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Ethics in criminal justice
Ethics in law enforcement and policing
Ethics in law enforcement and policing
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Law enforcement officers come across a plethora of cases each year. Every case which is investigated and DNA collected should not be sent to a lab. Every crime that is investigated meets different requirement and elements. For instance, when investigating a burglary and blood is found at the scene, DNA is collected and attached to the case file. If the burglary had no other crime involved such as rape or a homicide, just stolen goods, why would the agency spend the resources to just to catch a petty theft at night. Crimes are committed each day and there are priorities for crimes, most server crimes that involve life and or sexual related crimes should be investigated and all DNA sent to the lab to be analyzed and compared to I the database. In a perfect world we would be able to catch all criminals with DNA because in away every criminal leaves DNA at the scene, whether it be hair, saliva, sweat, blood, mucus, and finger prints, Locard's exchange principle.
The report findings are accurate, we have a system that’s failing to conduct DNA analysis and a speedy manner. It’s sad that cases that DNA was collected, have yet to get results.
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This a vital role within the scientific community. Without proper training in any type of field will lead to failure and complete disarray. Properly trained and having the correct curriculum in the basic courses will get the forensic scientists ready for advances course and actually be capable of doing their job correctly. Also having well training senior forensic scientists that will further give hands on training to newly hired forensic scientist is crucial. No one learns from just reading books, hands on experience is needed and working alongside senior forensic scientist will give a plethora of knowledge from experience to a young forensic scientist. Proper training and education would be the priority I would push after reading the
I began this year considering a career in forensics. After delving into the field in detail however, I see that it is a very delicate science and easily open to misinterpretation. There are many variables within forensics, the first and foremost being that of the CSI effect and how it influences our expectations of the capabilities of forensic science. While it's true that great advances have been made in the area of forensic science, it's unrealistic to expect a crime scene to be processed, evidence analyzed and a conclusive forensics report to be completed in a short time and be completely accurate 100% of the time. Forensic science has a lot of room for improvement, and understanding if, how, and why shows like CSI affect the field is of high priority. After all, this is real life and not a TV show.
Azzam’s Publications is an online publication that is believed to be funded by Al Qaeda. This online publication conducted a global of jihadism by way of an internet access provider based in District of Connecticut (). This publication bolstered the push of hysterical jihadism and eulogize honor of suffering for the sake of a cause. Due to theses, many harsh publications led the law enforcement to further investigate Azzam’s Publication which former web page www. azzam.com; after further digging the trail led to the inquiry of one of the online publication’s coordinators, Babar Ahmad’s apartment that was located in London. During this search or seizure of evidence, authorities found a protected secret identification diskette that enclosed information of the USS Benfold journey, other warships security vulnerability, sent monetary, and many emails conversations with Abu-jihad which led to the indictment of Hassan Abu-jihad.
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.
First and foremost is the Michael Mosley case. Michael Mosley was convicted murdering a couple ten years ago (Wurtman, 2011). Two other men were cleared when Mosley’s DNA was found at the scene of the murder (Crowe II, 2012). Also, there was a palm print on the wall and further DNA on the sheets in the bedroom (Wurtman, 2011). In contrast to all the evidence, Mosley’s attorney offered an alternative reason and painted a picture of different events to explain Mosley’s DNA’s presence (Wurtman, 2011). However, the jury didn’t buy the defense’s story, and Michael Mosley’s conviction led to a call for the DNA database to be worked on with the most interesting fact being that Michael Mosley had no DNA in the system until seven years later than the crime (Crowe II, 2012).
