NCJ Number
151418
Date Published
1995
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This article describes what the author terms the "Dirty Harry Problem" in policing, that is, to what extent does the morally good end warrant or justify an ethically, politically, or legally dangerous means to its achievement.
Abstract
In trying to examine this problem, the author translates some familiar police practices, including street stops, searches, and victim and witness interrogation, into Dirty Harry problems. To explain why social scientists have largely avoided or neglected the phenomenon, the author analyzes three failed police solutions. These he terms "snappy bureaucrats," "Bittner's peace," and "Skolnick's craftsmen." He concludes that punishing policemen who resort to dirty means to achieve some unquestionably good and morally justifiable end creates another type of Dirty Harry Problem for policy makers and for society at large. 13 notes