Ethical Issues in Criminal Justice Essay

Police officers may or may not actively support noble-cause corruption. Sometimes when officers become aware of corrupt or illegal forms of misconduct, they are inclined to “turn a blind eye or look the other way.” It puts their fellow officers in a very difficult position, most officers tend to think that if they turn away and ignore it and do not acknowledge what is going on that they are not part of the misconduct or illegal activity. Most

When the public looks at us as public servants they expect officers to be of the highest ethical, and moral standard. When the police deal with the public, unfortunately it is usually when something is wrong. To be able to fix things that are wrong in society you have to be a person of integrity with moral values. The public would never trust someone who does not have integrity to fix there problems. In order for officers of the Las Vegas metropolitan police to perform their duties the community needs to be able to trust them. When a officer is trustworthy, he or she can be relied upon to be honest, reliable, and loyal, which to me means they have integrity. But its also equally important to be respectful, responsible, fair, caring, and demonstrate good citizenship. An officer with integrity does exactly what he says, and says exactly what he means. There is no conflict or doubt between his thoughts and actions. His actions are consistent with the values he claims to

It is important that police officers be ethical especially while on the job. An officer’s

As each new member of a police department officially becomes a sworn member, friends, family and other members of the public gather as they speak an oath. The oath these officers take, promises their commitment to ensure the safety of the public they serve. This means more than protecting civilians from individuals who may stray from the law, but to also ensure the protection of basic human rights. Police and other public servants are given a great deal of trust and power, what they do with it is based on the ethics they choose to uphold. In this paper we will look at why it is important for these justice professionals to study ethics.

Police misconduct is currently on the rise in many cities. Police misconduct can be define as false confession, false arrest, falsified of evidence and lying under the oath. For many years police crimes have went unreported and punishments are never given. We now have to put an end to these wrongful duties taken by police officers around the world.

Police officers are trained to read, write and analyze numbers. They are also trained how to handle firearms, identify non-lethal weapons, use defensive tactics effective, conduct search and seizure, driving techniques, investigate criminal acts and the laws of arrest, but how many police take a course on ethical conduct or learn the meaning of sworn oath? Some police officer feel ethics is not important and training is of low – priority. Law enforcement officers take oaths creates an ethical landmine. Officers have to weigh their personal values against colleague demands that may develop a hostile environment and cause ethical issues to flourish. When police officers demonstrate unethical practices, negative issues occur. Corruption scandals are painful reminders that officers need more

“Ethical issues regarding corruption and off-duty behavior have become an increasing challenge in criminal justice” (Writing, 1999-2013). Within the criminal justice system, ethics can be complicated by the moral implications of actions. Differences in cultures and different circumstances can affect the individual moral compass. However, all departments of criminal justice operate by a certain code of ethics and by certain standards. But those standards and ethics often become challenged due to issues relating to police brutality, off duty conduct and corruption that we hear about all of the time through the media.

Ethical studies in criminal justice is important because it provides the professionals with a platform for making noble choices when faced with unsure situations of moral concern. In this case, they require a system of rules as a guide in making complex moral decisions. Consequently, criminal justice professionals will develop analytical skills and reasoning potential in discerning the practical and theoretical aspects of their profession’s system. Additionally, an ethical insight eliminates inexperience in moral issues, hence enabling them to easily identify ethical consequences and moral code of conduct. Therefore, the awareness of criminal justice professionals on matters pertaining to

5. Should ethics training be offered as an on-going process for law enforcement officers? * 5. “On-going ethics training is always a good idea. We train with our guns and cars every year. Couldn’t hurt to make ethics required every year too.” (Shonda Ellis Duncan, personal Interview 2011) 6. Do the interviewees feel that education and/or training in ethics would reduce incidents of police corruption? * 6. “Training may reduce corruption incidents. It’s a nice idea. A wise man once told me though that power corrupts. I believe this to be true. If you think of yourself as a superior to everyone else, there is no law, no training or in-service that can fix that kind of ugly. I don’t know if someone can be “trained” to be humble. Either you are or you ain’t. I think this is true for cops. You’re either a good one or we appreciate your interest in law enforcement. Of course a good cop has to maintain order. You must have respect to be successful. An officer’s presence alone demands it. One must remember the spirit and the letter of the law though and hold it dear as it is precious. “(Shonda Ellis Duncan, personal Interview 2011)

Every time an innocent person is exonerated based on DNA testing, law enforcement agencies look at what caused the wrongful convictions. There are many issues that contribute to putting guiltless lives behind bars including: eyewitness misidentification, false confessions, imperfect forensic science, and more (Gould and Leo 18). When a witness is taken into a police station to identify a suspect, it is easy for their memories to be blurred and their judgment influenced. This can lead the witness to identify a suspect who is actually innocent. Flawed forensic science practice also contributes to wrongful imprisonments. In the past, analysts have been inaccurate due to carelessness, testified in court presenting evidence that was not based

In my opinion, most police departments and public employers (city and state) go through their civil service department which alleviates misconduct. The New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) here in Louisiana hires both commissioned police officers and police support staff through the city’s civil service department. The NOPD does not have a union but does has an Integrity Bureau which investigates all incidents of misconduct (DWI) and citizen complaints (Police brutality) involving the NOPD’s police officers. However, the police department’s personnel wages, benefits and work hours are handled by the civil service department to alleviate corruption and to directly adhere to the city’s needs. In sum, when a police officer of staff member has

Instead of practicing a professional code of ethics; some police officers develop a personal code of ethics

Innocent until proven guilty, that is for the suspect, today law enforcements ethics and values are under suspicion and rightfully so. This honorable profession needs to be progressive and transparent, and bring critical details to the public quickly, as in matter of hours not days. Furthermore, law enforcement ethics need to be virtuous and these men and women should possess the following virtues, courage, perseverance, compassion, generosity, truthfulness, and a good temper. These men and women are not without fault, however they must constantly strive to be

Among the other challenges mentioned is the absence of a strong leader whom police enforcement officers can emulate and look up to for inspiration. This is confirmed by Edward J. Tulley who said that a person must do the right thing always even if nobody is looking. The sad thing however is that there is nobody now who is willing to set a positive example.The lack of training or formal education is also a reason why law enforcement officers commit misconduct. I believe that no person would intentionally do something that is wrong. The problem however is that when people are faced with an ethical dilemma their lack of understanding of better ways to deal with the situation sometimes impels them to make a wrong decision. The task now is to make ethics a part of the training for law enforcement officers so that compliance with the code of ethics becomes a matter of instinct. The absence of a stringent hiring and selection process is also a barrier for compliance with high ethical standards. The conduct of interviews and psychological testing are important because there are people whose psychological profiles do not match with the profile of that of a police officer. While it is true that there are some people who can be educated and trained to become ethical police officers there are some whose personalities do not match that of a police officer

In this country we are seeing an increase in ethical violations in the field of law enforcement. I will go into detail about some of the main ethical issues we are seeing today and what can be done to prevent such acts from happening. When one officer is being unethical it has a huge effect on how the public views law enforcement as a whole. Many officers go undetected for a long time before getting caught, but an officer committing ethical violations will have their day it’s just a matter of time. In order to improve this growing problem we must first understand why there is such a problem in the field of law enforcement.