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Summary Of Ethics In Criminal Justice
Aristotle's views on virtue
Aristotle's views on virtue
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Brandon Locklear Criminal Justice Ethics April 2017
Research Paper: Criminal Justice Ethics
CJC 232-OI
Instructor: Mr. Rudy Locklear
Robeson Community College 2017
By: Brandon Locklear
Criminal Justice Ethics
Outline
I. Introduction
II. Ethical Systems
III. Ethics and the Police
IV. Ethics and the Courts
V. Ethics and Correctional Officers
VI. Ethics, Probation, and Parole Officers
VII. Conclusion
I Introduction Criminal justice and ethics are closely related. According to social contract theory, the residents of a country give up certain liberties to be protected by the government, and criminal justice professionals are agents of the government. Those who specialize in justice are expected to have
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This goodness sparks the minds of human beings and helps them to make moral judgments. The idea of natural law, or self-preservation, “appealed to both Plato and his student Aristotle, who sought universal qualities in human nature” (Souryal, 2006). “Stoics, natural law signifies a search for moral absolutes that is identified as natural” (Pollock, 2007). Aristotle, in the Nicomachean Ethics, “provided the first systematic study of ethics in the history of the Western world”(Albanese, 2008 p.15). In this book, Aristotle pinpointed that the ethics of virtue that is concerned with virtuous habits. Aristotle suggested the intermediate path, or the golden mean, which strikes a balance between extreme behaviors. He prescribed 10 moral virtues or excellences that are to be cultivated they are as follows:” courage, temperance, prudence, justice, pride, ambition, having a good temper, being a good friend, truthfulness and wittiness” (Albanese, 2008). Every officer knows, or at least should know by now, that they live in very tight quarters as to what they can or cannot engage in. Everyone in all walks of life from friends, family and enemies watch every move law enforcement officers make both on and off duty I know because my daddy is an officer and people are always making assumptions. The fact is that the public criticize police officers more than most other professions, either because they're doubtful and hope to catch them screwing up or because they're hopeful and are looking for a good example and a strong leader. In either case, it's up to the officer to be above reproach in both his public and private life. This brings us to ethics and the
"A policeman’s first obligation is to be responsible to the needs of the community he serves…The problem is that the atmosphere does not yet exist in which an honest police officer can act without fear of ridicule or reprisal from fellow officers. We create an atmosphere in which the honest officer fears the dishonest officer, and not the other way around.", -Frank Serpico.
Crank & Caldero (2004) discuss the notion of the noble cause that is widely used by police officers to justify their actions. Police officers feel that there are many obstacles that prevent them to do their job efficiently. They claim that courts only hinder the process of putting criminals behind bars. They also believe that they are true patriots with a noble cause of getting rid of bad guys. To further prove their point Crank & Caldero (2004) use works of many authors, who wrote about police ethics and corruption and about how the noble cause is interpreted by police officers. Each of the authors discusses a dilemma with which polices officers have to deal when deciding what action they need to take in order to deal with criminals. Cumulatively, it seems that police conduct themselves towards criminals and citizens with hostility and with actions that maybe constituted as unlawful and corruptive in nature. But to the police officers, who are seeking justice and are driven by a noble cause, all means are good to get the bad guys. There is also a philosophical twist that puts a poli...
This aspect makes officers feel like they can handle anything that comes their way, but something couldn’t be so wrong. It encourages individual strength and independence, which together can make a simple situation turn deadly. As an example: “ On Tuesday, April Seventh, Two Thousand and Fifteen, New Castle Police Officer Justin Warren arrived at a house fire, he tried to go in through the thick smoke to save the two boys were inside the fire that tragically passed. Officer Warren without even thinking rushed in there, two officers found him lying unconscious in the living room, and had to transport him in the back of their cruiser to the hospital.” (New Castle
A police officer’s duty is to protect and serve their community. They also hold high standards for themselves. I believe the most valuable trait a police officer holds is integrity. This must be maintained because they are in a position of trust. Police officers are also very professional in what they do.
Each position in criminal justice holds power and responsibility, and therefore, it is very important that said people in those positions do not abuse it. Unethical behavior in the criminal justice system takes away trust and respect from authority, and as a consequence, the law is more easily disregarded if the people lack faith in the system. It can, also, contribute to crime and/or cause citizens to not report crimes. Society should have indubitable confidence in the men and women of the criminal justice system. Law enforcement officers violating even the smallest rule could lead to more serious infractions. Syed (1997) states, "Every instance of corruption bends or violates a rule or law and, similar to the granting of impunity, may contribute to an officer's perceptions of the law as applying differently to different people and increase the ease with which violations can be rationalized." Having less than ethical persons in our criminal justice system can lead to a weakened society, the ruining of lives, and even add to crime.
When somebody sees how moral difficulties are illustrated it gets to be conceivable to well-spoken methodologies to dispense with. The moral bursts of conduct performed by those inside of general society security areas. Cures of moral conduct with respect to cops start first with the choice and employing of experienced people. Police office ought to no more effectively discover "work-round" of least enlisting norms to select an individual from an uncommon hobby. Lawyer General Eric Holder as of late demonstrated as to Dayton, Ohio Police Department. "No organization ought to until the end of time be found in the position that the Los Angeles Police Department discovered itself when they had volunteers working the boulevards and their personal
Decision some officers make compromise their loyalty, to the community they swore to protect. It is a stressful situation when deciding to be loyal to the job or to fellow officers. “Many departments have officers swear an oath to serve and protect without allowing personal feelings, prejudices, animosities, or friendships influence their actions”, however, the code exists (Lawrence, 2015). Not the code of ethics or the code of honor, but the “cop code”, which bonds unethical officers to a code of silence to protect each other.
Police ethics are extremely important because ethics are the typical of “fair and honest conduct” (pg 460). People may have a different definition of what is fair and what is honest, and there are different circumstances where officers may not be able to be honest; such as covert investigations. Society in general determines what our ethical standards and moral principles are. Individual morals vary among all of us as they are what we as an individual consider to be right or wrong. We also have morals that are set by society. These are what we as a society consider to be right or wrong and may go hand in hand with individual morals. Morals change as society and people change, therefore we as a country have to adapt to what the changing morals are.
A Critical Assessment In defining police ethics, ethical policing and police ethics are not synonymous or interchangeable connotations to or for one another. Aside from establishing a police role independently from establishing any definition of ethics or police ethics, the semantics tend to complicate the defining process. Some of these complications include, but are not limited to, sociological aspects, psychological conditions, or philosophical reasoning. Examples of sociological complications include historical, political, cultural, or economic aspects. Some psychological examples include one’s ability to discern sociological implications from other implications; namely, the condition of post-traumatic stress disorder, hydrophobia, or even weary dreams. Lastly,
Ethics play a huge role in a police officers line of work. Since police are given such a high degree of trust and authority, it can unfortunately be very easy for an officer to fall into some unethical behavior. This can range from just minor acts that are frowned upon, to actual downright illegal activity. Even though there are a countless number of acts and behaviors that can be considered unethical, in the following paper I will focus primarily on those incidents involving police officers who steal for their own personal gain, and discuss my position on the issue.
Ethics in Criminal Justice -.
Ethics is a branch of philosophy that, at its core, seeks to understand and to determine how human actions are judged right or wrong. Those thought to be ethical are described in terms of their honesty, integrity and good character. For these reasons, personal ethics are said to be our foundation and, as such, often influence how we administer ethical codes of conduct in carrying out our organizational duties. While attempting to arrive at appropriate ethical decisions, it is helpful that police officers possess the capacity to exercise moral imagination. Moral imagination provides the ability to identify and assess alternatives and to effectively weigh the consequences when attempting to address issues that present ethical dilemmas.
Many law enforcement officers are exposed briefly to the topic of ethics while in the academy. Often times, after leaving the academy, they do not receive continued education. The International Association of Chiefs of Police recommends that ethics training be integrated into continued training and in-service training curriculums. Studies are suggesting that this is occurring and there is literature supporting the view that the law enforcement community perceives ethics training as a worthwhile endeavor that should be offered on a continuous basis to all ranks within the organization (Wyatt-Nichol & Franks, 2009).
Criminal Justice professionals make decisions everyday and they have to be able to recognize when an issue involves ethical considerations. Therefore, in order to recognize these issues and make appropriate and correct decisions, it is important that the criminal justice professional study ethics. In order to make a good ethical decision the professional will have to have the ability to apply knowledge of ethics, know the ethical terminology and the concepts needed in making a good ethical decision.
Communities place their trust and safety within the hands of police officers to maintain order and protect the public. Law enforcement officers are charged with having a high level of integrity in order to accomplish the preservation of the public. Dr. Stephen Vicchio, a professor of philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, states that integrity is “the sum of the virtues required to bring about the general goals of protections and service to the public.” A police officer who possesses the traits of trust, perseverance, respect, courage, and honesty can be viewed as an officer with morals and values and less susceptible to police corruption.