police ethics and values

Hermie Terrence I Reodava

POLICEPOLICE ETHICSETHICS ANDAND VALUESVALUES

Good or Bad?

• Helping a man to cross the street?• Asking a traffic violator for money to acquit his

acts?• Patrolling during duty hours?• Gambling inside the Police station while on duty?• Advising fellow Police officer to work excellently?• Encouraging fellow Police officer doing erroneous

affairs?

INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS

Defined, ethics

Science of morality of man Study of human motivation and ultimately of

human rational behavior

Defined, ethics

Ethics is a branch of philosophy which studies the principle of right or wrong in human conduct.

Latin word ethos and Greek word ethikos have the same meaning which is customary.

Morality• Defined, morality

- the quality of human acts by which they are constituted as good, bad, or indifferent.

Norms of Morality

Moral (Good) – actions which are in conformity with the norm of morality.

Immoral (bad) – actions which are not in conformity with the norm of morality.

Amoral (neutral) – actions which stand neutral in relation to the norm of morality.

Ethics vs. Morality

Theories of right and wrong(Ethics) translate

Action(Morality)

Importance of Ethics:

Indispensable knowledge.

Without moral perception, man is only an animal.

Without morality, man as rational being is a failure.

• Moral integrity is the only true measure of what man ought to be. The most successful professional, is nothing unless he is too morally upright. Thus, the philosopher speaks of Ethics as the “only necessary knowledge”.

Ethics vs. LawEthics Law

Study human motivation Concerned with what we do, not what we feel

Study external actions(explores thoughts and feelings)

Concerned with the externality of the act

Requires that man desires that of which is good and act in accordance with that desire

Requires that we perform the required action regardless of -

BREAK!!!You can go to the CR or stretch your body!

Human Acts

How human acts are performed?• Performed by man, knowingly and freely• Deliberate or intentional actions, or voluntary• Results of conscious knowledge and are

subject to the control of the will

ATTRIBUTES OF HUMAN ACTS

• Performed by man, knowingly and freely

It must be by a conscious agent who is aware of what he is doing and of its consequences.

• Deliberate or intentional actions, or voluntary

It must be performed by an agent who is acting freely, that is, by his own volition and powers. An action done under duress and against one’s will is not entirely a free action.

• Conscious knowledge and are subject to the control of the will

It must be performed by an agent who decides willfully to perform the act. This willfulness is the result to perform an act here and now, or in some future time.

KINDS OF HUMAN ACTS

• Elicited Acts – are those performed by the will and are not bodily externalized.

• Kinds of Elicited Acts:1. Wish2.Intention3.Consent4.Election5.Use6.Fruition

• Wish is defined as: - tendency of will toward something

whether this is realize or not.

*What are some of your wishes?

• Intention is defined as: - tendency of the will towards

something attainable but without necessarily committing oneself to attain it.

*Usually when you see a sexy and beautiful woman, what will your intention to the woman?

• Consent is defined as: - is the acceptance of the will of those

needed to carry out the intention.

*When your intention is to get the number of the beautiful woman, will you give your consent or not?

• Election is defined as: - selection of the will of those effective

enough to carry out the intention.

*Your intention is to get the number of the woman, elect what method.

• Use is defined as: - command of the will to make use of

those means elected to carry out the intention.

*Your intention is to get the number of the woman, after election of method, you will use the said method to attain your intention.

Fruition is defined as: - enjoyment of the will derived from the

attainment of the thing he had desired earlier.

*After attaining your desire to get the number of the woman you will enjoy your intention.

• Commanded Acts – are those done by mans mental or bodily powers under the command of the will.

• Kinds of Commanded Acts:• Internal actions• External actions• Combination of the two (internal&external)

• Internal actionsExample: conscious reasoning, recalling something, encouraging oneself and controlling aroused emotions

• External actionsExample: walking, eating, dancing, laughing, listening and reading

• Combination of the two (internal&external)Examples: driving a car, writing a letter, playing chess and studying

Modifiers of Human Acts

IgnorancePassion FearViolenceHabits

• Ignorance – absence of knowledge which person ought to possess

Classification of Ignorance:1. Vincible – easily be reminded through ordinary

diligence and reasonable efforts2. Invincible – lacks the mean to cure it; possess

without knowing it

“IGNORANTIA LEGIS NOMINEM EXCUSAT” (ignorance of the law excuses no one)

- implies that no one should not act in the state of ignorance and that no one who has done wrong may not claim ignorance as a defenses.

• Passions – either tendencies towards desirable object, or tendencies away from undesirable or harmful things

Classification of Passions:1.Positive – love, desire, delight, hope and

bravery2.Negative – hatred, horror, sadness, despair,

fear and anger

• Passion are psychic responses. - neither moral or immoral - man is bound to regulate his emotions

and submit them to the control of reason

• Fear – disturbance of the mind of a person who is confronted by an impending danger or harm to himself or love onesFear is an instinct for self preservation

• Viloence – any physical force extended on one person by another for purpose of compelling a person to act against his will.Bodily torture, maltreatment, isolation and mutilation

• Habits– born out of repeated acts, for acting in certain manner.

“habit-forming” • refer to certain experience shows how easy it

is for one to acquire a habit• implies that habit is not easy to overcome or alter

Rights and Duties

Man is born with rights and duties and having rights is an attribute. That is why we have Commission on Human Rights that addresses violation of such right.

*Duty to do good and to avoid evil is above all rights.

Commission on Human Rights - is an independent office created by

the Constitution of the Philippines, with the primary function of investigating all forms of human rights violations involving civil and political rights in the Philippines.

Rights, defined

• Objectively: - it is anything which is owed or due

• Subjectively: - right is a moral power, bound to be

respected by others, of doing, possessing or requiring something.

Kinds of Rights

1. Natural rights – based on natural law, that is, on human nature

2. Human rights – based on human positive laws, either those enacted by the State or religious sect

* civil rights – dependent upon the law of the state* ecclesiastical or religious rights - dependent upon

the law of the church or religious sect

3. Alienable and inalienable Rights – rights that can be surrendered, renounced, or removed, such right to decent livelihood

4. Right of jurisdiction – power of lawful authority to govern his subject and to make laws for them

5. Right of property – power to own, sell, to barter, to lend, to change, or give away one’s personal possession.

6. Juridical rights – refers to all rights as they are based on lawsNon-juridical rights (moral rights) – refers to either natural or human rights and based on virtue

Duty, defined

• Objectively: - is anything, we are obliged to do or to

omit• Subjectively:

- moral obligation incumbent upon a person of doing, omitting, or avoiding something.

Kinds of Duties

• Natural duties – are those imposed by natural laws such as the duty to care for our health

• Positive duties – are those imposed by human positive law such as the duty to pay taxes and to observe traffic laws

• Affirmative Duties – those that requires performance of certain act, such as casting ballot during elections, applying for business license.

• Negative – requires the omission of certain act such as not carrying illegal firearms, or not destroying the property of other.

CONCEPT OF ETHICS

It is the foundation of morality widely used accepted by community as standard behavior of professionalism.

DOCTRINE OF POLICE SERVICE

Law enforcement officer must be equipping with knowledge as weapon in crime suppression and prevention rather than firearm.

KNOWLEDGE must be his greatest weapon and a FIREARM is for his protection against law violator.

END!!!Thank you for listening