Balance between Effective Law Enforcement and Personality Liberty

15. Debate the balance between effective law enforcement and personal liberty. Which of these two principles outweighs the other? Are there any situations in which personal freedoms should be limited to ensure that police are able to prevent crime or successfully apprehend offenders? Why or why not? Support your opinion.

When it comes to ensuring the law and order of society in the midst of chaos, finding a balance between the law enforcement actions and freedom of the individual is crucial (Freiwald Smith and Freiwald (2018)). The problem is that people might not be able to determine the extent of their freedoms and law enforcement officers could infringe on individual rights in the name of ensuring the public’s safety. While personal rights should always be prioritized over the reasons for police actions however there are instances that the focus should be placed on the public good , not on rights of individuals, and a middle ground must be sought (Freiwald and Smith 2018). In a larger way than normal concerns over protecting citizens’ rights should be prioritized over concerns over enforcing laws. In the end, we examine whether unlawful searches or seizures could be in violation of people’s rights and prohibit these. But there are other situations where police officers could restrict personal freedoms and compromise privacy, for instance when mass murders or terrorist attacks are at risk (Freiwald Smith and Freiwald 2018). Since the safety of the public is at risk and the public’s safety is at stake, these steps are taken to minimize the risk of criminal activity taking place. These examples demonstrate that in a society that is committed to freedom of the individual, those rights can be compromised when the safety of the public is at risk. Cont…