Investigative Ethics: Ethics for Police Detectives and Criminal Investigators

Knowing the right thing to do is often problematic—but ethical dilemmas faced by police detectives are nothing short of extraordinary. Further complexities arise due to the growth of problems confronting the modern developed world, including such issues as white collar crimes, drugs, computer crimes, and acts of terrorism. Investigative Ethics: Ethics for Police Detectives and Criminal Investigators  presents applied philosophical analyses of the myriad ethical issues that arise for police detectives and other criminal investigators in contemporary society. Issues addressed include ethical considerations relating to investigative independence, rights of victims and suspects, use of informants, entrapment, privacy and surveillance, undercover operations, deception, and suspect interviewing. Along with references to relevant empirical studies, topics are illustrated utilizing examples from actual police inquiries along with techniques deployed during the course of these investigations. Investigative Ethics: Ethics for Police Detectives and Criminal Investigators  offers a timely and revealing glimpse into the uses and potential misuses of police authority.

Seumas Miller is a Professorial Research Fellow in Applied Philosophy at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at Charles Sturt University, Canberra, and the 3TU Centre for Ethics and Technology at Delft University of Technology, The Hague. His authored books include Social Action: A Teleological Account (2001), The Moral Foundations of Social Institutions: A Philosophical Study (2010), Terrorism and Counter–terrorism: Ethics and Liberal Democracy (2009), and, with John Blackler, Ethical Issues in Policing (2006). Ian A. Gordon is Associate Professor in Policing at Charles Sturt University and Convener of the Standards Commission for Scotland. A former Chief Police Officer in Scotland, Gordon was responsible for Professional Standards, Police Use of Firearms and the Scottish DNA Database. He has commanded major events (2005 G8 conference) and worked with police forces in Australia, Sri Lanka, Sierra Leone, Russia, and Thailand on police strategy, crime, and professional/ethical issues.