Ethical Systems
You are a patrol officer in a state that prohibits the selling, giving, or sharing of any tobacco products with anyone younger than 18 years of age. Similarly, there is also a prohibition of selling, giving, or sharing any alcohol or alcoholic beverages with anyone younger than 21 years of age.
On your day off, you and several members of your shift have been invited to your sergeant’s home for a cookout. While standing around with the sergeant and a couple of your shift members, the sergeant’s daughter asks her father if he has any cigarettes. He hands her a pack of cigarettes out of his shirt pocket. Later, you notice the daughter and one of her friends sitting off to the side and both of them are drinking beers from cans. You know from a prior introduction that the daughter is 16 years old. Her friend looks to be the same age.
Analyze this situation and prepare a report that covers the following points:
Discuss all of your options in this scenario. Show how each option has a basis in an ethical system.
Provide background information from your home state regarding the behaviors described in the scenario. What do your state’s laws say about providing tobacco or alcohol to a minor?
Identify the utilitarian and deontological ethical philosophies of each option.
Describe what your response would be. Explain how your response would hold up if questioned by your captain.
