lack of empathy
• antisocial/paranoid tendencies
• proclivity for abusive behavior
• inability to learn from experience
• tendency to not take responsibility for their actions
• cynicism
• strong identification with police subculture