Ethics in Criminal Justice

As the saying goes, “hindsight is 20/20.” It is easy to look back on the history of criminal justice and scoff at the sometimes crude and barbaric methods of correcting criminal behavior. From speaking to village elders to burning those who were deemed witches, human-kind’s endeavor to seek out and punish bad behavior has been littered with what many could consider to be downright silly behavior. Luckily though, all of that is in the past now, with our society and criminal justice system moving in a scientific direction more-so every single day. But is it really?

Throughout the whole course of the semester, I gained a lot of information about the administration of justice. We, as a class, were introduced to ethics in the criminal justice system which strictly focused on the three C’s: cops, courts, and corrections. We talked about the different ways to approach a citizen by using critical thinking and step-by-step decision making. We also talked about key concepts such as integrity, which plays a major role in the criminal justice system, and other concepts such as de-escalation or even the rule of law. In this essay I will talk about the information I have gained over the course of the semester as well as talk about how I will incorporate this information in my future in the criminal justice field.

Beyond the inconsistent management and regulation of sexual offenders, three other issues functioning collectively to further confound the CJS include: (a) the inability to determine and/or agree if sexual offenses result from either a mental disorder, poor decision-making, or a combination thereof; (b) society’s misunderstandings of both sexual offenders and their offenses; and (c) society’s often misplaced trust in authoritative sources who may provide incomplete, incorrect, or biased information. Consequently, two multifaceted questions arise from these three issues. First, “Are we treating or punishing, dealing with illness or crime” (Vivian-Byrne, 2004, p. 186)? Second, are policies and laws constructed from empirically-based evidence or are they fabricated due to sensationalized media productions that skew public perception (Center for Sex Offender Management, 2010; Levenson et al., 2007; Levenson & D'Amora, 2007; Zgoba, 2004)?

What are ethics? How are ethics analyzed in the criminal justice system? The importance of ethics in the criminal justice system and society with be addressed. The meaning of ethics is defined as what is good for the individual and for the society in which he or she is serving and establishes the nature of obligation what is expected by the officer, correctional officer or judge within the court because each professional holds a very important duty to society which is protect and serve. Also, people in general owe themselves and others the outmost respect integrity and honesty. As children ethics is a value in which a child parent teach as a person to be honest tell the truth and always do the right thing make right choices not the wrong one analyze yourself and think about the consequences to your action. Furthermore, the law can be neutral on the ethical matter. The law enforcement department has ethical code of conduct that must be fallowed which courses are provided to employees to ensure that the proper understanding of the word ethics is understood because as an officer he or she has the liability to enforce the law protect and serve society. Officers are the first respondent on a crime scene or incident which the proper report must be processes because the report is the word or evidence and if false statements are provided that officer’s credential will be question and no longer be trusted. The study and research of ethics in the criminal justice system has been

Being the rookie agent and knowing that I have to respect the hierarchy in regards to my superiors, I would not be placed in a position to contradict a procedure performed by the sergeant and my fellow colleagues. However, I would be totally offended and on edge for their behaviors. Not only because the suspect is an African-American, it will be because the offender is in a surrendering state. I would only observe and not interfere with the development of the arrest.

Having a code of ethics in justice professions is an essential memo to have for each member of the organization. Most organizations provide a code of ethics to their employees and it is important to know a person’s rights and limitations before taking action. So what kind of repercussions are there for justice professionals and their unethical actions? There is the Police Act for example, which consists of all police officer’s authorities, rights, limitations and the way they can be prosecuted for their actions. Criminal justice professionals are involved in coercion because of the amount of power they are given (Pollock, 2015). This is why things like the Police Act were put into motion to help minimize the risk of corruption in justice

On the other side if an lawyer thinks that the individual that he or she is protecting is certainly unjust to the fact that it clashes with his or her own personal and moral values that he or she has the right to save that individual as his or her lawyer. There is a thin line between ethics and professional behavior as it relates to management of criminal justice and much of this might vary on the instructions and the individuals who are tangled.

