Professional Standards and Ethics Flashcards

What is the best first step when facing an ethical dilemma with no clear policy guidance?

Answer: Identify the facts, stakeholders, and applicable laws and ethical principles

Structured ethical decision-making starts by clarifying the facts, the people affected, and the governing principles.

A security manager discovers a former employer's confidential security plans on a personal laptop after joining a new company. What should they do?

Answer: Not use or share the plans, and return or securely destroy them as appropriate

Confidentiality obligations to former employers continue after the job ends, and misusing their information is unethical and possibly illegal.

Which of the following best describes the role of ANSI-approved ASIS standards in professional practice?

Answer: They are consensus-based benchmarks that guide good practice

ASIS develops voluntary consensus standards under ANSI accreditation to set out recognized good practice.

An officer uses more force than necessary to detain a shoplifter who has stopped resisting. This conduct violates which principle?

Answer: Proportional and reasonable use of force

Force must be reasonable and proportional to the threat and stop once resistance ends.

A security consultant's client asks for a report stating that its facility 'meets all industry standards' when it does not. The consultant should:

Answer: Refuse to misrepresent findings and report the actual gaps

Certifying false compliance is dishonest and may expose people to harm and the consultant to liability.

Why should security incident reports be written promptly and factually?

Answer: To preserve accurate, credible records that may be used in legal or administrative proceedings

Timely, factual reports keep details accurate and hold up when reviewed by courts, insurers, or management.

A security officer witnesses discriminatory treatment of visitors based on ethnicity by a fellow officer. What is the most appropriate action?

Answer: Report the behavior to a supervisor or through the designated reporting channel

Discriminatory conduct violates law and ethical standards and should be reported through proper channels.