Discussion Questions

  1. Read over “A Closer Look” on pages 21-22. Look up your local (or any) law enforcement agency online and compare their mission, vision, values, policies, and procedures to the ones presented in the chapter. What role does studying ethics play in carrying out these roles in law enforcement?
  2. Describe the pros and cons of allowing law enforcement officers such wide discretion.
  3. Describe how it is that in the U.S., over the past 25 years, police values have basically remained unchanged. 
  4. Compare and contrast the level and types of police violence in the U.S. and in other countries. Provide some explanations for the similarities and differences.
  5. Describe the ascending scale of action that police can draw on in handling street situations, as identified by Skolnick and Fyfe (1993: 38–39).