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Cited by 213Policing Practices and PerceptionsEthics in Business and EducationCriminal Justice and Penology

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The Dirty Harry Problem

Klockars, Carl B.·1980·The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
DOI 10.1177/000271628045200104
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Abstract

Policing constantly places its practitioners in situations in which good ends can be achieved by dirty means. When the ends to be achieved are urgent and unquestionably good and only a dirty means will work to achieve them, the policeman faces a genuine moral dilemma. A genuine moral dilemma is a situation from which one cannot emerge inno cent no matter what one does—employ a dirty means, em ploy an insufficiently dirty means, or walk away. In such situations in policing, Dirty Harry problems, the danger lies not in becoming guilty of wrong—that is inevitable—but in thinking that one has found a way to escape a dilemma which is inescapable. Dire consequences result from this misunder standing. Policemen lose their sense of moral proportion, fail to care, turn cynical, or allow their passionate caring to lead them to employ dirty means too crudely or too readily. The only means of assuring that dirty means will not be used too readily or too crudely is to punish those who use them and the agency which endorses their use.

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Metadata

Authors
Klockars, C. B.
Affiliations
University of Delaware (US)
Corresponding author
Klockars, Carl B.
Venue
The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
1980-11
Volume
452
Issue
1
Pages
33-47
ISSN
  • 0002-7162 (ISSN-L)
  • 1552-3349
DOI
10.1177/000271628045200104
OpenAlex
W1999759788
Cited by
213
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 3
FWCI
10.18
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
  • The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Policing Practices and Perceptions
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Ethics in Business and Education
  • Social Sciences › Law › Criminal Justice and Penology
Keywords
police ethics, ethical dilemmas, police misconduct, police accountability

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