JIBC Law Enforcement Applied Ethics 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An officer discovers that a family member is involved in criminal activity. The ethical response is to:
- Handle it personally to protect the family
- Ignore it to avoid a conflict of interest
- Recuse themselves and report through appropriate channels (Correct answer)
- Warn the family member without taking official action
Correct answer: Recuse themselves and report through appropriate channels
Officers must apply the law impartially; recusal and reporting ensures integrity without personal compromise.
Question 2: The 'slippery slope' theory in police ethics warns that:
- Minor ethical violations tend to escalate into serious misconduct over time (Correct answer)
- Officers on slopes and uneven terrain are more likely to use excessive force
- Corruption always begins at the supervisory level
- One incident of misconduct automatically ends a career
Correct answer: Minor ethical violations tend to escalate into serious misconduct over time
Small ethical compromises normalize rule-breaking, making larger violations easier to rationalize over time.
Question 3: When exercising discretion, officers are expected to base decisions primarily on:
- Personal moral beliefs about the crime
- Community pressure and public opinion
- Objective facts, law, and departmental policy (Correct answer)
- The suspect's criminal history alone
Correct answer: Objective facts, law, and departmental policy
Discretion must be guided by facts and policy rather than personal bias or external pressure to ensure consistency and fairness.
Question 4: Which ethical framework judges an action's morality solely by its consequences or outcomes?
- Deontology
- Virtue ethics
- Consequentialism (Correct answer)
- Social contract theory
Correct answer: Consequentialism
Consequentialism evaluates actions based on the outcomes they produce, such as maximizing overall well-being.
Question 5: An officer is asked by a supervisor to falsify a report to close a case. The officer should:
- Comply to maintain a good performance record
- Falsify the report but document their objection privately
- Refuse and report the request to a higher authority or oversight body (Correct answer)
- Comply once, then refuse future requests
Correct answer: Refuse and report the request to a higher authority or oversight body
Falsifying reports is a criminal act; refusal and reporting to oversight is both the legal and ethical obligation.
Question 6: Community policing is grounded in the ethical principle that:
- Officers should have absolute authority in their assigned community
- Public safety is best achieved through collaboration and mutual trust (Correct answer)
- Community members should assist in active policing operations
- Crime reduction justifies any policing strategy
Correct answer: Public safety is best achieved through collaboration and mutual trust
Community policing recognizes that sustainable safety depends on partnerships and trust between police and the public.
Question 7: In ethical decision-making, the 'newspaper test' is used to evaluate whether an action:
- Has been covered by media before
- Would withstand public scrutiny if reported on the front page (Correct answer)
- Violates freedom of press principles
- Should be disclosed in a press release
Correct answer: Would withstand public scrutiny if reported on the front page
The newspaper test asks whether an action would appear reasonable and ethical if reported publicly, serving as a transparency check.
JIBC Law Enforcement Applied Ethics 3
An officer discovers that a family member is involved in criminal activity.
The ethical response is to: