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Reactions and Reflections to Cyndi Banks' 'Criminal Justice Ethics: Theory and Practice'

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Reactions and Reflections on Readings in Cyndi Banks' Criminal Justice Ethics: Theory and Practice

Introduction No serious-minded individual over the age of twelve actually thinks that justice and ethical issues involved in criminality are purely black-and-white or clear-cut issues of good and bad. The first chapters of Cyndi Banks' (2008) Criminal Justice Ethics, however, make it clear that the issues of right and wrong in the criminal justice system are far more complex, specific, and subtle than one might have guessed, even when grand and overarching principles serve as the ultimate source for the ethical considerations in a criminal justice case. Especially when supplemented by additional research regarding the workings of the criminal justice system and the application of ethics in cranial justice decisions and policies, the first chapters of this book have a profound effect in shaping an awareness of such considerations.
The Importance of Ethics One of the most profound impacts the first chapter of Banks' (2008) book has on the reader is in breaking down the different ways of understanding ethics, some of which are at least in part mutually exclusive. Ethical absolutism doesn't take into account differences in cultural values or perspectives, and yet it is easy to see that there are significant differences in perspective and what is considered acceptable, wrong, or even criminal from society to society and even within sub-cultures in a given society (Banks,

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