NCJ Number
108898
Journal
Criminal Justice Ethics Volume: 6 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer-Fall 1987) Pages: 52-60
Date Published
1987
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This article examines how police officers exercise their authority in law enforcement, peacekeeping, and public safety situations.
Abstract
The article points out that some officers recognize legal limits on their authority to act and others do not. The author applies an ends-means test to specific cases to determine whether a given officer oversteps his authority in a specific situation. The four conditions to the ends-means test are: (1) the end itself must be good, (2) the means must be a plausible way to achieve the end, (3) there must be no alternative means to achieve the same end that is better than that being acted upon, and (4) the means must not undermine some other equal or greater end. Police are urged to use the ends-means test, rank their priorities, and evaluate their actions within a moral framework. 9 footnotes.