Fuller's Principle

Fullers Principle’s

CJ 340 Applied Criminal Justice Ethics

Kaplan University

Craig Phillips

February 16, 2016

Scenario 1: Drugs at Friends House

When applying Fuller’s principle which states “Even if a man is answerable only to his conscience, he will answer more responsibly if he is compelled to articulate principles on which he acts (Fuller, 1975).” All of these scenarios have elements that apply. In these first scenario my moral code would come into play if I were to witness people doing illegal drugs in the home of my friend. Since Im a drug free person who has never taken illegal drugs I would take issue with the blatant disrespect of the person’s doing the drugs. As a police officer Im bound by my duty and oath to react to the situation. Being a police officer you are never truly off duty and witnessing the use of illegal drugs is a problem I would act upon. In this case I may choose to alert my friend of the activity and let him decide to ask them to refrain from the activity or If they refuse then I would inform my friend that I would leave as not to disturb his gathering but I would also give a warning to the persons I witnessed doing the drugs. I would tell my colleagues that given the circumstances I felt that my friend was unaware of the activity and I was trying to maintain our friendship. I go further to explain that these are persons I may encounter later in the course of my duties and I may have gained a valuable informant.

Scenario 2: Accepting a Gift

As a matter policy most law enforcement agencies have a very strict policy on officers accepting any type of gifts, gratuities’ in any form. The moral issue is that I would know that by taking...