Social Contract

There were many things I learned in this class from week one to week seven. In week one, I learned the concept of a social contract between the government and the people. It deals with the agreement made by both parties to regulate society. Under this contract, members of society agree to give up certain natural rights in exchange for security, comforts and order. The government is entrusted with creating an effective system for regulating conduct that are in the best interest of the people and creating forums to resolve conflicts between citizens (Gaines et al, 2014). The people have the power to select government officials and keep certain individual’s rights that protects them against government invasion. Due to this social contract, in America, powers are shared between the central government, state and local level called Federalism. It is based off
Internal mechanisms is what police departments can do to regulate discretion. Police departments can limit police discretion through management and training. Management can established guidelines, policies and a code of ethics within the department to improve officers’ performance and accountability (Kelling, 1999). Supervisors are needed to oversee its subordinates activities, productivity and effectiveness of their subordinates to ensure their actions are aligned with department’s policies. Training should be given to all officers. Ethical decision-making training should consist of good judgement, good decision-making, and common sense, building rapport with the community and service roles.
In week six, I learned about deontological ethics. It is the concept of judging morality based on rules to govern actions. When faced with choices, these rules will dictate whether the action is required, forbidden or permitted (Alexander, 2007). It is the belief that morally actions are based off of duty and not personal