Documentary, “The Seven Five Assignment | Essay Help Services

5 pages!
The paper will involve your reaction to the Documentary, “The Seven Five”. In your reaction, you will make observations regarding ethical issues Chapters 04 – 07. For example, you will observe the various neutralization techniques the officers used (denial of victim, denial of injury, appealing to higher loyalties). Additionally, you will make observations regarding the various ethical dilemmas the officers faced against the backdrop of the dilemmas we reviewed in class. Finally, you will then make your final observations as to what you believe was the path or “slippery slope” of unethical conduct the officers took, and what, if anything, the officers could have done to prevent this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adZaHShRa3A (the documentary on youtube). (The reaction paper is about this documentary on YouTube )

The notes from chapter are under !

Theory on the 5 techniques of neutralization used to maintain a positive self-image when committing unethical acts:
Denial of Responsibility
Denial of Injury
Denial of the Victim
Condemning the Condemners
Appealing to Higher Loyalties

Denial of Responsibility:
Injury caused by conduct was outside and beyond his/her control
Trained to view themselves as passive actors
After-the-fact justification for their actions
Didn’t make the laws – simply enforcing them

Denial of Injury:

Victim is “guilty anyway”
Steal evidence, violate civil rights to maintain their personal sense of order
Ex: Violate civil rights to make an arrest, plant evidence on suspected drug dealer.

Denial of the Victim:
Characterization of victims in attempt to justify unethical behavior
Some people are “deserving” of such treatment
Views offender simply as wrongdoer subject to full force of the law
Discretion not exercised

Condemning the Condemners
Shifts attention from officer’s actions to motives of his/her accuser
Unable to understand realities of police work
Exclusionary Rule is used by lawyers who are just out to “make a buck”.

Appealing to Higher Loyalties:
Decisions between two competing sets of values
Deviation from certain norms may occur not because the norms are rejected, but because other norms, held to be more pressing or involving a higher loyalty, are given precedence.
Ex: Protect fellow officer

Ethical Dilemmas
Discretion
Duty
Honesty
Loyalty
Gratuities

Discretion:
Discretion is the power to make a decision between two or more choices
When only minor infractions occur, situational elements may create ethical dilemmas for police officers
Ethical Training in Discretion Helpful:
Consider different options and how to assess the possible consequences
Better prepares officers to answer questions about their decision-making

Duty :

Duty is a required behavior or action

Some situations result in a police officer questioning what his or her duty is

Some situations may require an action that
the officer sees as an inconvenience
The actual duty may be ambiguous given the situation
Help poor and homeless find shelter
“Social work”
Reveal thoughts on role in the community
The duty may be clear, but not convenient or pressing
Driving by a minor accident
Nearing the end of a shift

Honesty:
Particular dilemmas:
The temptation of money or goods, either “found” or at burglary scenes

Officers covering up their own wrongdoing

Risk losing an arrest or case by telling the truth or lie to secure arrest or positive trial outcome
Rampart Scandal:
More than 70 officers under investigation
More than 100 convictions overturned
LA DA prosecuted 4 police officers
Bribery
Reward for doing something illegal or for not performing a required duty
Very few submissions from officers dealing with bribery (scarcity or shame)

Loyalty:

Police officers must decide what to do when faced with the wrongdoing of fellow officers
Whistle blowing
Officer’s dilemmas may run the gamut from minor wrongdoing to very serious violations
Overtime abuses
Physical abuse

Gratuities:
Recognized as a perennial problem among police officers
It is important to distinguish between gratuity and gift:

Traditional gratuities (e.g., coffee) are given to all police

Gifts are given to an individual police officer in return for something specific