Police Ethics in Urban and Rural Contexts: A Consequentialist View

• In Event: Investigations Into Police-Community Relations Across Landscapes

Abstract

Problem: The linguistic blurring of the police profession with the law enforcement approach is far from trivial. It conceals the insidious nature of current police practices that result in racial disparities. Further, conceiving of the police profession as law enforcement gives rise to deontological code of ethics, where doing right generally means being in the right regardless of outcome. A shift toward a consequentialist ethics in policing requires us to consider the summum bonum, or highest good, of policing. Police behaviors that achieve these highest goods are ethical, while those working against them are unethical. Study: In a subnational crime victimization survey funded by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, we introduced (and operationalized) the concepts “community dynamics” and “community atmosphere.” Findings/Interpretations: Controlling for structural conditions, we found that the community atmosphere was significantly related to crime, violence, and many other social problems. Our findings help identify measurable and achievable desired ends in policing, replacing law enforcement outputs (arrests, gun and drug seizures) with safe and strong community outcomes as the summum bonum of policing. These findings suggest a consequentialist approach to police ethics to dismantle the racial and cultural hegemony at the root of current policies and practices.

Authors

• James Nolan, West Virginia University

• Walter S. DeKeseredy, West Virginia University