Suppose you have been hired by your city’s police department. The police department asks you to develop a program that matches arrest records with court records. In addition, the program must show the ultimate outcome or the verdict for each case. You have been given access to all police databases records so you can start testing the new system that you are developing.

A friend of yours works for an important multinational company, in the human resources department. Your friend must perform background checks of potential employees. (Job seekers sign a form authorizing this review). The police records are open to the public and your friend might look for them at the courthouse, but it would take many hours per week to complete this task. As a convenience, should you provide your friend with the results of any arrest records of job applicants?

Suppose that some data is incorrect, and an applicant is not hired. Would you feel responsible?

Because we have been hired by the city’s police department, the ease of access to data for us will be more easier and swift as compared to any outsider. Despite this fact, we cannot break certain rules and regulations based on the code of conduct and the integrity with which we must hold the position of a police department. As per the rules we must not let out the confidential data in a manner despite the person who is asking is an acquaintance. The person seeking any information must apply for the data as per the standard operating procedure. This is the correct functional way of seeking data from the police department. No favor must be meted out to anyone in this regard. If any mishap happens, we will be blamed for absolutely no fault of ours. In such critical issues it is best to operate as per the standard procedures. Keeping this is mind, we must not provide our friend with results of any arrest records of the job applicants for convenience.