Introduction
Criminal justice ethics involves all the codes as well as standards that apply to all the concerned parties in the criminal justice system for example attorneys, prosecutors, and the other entire professionals in the criminal system. Ethics concerns the moral judgment of what is right or what is wrong. The rightness or wrongness of an action depends on the qualities that are attached to the actions. This paper shall look at the ethical issues in the criminal justice system.
Ethics helps us to make choices when we are in a dilemma. The moral rules guide us in everyday life (Singer, 1995:175). In the criminal justice system ethics is relevant in management as well as policy decisions that are relevant in making decisions about what type of punishment to give, rehabilitate or even acquit a suspect.
In the criminal justice system, there are ethical issues for instance is it right to deny treatment to an offender who is serving a sentence. The professionals in the criminal justice system must know the ethical issues to carry out their duties well. Ethics helps the professionals not to abuse the power which they exercise over others.
Normative ethics issues
Normative ethics is very important in making decisions in the justice system. These ethical issues state that a person’s conduct must consider the moral issues; this means that a person should conduct him or herself morally by using their reasoning to decide the improper way to conduct themselves. Nevertheless, the moral standards vary from one society to another. Therefore making moral decisions depends on a particular situation because the standards cannot be applied across the different societies. Therefore professionals in the criminal justice system need to make decisions by considering the culture from which a person on trial comes because what is wrong in one society may be right in another (Banks, 2004:7).
There are ethical issues in criminal justice that are concerned with how power should be exercised, dealing with conflicts that arise in the profession as well as the ethical issues in a particular part of the justice system. There is the ethical issue of the problem in exercising authority. Authority should be used to advance personal values. Authority should not be used for wrongdoing.
The other ethical issue is the conflict between professional and personal issues. For example, when a police officer finds one of their friends on the wrong should they do the right thing and take them to a court or should they be loyal to them. The professionals should not use their titles to promote personal interests for example gain financial favors. Some of the professionals in the justice system may be tempted to use their work time or even materials to enrich themselves (Siegel, 2009). On the other hand, the professional may use their authority by engaging in unlawful behavior like drunk driving.
The ethical issue of problems that may arise with clients in the criminal justice system. Some professionals use their influence to gain personal favors for instance accepting gifts from clients, getting goods cheaply. On the other hand, there is the issue of sharing information. Should certain information be withheld from a client, police, or the court?
Ethics in investigation
Ethics are applicable in an investigation as it ensures that justice is done. The concerned parties in the investigations are required to bring to book all those who are involved in a crime regardless of whether they are their friends or not. A police officer involved in an investigation may have to report on his fellow officers if they are involved in a crime. This may affect their relationship as the officer who tells on another may be seen as a betrayer (Ethics and Criminal Justice n.d).
Police misconduct can be identified when the police use excessive force when arresting a suspect (Siegel, 2009). They may also use force or coercion to make the suspects confess to crimes they did not commit because they are allowed to use physical as well as deadly force. Some officers also manipulate the suspects by giving them promises about the outcome of their cases if they give certain information. On the other hand, the police may determine who and how far an investigation should go. When doing so they should ensure that do not violate the liberties of the people being investigated (Siegel, 2009). In addition, when the police accept bribes they may fail to arrest the people who have violated the law. They may also give false information thus making concerning seizure evidence. The police should also not violate search warrants and should follow the law while doing so. Furthermore, if the other professionals like judges are bribed they may make rulings that favor the suspect who gave a bribe.
Unethical behavior by an investigator may hurt or destroy a case. For example, if the investigation process does not follow the right procedure the prosecutor is supposed to bring that information to the court and that case may be dismissed when the prosecutor takes the necessary action to correct the error (Siegel, 2009). An unethical investigator may lead to the arrest of innocent people while the guilty ones walk away free. Therefore justice is not done. On the other hand, if people are forced to give false testimonies or do so on their own they change the outcome of the courts and justice is never served.
Conclusion
Ethics is very important in the criminal justice system. This is because ethics is a fundamental component in making decisions that involve ethical dilemmas. The professionals in the criminal justice system should be guided by ethics in performing their duties by being fair to all the parties involved. When ethics is understood the criminal justice system will work properly.
References
- Banks, C. (2004). Criminal justice ethics: theory and practice, New York: SAGE
- The Importance of Criminal Justice System.
- Siegel, J. L. (2009). Introduction to Criminal Justice System, New York: Cengage Learning.
- Singer, P. (1995). How Are We to Live? Ethics in an Age of Self-Interest. Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books.