wk3 critical thinking essay
Critical Thinking Essay
After reading chapter 1 in the Professional Ethics in Criminal Justice book complete the following Critical Thinking Exercises.
All ethical decisions affect others (by definition), and ethical decision making is achieved consistently only through practice. Please respond to the following scenario based solely on your ability to think critically.
Important note on method: Critical thinking requires the ability to evaluate viewpoints, facts, and behaviors objectively to assess information or methods of argumentation to establish the true worth or merit of an act or course of conduct. Please evaluate this scenario, starting with analyzing pros and cons of alternate views, before you come to a conclusion. Do not draw a conclusion first, and then try to find facts to support it—this frequently leads to narrow (and incorrect) thinking.
To properly evaluate the moral permissibility of a course of action using critical thinking skills
1.Begin with an open mind (no preconceptions!),
2.Isolate and evaluate the relevant facts on both sides,
3.Identify the precise moral question to be answered, and
4.Apply ethical principles to the moral question based on an objective evaluation of the facts, only then drawing a conclusion.
Massage parlor police tactics
The Dove Spa was a massage parlor, which the police suspected was operating as a prostitution enterprise, but they had no direct evidence to prove it. The police department decided to initiate an undercover operation in which a plainclothes detective entered and asked for the services of one of the women working there. The woman, of course, did not know he was a police officer, or was wearing a hidden microphone. For $100 and a $35 tip, she fondled the officer’s genitals. The same officer went back to the massage parlor four more times. Over a period of five months, the same officer also visited the massage parlor in another town and allowed the women, who were Chinese immigrants, to fondle him in exchange for cash. This was done in an apparent effort to investigate suspected prostitution and human trafficking. Ultimately, 30 police officers raided two businesses and arrested six people—four alleged prostitutes and two alleged pimps. The undercover methods were defended by the police, but were criticized by legal experts and women’s advocates as “excessive, unnecessary, and misapplied†to an investigation that involved suspected human trafficking.
Evaluate the moral permissibility of police officer’s actions in conducting this investigation using the critical thinking skills listed above.
500 word min. APA
