ETHICAL DILEMMAS AND DECISIONS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE

1. ETHICAL DILEMMAS AND DECISIONS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE CHAPTER 6: ETHICS AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROFESSIONAL

2. Justice, Law, and Policy Discussion: Who administers justice? Who enforces the law? How does policy affect administration and enforcement?

3. Policy Making in Criminal Justice Policies Guidelines for action that dictate the priority of goals or objectives. Formal policy Developed by executive/legislative branches, agencies in the criminal justice system. Informal policy May be related to an individual’s view of justice or self-interest.

4. Set of abstract beliefsabout what is right • Especially concerned with moral order and • political arrangements • Shapes positions on specific issues Ideology Liberals and Conservatives Both operate using consensus paradigm Both accept basic definitions of crime given by law

5. Causation / Responsibility The Liberal Perspective on Crime Policing Causes of criminality are psychological, social, or biological. Individuals are not completely culpable for crimes. • Police are a positive tool of social control. • Police should be involved in community (via neighborhood policing, storefront police stations, etc.). • Police should make an effort to understand certain groups.

6. Courts The Liberal Perspective on Crime Human behavior is complex; justice should be individualized. Courts should consider offender, not offense. Courts should use discretion in punishment. Corrections • Correctional programming should target biological, social, psychological problems. • If the offender’s problem is corrected, crime will not be repeated.

7. What’s Unethical? The Liberal Perspective on Crime Ignoring the fact that a person was coerced into doing something illegal. Ignoring evidence that a person was mentally ill when committing a crime. Prosecuting a very young offender just like a more culpable older offender. Ignoring prisoners’ needs for special attention or medical care.

8. Causation / Responsibility The Conservative Perspective on Crime Policing Offenders choose their actions. Individuals must be held accountable. • Public safety is the most important goal of police. • Police are the enforcers of social morality. • Police should not be unduly restricted by courts.

9. Courts The Conservative Perspective on Crime Criminals have too many rights. Victims deserve more care and attention than offenders. Courts that free criminals based on legal technicalities are a threat to social order. Corrections • Correctional facilities should concentrate on incapacitation. • Correctional programs coddle/reward criminal behavior.

10. What’s Unethical? The Conservative Perspective on Crime Letting criminals off because of courtroom deals or procedural errors. Ignoring/excusing wrongdoing, especially if the person is likely to continue the behavior. Giving special privileges to certain criminals because of status or money.

11. Right and Left Right (Conservative) Most important value:Order Basis of a just society:Binding morality Greatest danger:Disorder—social, moral, and political Left (Liberal) Most important value:Justice Basis of a just society:Fair distribution of power, wealth, privilege Greatest danger:Injustice

12. The myth of crime waves The myth of child abductions by strangers The myth of the drug crisis The myth of equal justice The myth of the utility of punishment The myth of a lenient criminal justice system Myths that Influence Criminal Justice Policy

13. Do Researchers Help Make Myths? Reported findings may be inaccurate due to Personal bias Professional pressure Political pressure Incompetence Laziness Other research dilemmas Confidentiality Side effects Need to deceive subjects Need to obtain informed, voluntary consent Withholding benefits or services for research purposes Misinterpretation/misuse of research findings

14. Balancing Law and Justice Individual officers often administer street justice (justice defined by the individual). Definitions of what is “just” varies from person to person. Most police corruption and graft is found in criminal “gray areas” (prostitution, gambling, drugs). Officials are more likely to enforce laws that they strongly support. Justice professionals are more likely to operate ethically when they believe in the justness of the system.

15. Spader’s Rule of Law Versus Rule of Man • Rule of Law Rule of Man • (Positives) (Positives) • equal protection individualization • evenhandedness flexibility • due process mercy • Fairness compassion • rationality equity • predictability informality • (Negatives) (Negatives) • inflexibility disparity • harshness inconsistency • rigidity arbitrary and capricious abuse • mandatory legalism uncertainty • red tape uncontrolled provincialism

16. Following Orders Is an individual excused from moral culpability when following orders? Should one disobey orders that he or she believes to be illegal or immoral? Does a criminal justice professional have a duty to use personal moral judgment, or is obedience to superiors mandatory? Since it is difficult to challenge authority, few take an individual stand against a law or practice (Milgram Experiment). Whistleblowers expose wrongdoing at risk to their careers and sometimes their safety. Why?

17. Ethical Issues for Criminal Justice Professionals • The types of issues that give rise to ethical dilemmas: • The limits of the state's right to control the individual • The ethical use of force • The appropriate use of discretion

18. Ethical Choices of the CJ Professional: Friendship vs. institutional integrity/professionalism Client (offender) needs vs. bureaucratic efficiency and institutional goals Personal goals or biases vs. fair and impartial treatment of the public and the clients served The inappropriate use of discretion occurs when the professional uses unethical criteria to resolve decisions Ethical Choices for Criminal Justice Professionals

19. Gardner’s Cognitive Capacities • Five Cognitive Capabilities for Ethical Practice: • The “disciplined mind”—the ability to focus and learn a field of study. • The “synthesizing mind”—the ability to integrate diverse ideas into a coherent whole. • The “creating mind”—the ability to recognize and solve problems. • The “respectful mind”—the ability to form and maintain good relationships with other people. • The “ethical mind”—the ability to fulfil one’s responsibilities as a citizen and to identify with fellow humans.

20. Leadership and Training American Society for Public Administration Standards for Leadership Responsibility and accountability Commitment Responsiveness Knowledge and skills Sensitivity to conflicts of interest Professional ethics

21. How Leaders Can Foster Ethics (Metz) Establish realistic goals and objectives. Provide ethical leadership (set a moral tone by actions). Establish formal written codes of ethics. Provide a whistleblowing mechanism. Discipline violators of ethical standards. Train all personnel in ethics.

22. Ethical Leadership Strong leadership involves caring and commitment to the organization. Idealistic realism: the ability of good leaders to acknowledge and understand social realities while avoiding the trap of cynicism. Ethical leaders possess vision and moral responsibility and engage in enlightened reasoning.

23. Teaching Ethics (Sherman) Stimulate the "moral imagination" by posing difficult moral dilemmas. Encourage the recognition of ethical issues beyond immediate goals. Help to develop analytical skills and the tools of ethical analysis. Elicit a sense of moral obligation and personal responsibility. Tolerating and resisting disagreement and ambiguity. Explore the morality of coercion, which is intrinsic to criminal justice. Help students recognize the difference between technical and moral competence. Address the full range of moral issues in criminology and criminal justice.

24. Avoiding Cynicism and Burnout • First, adopt realistic goals before entering the profession. • Second, find and nurture a network of mentors and colleagues that promotes ethical values. • Third, seek self-fulfillment and personal enrichment.