The Ethics of Law Enforcement and Business

Before proposing a reform to the American criminal justice system, we must first examine the problems that plague the process of justice on all levels. American society plays an important role in shaping the criminal justice system. Their beliefs and values determine the type of deviants and the consequences of the crimes. Often their beliefs contradict each other.

The criminal justice system is composed of three parts – Police, Courts and Corrections – and all three work together to protect an individual’s rights and the rights of society to live without fear of being a victim of crime. According to merriam-webster.com, crime is defined as “an act that is forbidden or omission of a duty that is commanded by public law and that makes the offender liable to punishment by that law.” When all the three parts work together, it makes the criminal justice system function like a well tuned machine.

The criminal justice system is one of the most important components in the public service system. Since it is a system that citizens encounter daily it would be most beneficial for those who are employed to behave as ethical leaders. Leadership skills and ethical behavior are both parts of the duties of any officer serving the law. Often employees are placed in quick decision situations that can have fatal outcomes if not handled properly. By ensuring that all officers of the law have a set of functioning ethical leadership skills can not only develop a well-rounded individual, but also builds the relationship between the community they serve to protect. The police and other officers of the law have great discretion and power over an individual which makes having responsible, ethically behaving persons on the front lines even more important. With the right training and education, ethical officers can set the bar and improve the quality of life of the community they serve as well as other officers.

As a community we long to know that we are safe from criminal activity on all levels. If we have property stolen or vandalized we expect that the perpetrator will be caught and held accountable for their actions and restitution will be brought forth. If a “mad man” is on the loose raping and kill members of our community we expect they will be caught and sentenced in the legal system and order will be restored. In reality we know that this is not an actuality. Often criminals accept plea deals, overcrowding of jails provide sentences to be reduced, and lawyers find “loop holes” for their defendants and no time is served.

Many Americans falsely believe the criminal justice processes are too relaxed. This is illustrated through the conduction of a Gallup poll in which Americans were asked if the United States’ criminal justice system is currently "too tough, not tough enough, or about right" in handling crime. The majority, sixty five percent of people, said the criminal justice

nation, the criminal justice system has detrimentally affected the lives of those it was created to

My first interviewee officers jack Davidson, patrolman from Somers point police department. When interviewing Patrolman Davidson, I found the following to be his impressions of the police force in general. Officer Davidson spoke of why ethics and character are important in the field of law enforcement. His response was that ethics and character go hand in hand. In law enforcement it seems that there are so many reasons to do the right thing. The reasons began with public opinion and also should include their influence on the youth who will be growing up to be citizens of the city, state, or country. If a police officer does not behave with

There are many important elements of organizational behavior in a criminal justice or security agency. These elements of organizational behavior are guidelines to organization hire valuable employees with values, morals, and ethnics. Commitment to ethical behavior one of the elements among others that will be discuss in this paper. Commitment to ethical behavior is when unethical behavior and illegal business practice in an organization is publicized. This is element that is use in the criminal justice and security agencies because the public and businesses trust the agencies to perform their duties with professionalism, morality, and diligence. The public sees through the media about police officer who have been caught breaking the law

Many people think they know and understand the criminal justice system based on what they see on tv on shows like criminal minds for example. However that is the version the media wants you to see. The version where the police officer becomes a hero by capturing the bad guy and thrown him off to jail. According to the author these tv shows are the modern form of the old films given back then portraying free and content slaves creating false hope and protection (Alexander 59). However those who are familiar with the criminal justice system know that the system is nothing compared to what is displayed on tv. Alexander states that we have a very harsh system, many trails never make it to court, innocent people declare themselves guilty in order to obtain a plea bargain and escape impending sentences, and children as young as fourteen in some instances being trailed as adults (Alexander 54).

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

One would be hard pressed to argue that the criminal justice system in America is perfect. Everyday, countless headlines can be seen nationwide about some perceived injustice within the courts. Our criminal justice system is no different than our society wherein special people get special consideration, men and women are held to different standards, and so forth and so on. As an American, I have accepted these facts of life. I am a father of two boys, a varsity baseball coach and a police veteran of 17 years. In my experience as a father, coach and police veteran, I have seen and heard it all.

Ethics in the criminal justice system is customary when the administration measures are sometime virtuous and imperfect, attractive and unattractive and the ideas of production values are perceptive that this may be right and wrong. Working in the criminal justice system, every decision and results must meet the needs of the citizens and the law enforcement in regards to the balancing concern. The concerns are from prosecuting the guilty and respecting the right of the accused, protecting the victims, and creating a safe community. This paper will give analysis of the critical thinking concerning the relationship between ethics and professional behavior role of the law enforcement

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.

culture by instilling fear and causing more harm than the original threat (Kane, 2014). Another ethical challenge was to find sources that applied my position without sacrificing the truth by being too forceful or one-sided. To overcome these, I made sure my sources were scholarly and that they did not have a self-serving motive, such as creating fear or to create a profit.

Ethics determine what is considered decent and acceptable behavior in society and it is a key aspect of life, whether it is at work, home, or in society. As bizarre as it seems, some things may not be illegal, but can be extremely unethical. Yet in the same sense what is unethical varies by the person. The purpose of this paper is to expound the differences between the three main ethical theories in criminal justice. While elaborating on how an agency can be improved when applying the correct theory to the problem.