Moral Stages

Prologue – Both the Grantham County Sheriff’s Office and the University City Police Department have a Records Management System (RMS). These systems contain all civil, criminal, and informational reports along with other confidential information.  Each department allows its police officers, deputies, detectives, records clerks, and dispatchers access to these files while at work. Under no circumstances will the public have access to the information contained in RMS.  All employees receive training and sign a document stating that he or she understands that violating this directive may result in termination and other criminal charges. 

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Scenario:

Badpenny and Dreadford have been dating for several months.  Recently, Badpenny started to believe Dreadford’s claim that University City Detective, Alphonse Krupt or just Al Krupt set him up.Dreadford told Badpenny that the time he spent in prison was for a crime he did not commit. Dreadford explained that Detective Al Krupt is a dirty cop and Detective Krupt planted the meth found in his car.  Dreadford always parked his car in the street in front of his house and left the vehicle unlocked. Detective Krupt must have put the meth in his vehicle that night while Dreadford slept.  The day of his arrest, Dreadford had left for work in the morning and Detective Krupt pulled Dreadford over because he did not use his turn indicator. Detective Krupt then made a factious claim that he could smell the odor of burnt marijuana, which gave him probable cause to search Dreadford’s vehicle.  Detective Krupt acted surprised when he found the meth he had planted and then arrested Dreadford. Badpenny thought Dreadford’s accounting of the incident was plausible and started to believe that the officers were embellishing their stories of Dreadford. Badpenny thought there is no way her sweet, thoughtful Dreadford was the major drug dealer the officers made him out to be.  One evening after work, Badpenny received a call from Dreadford asking her to come by, which was unusual.  However, she was excited that he had been thinking about her and could not wait to see him.  When Badpenny arrived at Dreadford’s house, he handed her one yellow rose and a glass of wine and said, “You look beautiful.” Dreadford casually asked Badpenny “Did anything exciting happen during your shift?”  Badpenny said, “As a matter of fact the detectives arrested a person in connection with the illegal drug trade in Grantham County.”  Badpenny continued to share details about the arrest and told Dreadford that the arrestee might become a confidential informant in exchange for leniency on his case.  Badpenny lowered her voice and said, “The arrest caused quite a commotion at the department, but it is all quite hush-hush because the person the detectives arrested may lead to an even larger drug bust.” Dreadford filled Badpenny’s glass of wine, kissed her on the cheek, and then asked, “Who the person was that the detectives arrested?” Badpenny replied, “Roy McCoy” (Badpenny did not tell Dreadford McCoy’s nickname is “Mookie”). Badpenny asks Dreadford, “Do you know McCoy?” Dreadford says, “No, I do not know a guy that goes by that name.”  Badpenny had another glass of wine and with a little prompting from Dreadford; she tells him how she became curious about the incident when the federal agents showed up at the department.  Badpenny pulled up the detective’s report on RMS and read it. Dreadford asks, “What was in the report?” Badpenny said, “In the report the detective stated that McCoy is going to help them get the next big shipment of Meth coming into town next week.  If the drug bust goes well, McCoy may not get any prison time for helping the police and the department could get thousands of dollars in revenue.”    

Review the scenario above and write a paper identifying external factors that influenced Badpenny’s decision to share confidential information.  Also, include how the structure of an organization influences an employee’s decision to behave ethically or unethically, and what interventions an organization can implement to encourage ethical behavior.  Apply Kohlberg’s moral stages to explain what stage you see both Badpenny and Dreadford – give examples.