Some barriers of gaining access to DNA evidence is that it is a secure facility for official personnel that can see and examine the evidence so there is a less chance of it being tampered with. The evidence stays in the labs and the evidence will stay preserved in a safe and protected storage room, unless being presented in court. Criminals don’t have access to it and they have to go through a process to possibly get it retested or in some cases tested for the first
Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), plays a significant role in how we make arrests and how we have a successful conviction without trialing the wrong individual or individuals. Felons that have a distinctive connection to an ongoing crime or an earlier crime should mandatorily give up their DNA being that it can ensure safety and clear the inmate of being falsely accused. Many cases need a solid prosecution so they have no room to falsify a person that’s why DNA needs to be obtained with an ease. Cases that were never closed are now being fully investigated due to this unique system that allows us to run finger prints, saliva, hair and even partial evidence can get a lead in a case. If a victim was raped they would administer a rape kit at the consent of the victim to find any traces of DNA left by the perpetrator(s). The DNA collected would be ran through CODIS and NDIS to see if there was a hit off evidence. If a person(s) are taken into custody and found guilty of that crime, their DNA should be further examined to ensure that no other crimes were committed and justice is equally served for one or all victims that has to live with an altered conscience. If they were to refuse, then it could be a big loss to finding if there are more victims and different
The University of Guelph-Humber Justice studies program instills to students that professionalism is to follow student conduct in order to succeed in school. Justice is a program that the topic drugs is something fearful and to be swept under the carpet, rather investigating the fundamental aspects and benefits to marijuana. Marijuana is seen as a drug which drives and controls human impulses and is an ethical issue that cannot be an effective treatment. As my years of studying are near to the end I have reached the ethical dilemma of whether to continue recreational marijuana use while be in the criminal Justice field. The reason I participate in recreational marijuana is because it is what I find it helps me flourish and relax when engaging in social activities.
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.
The collection of DNA in an investigation is used most often to determine who the perpetrator(s) might be in a crime. There has been a rapid growth since its inception and legal and ethical issues have arisen. In the Double –Helix Double-Edged ...
Most studies have shown that popular opinion holds that without a doubt national DNA databases have proved useful in criminal investigations (Wallace, 2006, pS27). The concept of a national DNA database has raised concern about privacy and human rights as seen through the scope of public safety. All of these concerns are elevated with databases include convicted, arrestee, innocent, and “rehabilitated” offenders (Suter, 2010, p339). Robin Williams of University of Duham (2006) asserts that:
Whereas the real picture of forensic evidence is unlike what is represented in movies and television shows where a fingerprint or a trace of hair is found, then it’s game over for the criminal. Reality is not as straightforward. As more people are exposed to the unreal forensic world through television and media the likeliness for a wrong conviction increases with juries assuming the evidence involves more science than what it really does, this is known as the CSI Effect. Further education and training is needed for the people of the court, the forensic specialists, and so called experts. The people in courts do not question any of the ‘professionals’ and just trust in their expertise. The court could overcome this perception by requiring explanation of error rates in a forensic field. To do this, testing examiner error rates will be necessary which means further research. Forensic science has such a large effect on the prosecution of suspects, experts have been known to provide questionable and at times incorrect evidence. When a false conviction occurs the true perpetrator is set free. Once realized, the public doubts the justice system and the reliability of the forensic evidence even more. At this point in time, forensic is an inexact
As a result of the recent rise of the use of excessive force cases against police and law enforcement, I have chosen to research the definition of that excessive force. When is it considered justifiable? What training do officers receive? What liability issues are there? In an ABC news article, Sascha Segan states there is no specific definition of excessive force. A part of everyday police work is to subdue criminal and suspects. Another everyday task of police officers is personal discretion - making the right decision based on the specific situation. It has been documented in multiple viral videos that law enforcement officer’s discretion is not always favorable in the public eye and is quick to be judged. Yet shouldn’t we be asking if the officer’s actions were justifiable within the court system and if
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.
The process of gathering evidence largely depends on the role of discretion by the police. Once police have decided to pursue a reported crime, they then begin the process of gathering evidence. To ensure that the process of gathering evidence is lawful, the police must follow the procedure outlined in the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW), which describes the manner in which evidence can be collected. This act imposes certain limits on the way police can gather evidence and the types of evidence that can be used. The Act is able to protect the rights of citizens by making it a requirement for the police to gain necessary legal documentation, such as search warrants, in order to obtain some types of evidence and thus, protects the rights of ordinary systems. In more recent times, the use of technology has come to play a major role in the gathering of evidence and with this comes complications in the law. New technologies in relation to the criminal investigation process are mainly in reference to DNA evidence, genetic material that can place a suspect at the scene of a crime. The introduction of DNA evidence into the criminal investigation process has been extremely effective in achieving justice, as it is able to secure convictions. Initially, there were some setbacks to the use of DNA evidence
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.