Paper Example on Deviance: Normal or Pathological

Introduction

The law enforcement agencies face challenges on ethical dilemmas where they sometimes solve problems using controversial means. In this context, the law enforcement officer has to choose between the process and result. According to Durkheim, crime occurs in any free society, hence should be considered a normal situation. However when the rate goes to unusual heights crime loses its symptoms of being normal for instance, in France, it has increased by at least 300% (Durkheim, 2013). Thus, to such extents crime could be considered abnormal or pathological as the society cannot handle it. This situation pressurizes the law enforcers who are accountable for controlling crime by applying means some of which are questionable while restoring social order. The police are among high-risk occupations which require value-based decision making to perform as expected by the society (De Angelis & Wolf, 2016). The police are expected to be accountable for the security issues which is a predictor of the public attitude towards them. Under this pressure coupled with the rapid increased in the crime rates, the police are required to make a decision some which are controversial in performing their mandate as expected by the society. Hence, from a value-based decision, the means for accomplishing the task do not matter, but the results are the people's focus.

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According to Col. Jessup's statements in the video, he ordered the code red as the best option to execute his mandate of ensuring security within the state. His primary duty was to work with the soldiers on the battlefield and ensure that other countrymen enjoy the peace they create. Therefore, he felt it was unfair to place him on the court-martial stand to question the appropriateness of ordering the code red that risked the lives of soldiers at the expense of safeguarding the nation. In his statement, the end justified the means. Thus, it was normal according to him to consider code red. According to Durkin in a study that was meant to show the deviance levels, the number of criminals a community has is bound to remain the same over a long time (Moynihan, 1993). The evidence provided for this position was that the number of prisons, hospital beds, courts, and police among other tend to remain the same. This shows that the deviants are part of the instruments of social control, hence a normal element in the society. For this reason, the law enforcement agencies are viewed as a means for controlling deviance rather than ending it. This situation is also shown by tendencies of judges to impose heavy punishment on offenders when the crime rates are higher and become lenient when this rate drops to the level that a community can accommodate.

Erikson, in his 20th century writing to support the position by Durkheim he stated that since crime is part of the society, the deviants act as a supply of needed services to the society (Moynihan, 1993). Moreover, the community anticipates for some deviate individuals and ready to handle the situation. Furthermore, during the 1950s in America, the awareness and cases of mental disorders had started to grow, and more facilities were constructed, and admissions increased. The skills to handle these patients improved and patients were being confined to these facilities without their consent or some of them forcefully. Such a situation when imposed on an adult is a criminal offense, but in this context, it is a normal act which is aimed at saving the person's mental health state. This argument is based on the teleological ethical position which states that the consequences of the actions are what matters and not the actions whether positive or negative. The only situation where the actions are found unethical is when they lead to the unwanted outcome (Harrison, 1999). For instance, a person uses straightforward means and does not achieve the desired results the situation will be considered unethical. Therefore, it is only normal to take either positive or negative action to achieve the desired end. That is why in the video, Col. Jessup's, stated that he aimed to promote security and to order the code red was not a crime according to him. It was part of the normal actions that needed to be taken to deliver on his mandate. The same reason is used by police where cases of police brutality and their organization try to control this situation by asking them to apply reasonable force. This recommendation is seen as a way of improving their accountability but still accepting such action as a way of maintaining social order.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is normal that deviance exists in the society and the police are expected to maintain social order. However, the mean they use to accomplish their task is under the public watch and subject to scrutiny by their organization. However, in some cases, they have to apply extreme measures to perform their duties. Thus, the end will justify the means which makes actions that lead to positive outcome ethical in nature or normal and not pathological.

References

De Angelis, J., & Wolf, B. (2016). Perceived accountability and public attitudes toward local police. Criminal justice studies, 29(3), 232-252.

Durkheim, E. (2013). Durkheim: The rules of sociological method: And selected texts on sociology and its method. Palgrave Macmillan.Moynihan, D. P. (1993). Defining deviancy down. The American Scholar, 62(1), 17-30.

Harrison, B. (1999). Noble cause corruption and the police eth ic. FBI L. Enforcement Bull., 68, 1.