Ehtical and legal perspectives Essay

When policemen take their Oath of Office, it signifies a transformation of their status from being civilians into full pledged members of the law enforcement. Part of this transition is to observe some strict ethical standards that could undermine or strengthen their roles in an investigation. Among the ethical standards that must be observed is the ethics of lying during an interrogation of a suspect. An officer may use a small piece of evidence and would convince the suspect that such piece of evidence would link the suspect to the crime he is accused of. How far can an officer go such as lie to a suspect in order to elicit a response during an interrogation process? The results in the long run of continuous deception of police officers to suspects during the interrogation process can be detrimental to our society as these tears out the social fabric that binds our law enforcement with civil society. As a result, juries tend to become skeptical of police testimonies even on the instances that the police are telling the truth. In the United States, there are about six thousand false convictions for felonies every year (Huff et al, â€Å"Guilty Until Proven Innocent,† Crime & Delinquency, vol. 32, pages 518-44, 1986) and that police deceptions are one of the major causes of the rise of conviction of innocent persons. Moreover, under the McDade Law passed on October of 1998, federal prosecutors are required to comply with state ethics law in order to force federal law enforcement agencies to use deceptive tactics and forcing suspects to confess or elicit responses from their questions. The issues involved when the officer lies to the suspect during interrogation lies in the core values of justice system which expects the observance of ethical behaviors such as honesty and justice as well as equality. There’s also a large difference between ethical and legal issues. Ethical issues may be considered legal but unethical whereas legal actions may not also be always ethical.