The development of ethics has truly reflected the structure of sustained laws throughout society. Ethics has been used to influence right and wrong behavior, while laws are used to regulate individuals/society decisions and behavior. In reference to the literature, Criminal Justice Ethics by Cyndi Banks (2013), “Ethics is a branch of philosophy concerned with the study of right and wrong and how ought to live. Ethics involves making moral judgments about what is right or wrong, good or bad” (Pg.2). Ethics are used as a moral judgment on a typical matter based accordingly to certain cultures and/or societies, but what do laws account for in society? According to Law Versus Ethics in Management by Susan M. Anstead (1999), “Law can be defined

Speaking from experience the majority of the time when I or my beat partners obtain information we always do so in good-faith and legally. I use the term loosely. We are told on the spot whether or not what we gathered is inadmissible due to our actions. I believe that as a police officer we are equal amongst our peers. We simply have a job to do and one of the things we can do under our job description is take someone's freedom from them by incarcerating them due to them committing a crime. Even as a police officer it does not give us the right to abuse our authority in order to obtain a confession or gather evidence. It is simply a waste of time to act in good-faith but do the job illegally. I believe that if we cannot follow the statutes

Criminal justice system has undergone several reforms over the past decades due to the increasingly demands on how best justice can be adjudicated. Vital criminal justice system ethical issue like the capital punishment, experimental execution and lots more are still subject of debates till date. There is always the need to justify whether ethics is important to the criminal justice system due to its various applications in the practical world. Many argue that it is a mere theoretical concept and never should it be allowed to influence the practical concept of justice especially in the determination of right and wrong of a societal values like the gay marriage. It also serves as a political tool for standardization of

Police officers who lie should indeed by terminated as a matter of public policy. This unprofessional behavior has a very damaging effect on the effective and efficient service of policing. The IACP Law Enforcement Code of Ethics, which governs the conduct of police officers, clearly emphasizes on the need for desisting from deceitful behavior and for officers engaging in actions that cultivate public trust and confidence from the citizens. As such, Integrity is an essential job requirement for any law enforcement official. According to Serpas (2010), the truthfulness of a police officer is not only an issue of witness credibility in the court, but is also the fundamental nature of the police service. Therefore, untruthful conduct needs to be subject to the most serious disciplinary action, which is termination.

According to the law enforcement code of ethics, “honest in thought and deed both in my personal and official life, i will be exemplary in obeying the law and the regulations of my department.” As law enforcement officials, we must be aware of the ethical responsibilities attached to our positions, we must strive to live up to the highest possible standards on-duty and off-duty. On-duty, law enforcement officials are a direct representative of our department and government. We are to conduct ourselves in appearance and department in such a way that will inspire confidence and respect for the position of public trust we hold. Because we hold a position of trust and confidence in our communities and are given a lot of power to carry out

The Criminal Justice System in the United States of America was established with noble intentions. The basis of the system can be traced back from the first book of the Bible Genesis, and the story of Cain and Able. The criminal justice system was established to be morally suitable for a growing diverse society. Moral dilemmas within the system arise from concerns related to principles of officials’ right and wrong behavior. These principles are often embedded into a culture of the human character, in other words, viewed as essential to the criminal justice system. This biblical story mentioned above has defined the way justice has been administered for thousands of years. The quote "Eye for an eye" continues to be the standard adopted by courts throughout the ages. Race is an issue. Ignoring in turn ignores the role played by whites, who created race as a concept," and allows whites to "forget" or claim innocence (2005, pp. 32-35).

A code of ethics is a necessity for many professions and law enforcement is no exception. Within the law enforcement code of ethics, there are ten canons. Although all ten are important, numbers 6, 8, and 9 deserve specific mentioning. Number six indicates the significance of a law enforcement officer acting morally and honorably even when they are not on duty. Although some may feel their private lives are theirs to do as they wish, they are still being seen by many as a law enforcement officer regardless of whether they are working or not. People would have a much greater respect for and be willing to aid if necessary, an officer who always conducts himself or herself as a professional as compared to one who gets into trouble when they are

Man-made laws appear to have been in place for thousands of years, with the original purpose of the laws being to satisfy the wishes of a higher power- God. Due to the fact that laws were based off of religious scriptures, there was a clear guidance for lawmakers as to which acts should be classed as illegal. As time has progressed, and the role of religion in laws declined, there have been questions asked as to how the lawmakers are able to draw a distinction between acts which are permissible, and those which are impermissible.