Abstract
Ethical issues in the criminal justice system have become undesirably common in the past decade and no matter how hard we try to eliminate those issues they have a way of coming back in various ways that continue to test our morale integrity. Ethical issues don’t exist solely because of law enforcement and public servants making unjust decisions but because two groups of people have failed to fully honor their positions held. Whether it’s the law enforcement and servants of the public offices taking pride and upholding the oath they took or America’s citizens actually being law-abiding citizens.
Common Ethical Issues in the Criminal Justice System
Introduction
Criminal justice and ethics are believed to be conjoint, working hand
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Those whom are considered criminal justice professionals are identified to be highly effective leaders, set the standards, become positive role models, and expected to have a higher moral character than the average man or woman. This is so that the average man or woman can feel more confident about the people protecting them. For an example if an average basketball player was challenged to a 2 on 2 game by two guys who represented their nation’s Olympic team and LeBron James came to help the average guy, it would make the guy’s confidence level go up knowing that he has a trusted professional helping him. Now take basketball out and think about a man being robbed at gun point and a police officer arrives on the scene to not only help but take control of the situation, the man being robbed will by human nature thank the police officer even go as saying he owes him his life building a high level of respect. This is ideally how we want our criminal justice system to be in line with morals and ethics knowing good personal people exist. “People with …show more content…
When you think about how court rooms operate, there is no way it’s possible for it to be corrupted. From judges having bias relationships to juries and attorneys being paid to turn a blind to evidence or even purposely lose a case for a large payoff, it happens all the time. The judges’ having a connection with a party that comes into his or her court room is always bad for the opposing party, never having the judge rule in their favor or even knowing that the bias judged already dictated the case before hearing it. No one should ever have to walk out a court room knowing or having a belief that they lost a case based on “not what you can prove, but who you know”. Court room corruption in the criminal justice system doesn’t just happen to every case but to specific cases were the stakes are higher. Public servants whom position maybe threaten which ultimately damages the political accountability tend to find a way to pick their own staff so that the court rules in his or her favor. This type of behavior damages trust knowing that fair trials may indeed never exist anymore if at all. According to Kleinig (2008), jury skewing occurs when prosecutors seek out jurors who are partial or biased in their favor. It should be noted that although some scholars consider this practice to be unethical, it is nevertheless perfectly legal, unless
• Integrity: each police officer is presumed to do the right thing, at all times, regardless of the matter at hand, those involved and any other influences. Officers are held to a higher lever of integrity and expected to perform above all else, at all times (Baker, 2011).
We should properly examine the criminal justice process in our discussion of ethics by focusing more on due process, police corruption, and punishment, which are examples and important issues that has to deal with our personal
Law enforcers are supposed to behave in an ethical manner in order to achieve justice to the community. Where some of the police officers complete their duties ethically, others are caught in ethical misconduct that blurs their vision of administering justice. Several unethical practices have been noted in the course of duty of most police officers, and all corners of the world have their police officers affected by the practices (Klockars, Ivkovic, & Haberfeld, 2004).This paper looks into two most prominent and persistent ethical concerns in police systems, in the USA and worldwide.
Among the other challenges mentioned is the absence of a strong leader whom police enforcement officers can emulate and look up to for inspiration. This is confirmed by Edward J. Tulley who said that a person must do the right thing always even if nobody is looking. The sad thing however is that there is nobody now who is willing to set a positive example.The lack of training or formal education is also a reason why law enforcement officers commit misconduct. I believe that no person would intentionally do something that is wrong. The problem however is that when people are faced with an ethical dilemma their lack of understanding of better ways to deal with the situation sometimes impels them to make a wrong decision. The task now is to make ethics a part of the training for law enforcement officers so that compliance with the code of ethics becomes a matter of instinct. The absence of a stringent hiring and selection process is also a barrier for compliance with high ethical standards. The conduct of interviews and psychological testing are important because there are people whose psychological profiles do not match with the profile of that of a police officer. While it is true that there are some people who can be educated and trained to become ethical police officers there are some whose personalities do not match that of a police officer
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.
