Police and Law Enforcement Ethics

This collection is a contribution to the literature on police ethics, with a specific focus on the philosophical literature on ethical issues that arise in police enforcement of the law. While the occupation of policing has as its raison d'etre the provision of a human 'good', such as the maintenance of law and order and the protection of legally enshrined moral rights, the achievement of these fundamental ends arguably requires the routine use of harmful methods, notably coercive force, but also deception and the infringement of privacy.

The wide-range of essays included in this volume touch upon the issues of both lethal and non-lethal coercive force in policing as well as philosophical theories of police authority. It also covers the rights of suspects that are infringed by some of the methods deployed by police, for instance the deception in interrogation undercover work, entrapment, surveillance and data-collection. In recent times there has been an increase in the numbers of private sector investigators, most prominently in the protective services area, and the final section of volume deals with private policing.

This book will appeal to anyone with an interest in police ethics in general, and law enforcement ethics in particular.