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Social Contract Theory Essay

579 Words3 Pages

Police carry out their duties under a system that is constantly changing and comprising of social, economic, legal, intellectual, and political determinants that combine to form a unique environment. A combination of these factors determines the behavior of police in how they enforce the law, when they should enforce it, and which law to enforce. Although the police body distinguishes itself from other social institutions, its mode of operation is influenced largely by forces outside the police organization. As a result, the police are said to be premised on the social contract theory as stipulated by philosophers Jean-Jacques Rousseau because it incorporates the interdependence between the government, the state, and the society (Gaines & Kappeler, 2015).
In this form of an organization, the society agrees to form a government that protects the society. However, the society gives up some of its natural rights to secure defense and necessities of life. In return, the government provides an effective system that regulates the conduct of the society and a way to resolve conflicts among its subjects. It is in this system that police hold an important role in maintaining tranquility together with the other components of …show more content…

Some of the issues surround the supervision of officers during the process of dispensation of their duties. Often, subordinate officers are indifferent in the measures to use when confronted with discretionary decision-making about citizens (Gaines & Kappeler, 2015). Further, the senior police officers are likely to affect the behavior of subordinate officers and eventually affect their behavior at home. Mostly, aggressive responses from senior officers may elicit stress and emotional behavior in their subordinates that is eventually meted to their

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