Every time an innocent person is exonerated based on DNA testing, law enforcement agencies look at what caused the wrongful convictions. There are many issues that contribute to putting guiltless lives behind bars including: eyewitness misidentification, false confessions, imperfect forensic science, and more (Gould and Leo 18). When a witness is taken into a police station to identify a suspect, it is easy for their memories to be blurred and their judgment influenced. This can lead the witness to identify a suspect who is actually innocent. Flawed forensic science practice also contributes to wrongful imprisonments. In the past, analysts have been inaccurate due to carelessness, testified in court presenting evidence that was not based
The relationship among ethics and professional behavior in the direction of criminal justice is one, which is very vital. The point of the matter is that these individuals who are in places of power entails that he or she must equalize a balanced of business professionalism in accordance with the laws alongside a code of ethics that live inside and for the law along with their individual private morals and ethics. Numerous could dispute the battle among the ethics of a lawyer on behalf of somebody that they know to be guilty and they would have a usable disagreement in regard to what way ethical it is. A lawyer has the decision to not defend an individual if they feel so motivated to do so. Still, in this state one has rules in one’s laws that
This research paper is on racial discrimination in our criminal justice system. Criminal justice professional is held to a higher standard and they are expected to make ethical decisions when dealing with the public. However, there are few who will be unethical in their jobs and forgot their oath of office. This paper will show the different type of racial discrimination in our criminal justice systems, particularly to individuals who deal directly with the courts, jail and the public. Racial discrimination isn’t just black against white, racial discrimination is also against Hispanic. I will discuss some of the issues with unethical cases involving the Criminal Justice System.
In spite of the fact that the definition of jury tampering is rather basic, and the thought of it happening in a case is trivial, it is somewhat a common occurrence despite jurors expecting to remain impartial and unbiased in their decision making (Fordham, 2010). There are a range of factors that can lead to jury tampering, the most recognizable is being pressured to vote a
In order to answer this scenario, I need to look at the underlying ethical system and the moral rules leading to my judgment. As in many scenarios, there are conflicting moral rules that could justify different judgments. While police officers are supposed to enforce laws, they are also primarily expected to protect life and property (Nakate, 2011). Public safety is the primary concern of police officers. Therefore, unless a law involves mandatory reporting, then an officer is expected to exercise some discretion involving those laws. The theory behind requiring permits in order to hold a rally is that some rallies can lead to dangers for the public. Therefore, in this scenario, I would have to determine whether there was a reasonable likelihood that the rally might become violent. It is important to realize that even if the sponsoring group would not advocate violence, any rally about a controversial issue has the ability to become violent. Whether or not the tipster is providing accurate information is not of critical importance, because planning to hold a rally without a permit is not illegal; holding a rally without a permit is not illegal. As a police officer, I could ethically respond to the tip by going to the head of the group and ask if they were planning to hold a rally the next day and remind him of the permit requirement. I could do this without neglecting my
The current jury system in America is unfortunately corrupt because of unprofessional jurors that are the deciding factor for cases. The “jury of our peers” system does not promote fair justice and it should be replaced with a new system of professional jurors. The current system allows random, unqualified individuals to make irresponsible decisions for our government. If unqualified jurors were replaced with professional jurors, our system would become successful. A professional system of jurors is an efficient way for justice to be decided because the current system allows jurors to be uneducated on law, inconsistent with experience, and bias based on their opinions.
Today’s Criminal Justice System is plagued with many ethical issues, as it always has been. These ethical dilemmas revolve around principles of any given citizen’s morals. Though there are many issues that are considered not ethical in the system, this paper will focus on three of the most critical matters: the death penalty, police use of force, and undercover policing. Some of these ethical issues are as old as the criminal justice system itself and some are on the forefront because of current actions by the justice system and its counterparts. The death penalty has always been debated as ethical or not because of the eye for an eye mentality.
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.
Ethics, or moral conduct, are of major importance in the Criminal Justice field today. If the police force condoned unethical behavior, there would be very little, if any, justice being served. Official police misconduct is any “objectionable actions taken by police officers in connection with their official duties, which can lead to a miscarriage of justice”. (wikipedia.com). However, “police misconduct may include a broader range of misconduct, reflecting the high standards that we expect of police officers. Unlike official misconduct, police misconduct can apply to off-duty behavior as well as conduct on the job”. (clc.qld.gov.au).
Police officers are trained to read, write and analyze numbers. They are also trained how to handle firearms, identify non-lethal weapons, use defensive tactics effective, conduct search and seizure, driving techniques, investigate criminal acts and the laws of arrest, but how many police take a course on ethical conduct or learn the meaning of sworn oath? Some police officer feel ethics is not important and training is of low – priority. Law enforcement officers take oaths creates an ethical landmine. Officers have to weigh their personal values against colleague demands that may develop a hostile environment and cause ethical issues to flourish. When police officers demonstrate unethical practices, negative issues occur. Corruption scandals are painful reminders that officers need more