Noble cause corruption is unethical or illegal ways used to attain a particular course of action. Over the last few years, law enforcers are faced with the challenge to uphold their ethical standards and values in their profession (Cohen & Feldberg , 1991) . The main objective of law enforcement is to shape, restrain, and reform society so as to make an impact in any nation. Noble cause corruption is achieved when a law enforcer does misconduct to achieve desirable results.
What idea is more important; the process that has been used to solve a problem or the results achieved? This is a vital question that law enforcement professionals should answer. The noble cause can be described as moral commitments that are used to make the world a safer place (Cohen & Feldberg , 1991) . Corruption is a result of putting more emphasis on commitment than the means used to establish the goals set. Officers join law enforcement to help others and to enforce the law; this can be termed as a noble cause. However, the intentions change when their concern shifts to the end results.
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Noble cause corruption follows the teleological model of ethics which emphasizes on good end product which an officer can achieve by investing more in their work (Shihadeh, 2006) . The consequences of one’s behavior are an important concern for an officer and not the results which can be positive or negative. This system will find you unethical if you produce bad results regardless of your actions. Some instances of cause corruption include; falsifying reports, fabricating evidence, abusing lawful authority, or using brutality.
The New York Police Department has a program dubbed stop-and-frisk program. In this video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jqXeW5C324 police officers are seen stopping young men between the ages of 16 to 21 of color. These young men are stopped because they look or act in a certain way. What police officers seem to be doing in this video is racial profiling to innocent young men. This behavior is unethical for any police to profile anyone without actual evidence and harass them for being black. Their actions do not serve law enforcement a responsibility because they are infringing on others’ right rather than protecting them. Every officer should demonstrate morals and integrity in their tasks. This is one theory that can be used to give a solution to some incidents that have been recorded.
It is the duty and responsibility of every law enforcement profession to prove without a doubt that they live morally right. However, that is not the case in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmVVZRtrY5g , where a Washington police officer is caught on camera speeding past state troopers. This video shows how a police officer is on speed and there is no emergency call despite him being a driving instructor. This case can be charged under cause misconduct since such an activity is not allowed under a departmental policy and it is not acceptable under any ethical system. Police officers are abided by law but are not above the law, democracy is considered if they are able to act according to the laws that they enforce.
Police officers have been seen on record harassing black people several times in the past. There has been a wide tension building up whenever a police officer pulls over or stops a black person. This retrieved video https://www.cbsnews.com/news/video-shows-white-cop-in-violent-confrontation-with-black-motorist/ shows a white police officer violently throwing a black woman to the ground during a stop. This is another case of racial profiling with the police officer explaining it in a way that is not ethical. You cannot assault someone because black people have a tendency of showing violence. This behavior lacks any ethics, therefore, makes the office lose legitimacy making him ill-equipped to conduct his duties.
There are theories that can be applied to either ethical or unethical actions that have been adopted by police officers. The first theory is the benefit of protecting personal rights which have to be weighed against the dangers citizens face ( Shihadeh, 2006) . Every officer should be aware that no one should lose their individual rights during or after the frisk program. It is important to consider a change in behavior if the agency can question an officer’s moral or ethical life on the job. Empathy should also be considered in this line of work; such a theory will allow an officer to consider their actions when faced with moral or ethical dilemmas.
Noble cause corruption or misconduct should be confronted and assessed by asking the following questions; is the officer about to take an illegal activity? Is that activity allowed under departmental laws and policies? Does the action have ethics or it is unethical? And finally, can the action be acceptable under any ethical system? If these questions are answered, it can be determined whether the act is noble or if it is a case of noble cause corruption. All the law enforcement officers have the duty to respect the value and dignity of each individual.
References
Cohen, H., & Feldberg, M. (1991). Power and restraint: The moral dimension of police work . New York: Praeger.
Shihadeh, A. (2006). The teleological ethics of Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī .
