Ethics for a Criminal Justice Career Essay

For person who chooses to go a jurisprudence enforcement officer he or she must understand the importance of holding moral moralss criterions in order to make the occupation efficaciously and professionally. Police officers are held by the populace to a higher criterion of morality and are expected to be above reproach. Sadly. we see in the intelligence all to frequently police officers that have exhibited unethical behavior both on the occupation and in their private lives. When an officer commits an improper act of some type it impacts the full jurisprudence enforcement profession. in some instances it makes it difficult for other officers to make their occupation without ridicule. Unfortunately. the populace does non distinguish between officers. sections. or uniforms when a disgraceful act occurs. The intent for anyone prosecuting a jurisprudence enforcement calling to analyze moralss is indispensable to maintain the unity and the trust of the populace. A expression into how and why officer should do ethical determinations. to analyze the motivations for the picks they make and see what is the influence that guides them to do the picks they do.

The Denver Police Department for illustration has the recruits in the constabulary academy recite the constabulary codification of moralss every forenoon along with the pledge of commitment. This tradition has carried on because of a constabulary dirt that took topographic point in 1961 that involved a figure of officers who were perpetrating burglaries. 47 officers were stripped of their badges and so went to prison. That twelvemonth became known as the metropolis of Denver’s twelvemonth of shame. in a reissue of the original article in the Denver Post in February of 2010. the inquiry was asked. How did it go on? “The section made it easy for us. ” the taking police-burglars said. They pointed to a dislocation in departmental subject and supervising that made it possible for them to duplicate as safebreakers. As the twelvemonth ended. stairss were being taken to mend that dislocation. The International Assn. of Chiefs of Police was set abouting a departmental reorganisation plan. which is expected to do sweeping alterations in constabulary bid policy. and. perchance. in bid forces. Some perceivers argue that merely a thorough reorganization can reconstruct public assurance in the scandal-ridden section.

The reply the officers gave was deficient because they were faulting the constabulary department’s deficiency of supervising and dislocation in subject as a ground for their offenses. Police officers need to hold their ain built in grounds for taking the most ethical manner. because even with increased supervising and subject officers spend most of their displacements without supervisors around them. An officer must develop a determination devising procedure that will be based on a criterion that causes them to do the ethical determination instantly when faced with a moral quandary. There are four major position theories of moralss that influence the determination devising procedure for doing picks. they are the Moral Virtue position. the Deontological/Formalism position. the Utilitarianism position. and the Biblical position. The moral virtuousness position is based mostly on Plato and Aristotle theories. in ( Sam Souryal’s book. Ethical motives in Criminal Justice. 2007 ) he points out that Aristotle argued. “that because no 1 is born ethical ( or unethical ) . people must pass their full lives realizing their potency in chase of felicity.

This womb-to-tomb enterprise should be regarded non merely as a agency. but besides as an terminal. desirable in itself. ” ( p. 14 ) Aristotle believed that virtuousness moralss are learned through wont ; therefore the application of virtuous behaviour is brought about merely through pattern. Law enforcement bureaus when enrolling campaigners do extended background probes that include traveling to the schools they attended turning up and questioning their instructors and friends. A polygraph trial is given and psychological profiles are done all with the purpose to find those who demonstrate strong moral values before they are hired. In an FBI Bulletin article that focuses jurisprudence enforcement moralss shows that in the chase of happening those who exhibit virtue moralss they say: Police departments’ best attempts will non forestall cases of constabulary misconduct.

Advocates of virtuousness moralss argue that certain officers misbehave because they lack character. These “bad apples” managed to “slip through the cracks” despite their unethical values. They argue that constabulary maltreatment occurs in stray incidents and involves a few immoral self-seekers who were corrupt before they became officers. Unfortunately. this reading fails to explicate how otherwise model officers with no anterior history of wrongdoing. many of whom are greatest function theoretical accounts in their households. churches. and communities. can go involved in misconduct. ( World Wide Web. Federal Bureau of Investigation. gov ) In constabulary academies across the state are developing constabulary officers in moralss. it has become portion of the course of study in order to forestall a disgraceful state of affairs. In an on-line article at PoliceOne. com makes a really interesting point refering virtue moralss development in a individual: It is improbable that an addition in moralss developing entirely will take to more ethical policing. You can’t train moralss in the same manner as other accomplishments.

It’s non a definable ability but is alternatively the consequence of instruction comprised of equal treatments. formal and informal preparation. and thoughtful contemplation. ( World Wide Web. policeone. com ) There needs to be more than merely virtuousness moralss which morality is an overall construct to of people desiring to do their lives better. A job that arises is who determines what things can be done to carry through this. a pick to make something to populate a better life could ache person else’s quality of life. Now a expression into what is called the Utilitarianism theory as defined in a book on Criminal Justice Ethical motives by ( Cyndi Banks. 2009 ) which states that consequentialist theories contend that the right thing to make ever depends on the goodness of effects.

Utilitarianism is a consequentialist moral philosophy because. for the useful. morality is entirely a affair of effects. ( p. 280 ) There is an entreaty of utilitarianism to people because as ( Rae. 2009 ) points out. “All one must make is weigh the awaited good effects of an action against its awaited harmful 1s – the bottom line produces a greater balance of benefits. If it produces greater benefits. so it is the most moral class of action” ( p. 74 ) The constabulary officers in Denver that were perpetrating the burglaries could hold and may hold used this theory as a justification for their illegal Acts of the Apostless. It was said that their wage was non sufficient and they needed to make this in order to supply for their households. the benefit of that would outweigh the offense.

Rea besides shows how utilitarianism could warrant obvious unfairnesss. “such as planing grounds against an guiltless individual to forestall widespread societal agitation that would ensue in loss of life and significant belongings harm. ” ( p. 75 ) This theory if used in the jurisprudence enforcement profession could do unbelievable injury to their community and could warrant immoral picks. This can non be a theory that should be used by constabulary officers to steer them in doing ethical picks because the terminal does non warrant the agencies. The Deontological theory harmonizing to ( Banks. 2009 )

Is in contrast with the utilitarianism theory because it takes the position that to move justly. individuals must first of all chorus from making thins that can be said to be incorrect before the fact ; these incorrect Acts of the Apostless are defined by what are diversely called regulations. Torahs and restraints. The Deontological theoreticians claim that the rightness or inappropriateness of an act depends wholly upon the sort of act that has occurred and non upon its effects. ( p. p. 280-281 ) For jurisprudence enforcement officers the deontological position would be a much better theory to follow because the determination would be based on the act itself. If the act a police officer would take is incorrect. he or she should non even see making it for no other ground than it is incorrect. This would be inline with the constabulary codification of moralss that sets out rigorous guidelines for officers to make. no affair what the fortunes are.

“The Christian will be given to be more deontologically oriented because of the accent on Christian Ethical motives on the bids of God as moral absolutes and steering rules. ” ( Rae. 2009 p. 17 ) After going a Christian piece on the constabulary force the difference in the work moral principle was obvious to the bid staff. The power of the Holy Spirit was transforming in giving the ability to follow God’s jurisprudence and to understand that whatever determination was made. is for the glorification of God. The Biblical position is the steering force for a Christian officer ; it does non automatically prevent ethical battles. the same issues and enticements are still out at that place such as the high rate of divorce. alcohol addiction and self-destruction. They all could yield to the same jobs as any police officer such as choler. lecherousness and promiscuousness. greed. hatred and resentment in the face of their day-to-day challenges.

It is easy sometimes in this field to bury obeisance and entry to God’s authorization. while possessing the authorization given to them as constabulary officers. They must ever retrieve that they are slaves of God and he gives all authorization in Eden and on Earth. It is hard to understand how any officer without Christ can work and stay pure given the environment they work in. An officer with a Biblical position should non be as prone to giving in to unethical determinations when confronting dilemmas A constabulary officer’s position will find the manner he or she handles the ethical quandary that occur on the occupation. The poetry found in Colossians 2:8 should be the usher for a Christian constabulary officer to follow the Biblical position and non the positions the universe offers. “See to it that no 1 takes you captive through hollow and delusory doctrine. which depends on human tradition and the elemental religious forces of this universe instead than on Christ. ” ( NKJV )

Mentions
Banks. C. ( 2009 ) . Condemnable Justice Ethics. Theory and Practice ( 2nd ed. ) . Thousand Oaks. CA: Sage Publications Inc.
Eldridge. L. ( 2011. June 16 ) . Situational moralss and the moral pandemonium of modern policing. In issues/articles/3804919-Situational-ethics-and-the-moral-chaos-of-modern-policing/ PoliceOne. com. Retrieved May 3. 2014. from hypertext transfer protocol: //www. policeone. com/patrol- issues/articles/3804919-Situational-ethics-and-the-moral-chaos-of-modern-policing/ Fitch. B. D. ( 2011. October ) . Focus on Ethics Rethinking Ethical motives in Law Enforcement. In The FBI- Federal Bureau of Investigation. Bulletin. Retrieved May 2. 2014. from hypertext transfer protocol: //www. Federal Bureau of Investigation. gov/stats-services/publications/law-enforcement-bulletin/october- 2011/focus-on-ethics

Holy Bible: New King James Version. ( 1982 ) . Nashville. Tennessee: Thomas Nelson. Rae. S. B. ( 2009 ) . Moral Choices. An Introduction to Ethics ( 3rd ed. ) . Grand Rapids. Myocardial infarction: Zondervan. Souryal. S. S. ( 2007 ) . Ethical motives in Criminal Justice. In Search of Truth ( 4th ed. ) . Newark. New jersey: Matthew Bender & A ; Company Inc.

Whearley. B. ( 2010. February 15 ) . Expose of Police Burglaries Marked City’s ‘Year of Shame’ [ Electronic version ] . The Denver Post.