Ethical themes are the various elements that are incorporated in the discipline of ethics. These elements are morality and virtue. Ethical themes play a significant role in assisting individuals in differentiating their views and opinions regarding what is right or wrong or appropriate or bad (Westmarland & Conway, 2020). In the ethical themes, morality is regarded as the attributes that people hold to determine good or bad. The value of morality is evident when Badpenny swiftly closes out of what she was reading on the computer screen at the instance when Secrit visited her. In this scenario, Badpenny seemed startled by Secrit’s arrival. Badpenny’s reaction to Secrit’s sudden visit poses the question of whether whatever she was doing on the computer monitor was morally appropriate. Even if whatever she was doing on the computer was right, why was she then startled by Secrit’s entry?
The precautionary principle of the ethical themes is that people proceed with activities cautiously and deliberately if faced with high risks accompanied by certain uncertainties. The same applies to Badpenny's case, where he had to go through the Grantham County Deputy Sherriff's report cautiously. The main idea behind the precautionary principle is that when individuals are faced with a situation where they are forced to take risks, either intentionally or unintentionally, that have the potential of having significant impacts on the population or the environment, they proceed with their actions cautiously. Also, people tend to invoke the precautionary principle in high-risk, catastrophic, and irreversible circumstances.
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Value systems are the set of certain types of consistent ethical values and attribute critical in the determination of ideological integrity (Sorokin, 2017). The various measurands used in determining an individual's values based on their intensity make up their value systems. Values are the fundamental thinking and beliefs that influence an individual's judgemental thoughts and ideas regarding what is morally right or wrong. One of the primary value systems that Secrit faces regarding Badpenny's actions is the latter's ethical misconduct of releasing classified information from the Grantham County Sheriff's deputy's report. It is important to note that the report contained information regarding an undercover federal agent who infiltrated a local gang. The report also had classified information regarding an expected shipment of illegal meth into the town in the subsequent week. In this case, it is professionally unethical for an officer to illegally gain access and disclose information that is still under investigation.
While two individuals may advocate for or share common values, chances are very high that they likely do not give equal weight to those values. Such a situation is depicted in the case of Brooke Lynn and Secrit. Both Brooke and Secrit share the common values of integrity and honesty in their police duties. They believe that it is not appropriate to hold crucial information to assist the police department in their investigative operations. Values fall under two main categories; ethical values and ideological values. Ethical values are those attributes that distinguish good and bad or right from wrong. On a community level, ethical values form the foundation for the things that are permitted or prohibited (Westmarland & Conway, 2020). On the other hand, the ideological values mainly focus on politics, religion, economics, and social norms. From a sociological point of view, the ideological values are supposed to be derived logically. They should also be regarded as the natural results of the fundamental ethical values' particulars and their prioritizing factors.
There are various ways in which the code of silence and the blue curtain of secrecy could have held back Secrit and Heights from reporting what they had discovered concerning Badpenny. The code of silence is a situation in which an individual chooses to withhold crucial information either voluntarily or involuntarily. In this case, a person chooses to withhold critical information because of the threats and dangers of disclosing the information. They can also withhold the information to avoiding being considered a traitor or an outcast within the department. On the other hand, the blue curtain of secrecy is a form of a code of silence most common with police departments.
In the blue curtain of secrecy, officers decline to testify against other unethical officers, thereby establishing a cover of secrecy around police activities (Alpert et al., 2015). In this case, police officers tend to lie so that they can protect their colleagues. The code of silence and the blue curtain of secrecy may have held back Secrit and Heights from disclosing the information regarding the shipment of meth into the town. This illegal commodity was to arrive the following week. Furthermore, the code of silence and the blue curtain of secrecy would have prevented them from revealing the federal agent, Hans Cuff, who also worked for Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF). Badpenny had information that Agent Cuff had infiltrated a local gang, and one of the gang's members had notified him that a large shipment of meth was yet to arrive in the town.
The code of silence and the blue curtain of secrecy also applied to Badpenny’s side. Badpenny found out what the undercover agent was involved in, and he chose to withhold the information. Badpenny withheld the information probably side with the interests of Bradford. Badpenny had to protect the interests of Dreadford because the latter was a renowned user of meth. Therefore, by disclosing such information to her colleagues, the meth would not have been blocked from entering the town, which means that Bradford would not have access to meth.
References
Alpert, G. P., Noble, J. J., & Rojek, J. (2015). Solidarity and the code of silence. Critical Issues in Policing: Contemporary Readings, 106-121.
Sorokin, P. (2017). Social and cultural dynamics: A study of change in major systems of art, truth, ethics, law and social relationships. Routledge.
Westmarland, L., & Conway, S. (2020). Police ethics and integrity: Keeping the ‘blue code’ of silence. International Journal of Police Science & Management, 22(4), 378-392.
