What Role Do Ethics Play in Law Enforcement?

In an ideal world ethics and law enforcement would be two complimentary concepts that sanction each other.  This is not always the case as corruption and greed tend to rule the law enforcement sector more than ethics.  Learning more about the law will help you decide if ethics and law enforcement are two mutually supporting forces.

Law enforcement agencies are groups united to enforce the rule of law.  Some examples of law enforcement groups include the police force, judicial systems and bureaus such as the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).  An ideal society would have an ethical group of law enforcement personnel to govern and enforce the law, but the ruling body in most countries has degenerated to such an extent that having a code of ethics is no longer considered necessary criteria for one to be placed in an authoritarian position and the rule of law has turned into the rule of money.  The original plan for governance combined ethics and law enforcement to a high degree and can be glimpsed through the following examples:

Plato

• A philosopher who lived during the fourth century, BC, who developed the archetype of the utopian society which was to be governed by philosopher kings.  


• He decried the hereditary assumption of governmental offices such as kings and queens because he believed a ruler should be a lover of wisdom who would administer justice based on truth rather than greed.  


• He wrote about how the philosopher kings must be men of great character with strong codes of ethics and that they must believe in objectivity over relativity.

The Founding Fathers

• The founding fathers of the United States created the Constitution to be used to govern the people.  


• Leaders were to be chosen by the population and should be people of outstanding moral behavior.  


• If the elected body of representatives was found to be lacking, the people were free to abandon their governors and start again.

As you can see, the moral relativity that governs contemporary society was at one time considered an aberration.  Law enforcement and ethics must be administered concurrently because truth and law should always be the plumb line against which all are measured.