Ethics In Criminal Justice Essay

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Recommended: why criminal justice professionals should study ethics

The application of ethics in the criminal justice field is a direct reflection of both an individual and the agency they represent. Peers and citizens look to criminal justice professionals to abide by a certain level of standards. Police officers are one group of public safety individuals that face ethical dilemmas on a daily basis. These professionals must be able to make ethical decisions in an instant. There are times when those decisions can affect the outcome of a call.
Many calls for service are considered to be routine. Special attention to detail of any call should never be overlooked. Deviating from protocol or standard operating procedures could change the outcome of any routine call.
One scenario is a traffic stop where …show more content…

Professionalism should be maintained by the officer throughout the traffic stop. The officer should explain to her he is issuing her a uniform traffic citation. Ethically he should not let her off with a warning. Although the officer is new and in training he should not let her status in the community cloud his judgement. His job is to protect the community to the highest possible standard. Sometimes that means doing part of the job that is unpleasant. When criminal justice professionals apply ethics to everyday operations they take out the risk of making poor judgement calls. As a citizen of the community the council woman should recognize the level of standards police officers should be upholding. There could be real world consequences in this situation. She could have caused a serious fatal accident at the rate of speed she was traveling. Under this different set of circumstances the officer could be held accountable for negligence. The officers supervisor
Citizens within any community expect law enforcement to lead by example and enforce the law ethically. Professional courtesy should be used with discretion not as an option to blatantly break the

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