Blahism: Undercover Operations

“Undercover work is ethical when it is carried out by persons of upright character in accountable organizations” (Pollock, 2004, p. 210). I am an extreme optimist, maybe even naïve, when it comes to trusting people. I like to believe that people are generally good, especially people that are officers of the law. I am not, however, so naïve that I believe there is not some unethical behavior going on in law enforcement. From a utilitarian view point, undercover work is justifiable if the organizations, and the officers, are conducting their investigation with the very noble intentions of bringing down a dangerous criminal. An officer must have a strong personality, with goodwill, in order to deal with the feelings that accompany lying and betrayal. They must believe they are doing the right thing, and maintain their integrity.
I think the test that Cohen (1991) proposes is a good guideline for ethical undercover operations:
1. The end must be justified as a good- for instance, conviction of a serious criminal rather than general intelligence gathering.
2. The means must be a plausible way to achieve the end- for example, choosing a target with no reasonable suspicion is not a plausible way to reduce any type of crime.
3. There must be no better alternative means to achieve the same end: no less-intrusive means or methods of collecting evidence exist.
4. The means must not undermine some other equal or greater end; that is, if the method results in loss of trust or faith in the legal system, it fails the test (Pollock, 2004, pp. 209, 211).
Bringing up the concerns of seemingly innocent Americans inadvertently targeted by undercover police officers, Pollock raises the question “are we comfortable in a society where the person who offers you drugs or sex or a cheap way to hook into cable turns out to be an undercover police officer”? If this were to happen to me, I would look at it as the officer is doing their job, and if I am stupid enough to engage in the illegal activities then I deserve to be punished.