In the process of making the most appropriate decision involving an individual and the community, tension is normally rife. As individuals we tend to value personal liberty and autonomy (Kidder, 1995). Given that individuals are part of the community; it is often difficult to balance individual rights against community expectations and responsibilities. We find ourselves sacrificing these rights and liberties for the greater good of the communities with the hope that it will benefit everyone. Other times we hope that what the community stands for is very important and thus may be willing to risk individual rights for the community (Kidder, 1995). However, the dilemma lies on how to choose and justify the decisions we make.
Case study
Stephanie is the founder of a rehabilitation center in her community. The center focuses on admitting the drug and substances addicts, facilitating their reform, training them on myriad courses before releasing them back to the community. The motive behind starting the foundation is preventing and reducing community violence associated with drug addicts. As a founder, she acknowledges that everyone in the center is entitled to their basic rights just like everyone in the society. Notably, she has mastered the art of establishing and developing trust with every member admitted here and thus they easily confine in her because she is non-judgmental and vows to observe confidentiality.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
In the recent past, the community in which the center operates has experienced overwhelming cases of insecurity ranging from robbery with violence, murder and rape among others. It is thus has become a concern for the community. In a grocery store yesterday, Stephanie overheard a group accusing her center for breeding criminals and were of the opinion that it should be shut for the good of the community. This is not the first incident given that she has received letters from several organizations who question the behavior of the people the center releases from their institution. There have been claims that they are not fully reformed and thus are prime suspects for the insecurity.
Today, a detective came to Stephanie’s office with a list of young men accused of terrorizing people in the community. The young men as she could later realize left the institution two years ago. According to the detective, they had been previously involved in minor crimes, detained for a short while and then pardoned. However, in the recent past they have been associated with serious criminal offences and are now on the run. The detective therefore seeks critical information that could lead to their apprehension.
It is noteworthy that as a person who participates in any community program has expectations on how the information he /she gives to the authority is treated. They are expected to have reliable and honest information but the dilemma is usually on whether they are obligated to readily offer that information (Dutelle & Taylor, 2017). In this case, Stephanie possess crucial details and information that could lead to the arrest of the alleged criminals. Offering it would be a breach to confidentiality and would hurt her rehabilitation in terms low rates of admissions. On the other hand, given that she is a member of the community, she is too affected by the insecurities and ought to be concerned about public safety.
In reaching her decision, she should consider the facts involved in the case and why it would be necessary to offer information to the detective. Readily offering it would benefit the society as it could facilitate the reduction of insecurity if the suspects are apprehended while on the other hand, her clients would lose trust in her thus harming her operations. Therefore, she should weigh the pros and cons of her decision as well as the consequences that would result from offering or failing to offer information to the detective.
References
Dutelle, A. W., & Taylor, R. S. (2017). Ethics for the public service professional . Crc Press.
Kidder, R. M. (1995). How good people make tough choices . New York: Morrow.
