Both police officers and lawyers
Both police officers and lawyers must put a lot of personal sacrifice and devotion into their professional roles. These professionals are exposed to a variety of demanding and draining situations in their professions. (Boon 152). Despite the fact that most people don't pause to consider the valuable contributions that police officers and attorneys make, it is clear from everyday events that their lives experience awkward situations as they work to uphold morality and ethics in the performance of their duties. (Boon 155). This discourse's main goal is to discuss the various challenges that lawyers and police officers currently experience in carrying out their societal obligations. Along the discussions, we also delve into a comparative study of the crossroads in both fields as well as the possible solutions in mitigating such dilemmas.
Ethical Obstacles Faced By Police Officers and Attorneys
The ethical barriers that police officers face in their line of duty include challenges with the application of force in certain circumstances. The decisions on when to apply force as well as how much force to apply constrains police officers to very tough positions (Braswell et al. 67). They are, in most case, confused between using a certain amount of force while maintaining their professional conduct. Instances such as mass riots pose a great challenge to the police as they experience threats for their lives, but are required to ensure peace and order with as minimal damage as possible. In crime situations, for instance, police officers face the dilemma of using harm to prevent harm. They have to act fast and with perfect precision when dealing with armed criminals to prevent injury, loss of life or property (Boon 125). In some situations, they are forced to violate personal privacy in executing arrests of suspected or convicted criminals.
The police also face enormous challenges when it comes to ensuring timely response to alarm even when they are off duty. The professional forces them to be servants of all at all times. The nature of their work, therefore, impacts significantly on their personal lives, which calls for a large amount of dedication and self-sacrifice (Pollock 82). Their lives are always on the line as they endeavor to ensure safety for other members of the society. Though most of the obstacles that police officers encounter entail external attributes of their field of operation, they also face internal weaknesses that pose a challenge to effective service delivery. One of the most glaring internal issues in police departments is the problem of corruption. Cases of police bribery have been on the rise in recent times, and that points to the reasons why the police service is losing efficacy and public trust day after day. The problem of corruption is a product of underpayment and personal greed for wealth amassment (Pollock 86). These challenges are enormous and proper mechanisms have to be in place to ensure restoration of former glory to the police departments in the country as well as across the entire global scale.
Attorneys also face significant obstacles in executing their prosecutorial duties. Some of the issues encountered include political pressure, manipulation and intimidation with threats on their lives as well as personal weaknesses such as applying mercy in handling matters within the structures of justice (Boon 128). Most cases involving prominent persons go unattended for years, and when they finally find attention, the attorneys get manipulated to push for weak cases that they are sure to lose. In that process, criminals get away with crimes denying justice to the poor and underprivileged members of society. In other instances, attorneys also get tempted through bribery to dismiss crucial evidence in cases involving the halves while neglecting the cries for justice by the have-nots (Pollock 96). Attorneys, therefore, find themselves engrossed in filthy activities such as denial of due process to the weaker victims which violates the ethical and moral obligations of their profession. Though some attorneys may be inherently unethical and immoral in their work, it is important to note that there is a substantial number of prosecutors that yearn for an ethical environment (Pollock 102). That calls for urgent reparations to establish a judicial system that sieves out rogue members of the profession to create an enabling environment for moral co-existence between civil society and the professionals.
Possible Solutions in Dealing with the Ethical Dilemmas
The obstacles that face police officers and attorneys in their duties are surmountable with appropriate mechanisms from the concerned authorities. One of the most efficient ways to deal with the challenges is to ensure very rigorous and precision-oriented performance evaluation for the police officers and attorneys (Pollock 113). The process would play a very significant role in ensuring that the professionals adhere to the professional codes of conduct and ethical requirements as stipulated by the authorities. Moreover, the respective departments should ensure that every member of the team goes through proper educational training to obtain the required professional qualification to handle the job. Further instructions and internal training programs should also be underway to bolster the performance of police officers and attorneys in their respective fields (Braswell et al. 71). The judicial authorities need to establish better salary perks for the police officers and attorneys to prevent them from getting enticed by financial gains from unethical deals. To crown it all, regular deliberations and meetings with other members of the team and the top leaders would help in harmonizing operations and developing impetus for the demanding duties and responsibilities.
Works Cited
Boon, Andrew. The ethics and conduct of lawyers in England and Wales. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014.
Braswell, Michael C., Belinda R. McCarthy, and Bernard J. McCarthy. Justice, crime, and ethics. Routledge, 2014.
Pollock, Joycelyn M. Ethical dilemmas and decisions in criminal justice. Nelson Education, 2014.
