Police and Ethical duties to apprehend Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Police and Ethical duties to apprehend - Essay Example In keeping with the Queensland, Australia Police code of ethics, I am responsible for being fair. I am also obligated to comply with the law strictly. This is a difficult scenario as everyone has an excuse for their behavior. The elderly man may claim to need the marijuana for medicinal purposes but that is not the point. The issue at and is that he is in possession of an illegal substance and it is my job to apprehend him according to the law. I will have no choice but to take him into custody and from there, investigation of his doctor’s orders and prescription can be assessed. If I do not apprehend the man, I am abiding perhaps by the portion of the ethics code that instructs law enforcement officials to be fair. If I however, do apprehend the man, I am abiding by the letter of the law which is my duty. I would apply the SELF test to this situation and ask myself first if the decision to apprehend the man would withstand â€Å"scrutiny† from the community and the service? I fell that if I apprehend the man, I will receive less scrutiny than if I do not apprehend the man. The Australian drug laws are rigid and very clearly have no tolerance for possession. If the marijuana is given to the man by a doctor, that can be established later. For now, the right decision is apprehension of the man in possession of marijuana without regard to his age. Next I will need to ask myself if my decision will â€Å"ensure† compliance with the oath that I took as a member of the police. I feel that my decision to apprehend would surely comply with that oath as I am to uphold the law and the law states that marijuana is illegal. If I do not apprehend the man, I feel that my decision would not â€Å"ensure† such compliance. Next, the question is whether or not my decision is in fact â€Å"lawful†. It is clearly illegal to have marijuana on one’s possession. Regardless of the reason