People often face various ethical dilemmas, and making moral decisions is especially challenging for such specialists as criminal justice (CJ) professionals. For instance, ethical problems in the field of CR concern the execution of authority, conflicts between personal and occupational interests, commitment to clients, information sharing, and other related subjects (Banks, 2018). Consequently, each of the listed types of moral issues encompasses more specific topics. For example, ethical issues regarding authority incorporate the promotion of individual values, avoidance of accountability for wrongdoing, and the matters of police gratuities and free meals (Banks, 2018). Therefore, CJ specialists need to be prepared to encounter and adequately respond to different moral dilemmas. The usage of authority to promote personal values is the most important reason behind criminal justice professionals’ need for ethics training.
To comprehend why using authority in relation to one’s individual values is significant for CJ ethics, one must understand the nature of authority. For instance, persons working in the police are direct representatives of CJ specialists and are given great authority under the law that comes alongside discretion to make decisions (Banks, 2018). Accordingly, the public typically treats police officers with circumspection because of acknowledging that such professionals have specific power to arrest someone or execute other undesirable outcomes (Banks, 2018). Therefore, the concept of authority in CJ refers to unquestionable entitlement to be obeyed due to fulfilling a certain role (Pollock, 2019). Consequently, authority gives CJ specialists the right to influence the lives of various people who feel that they must comply with law enforcement.
Because CJ professionals have the power to make consequential decisions regarding decisions about civilians, such experts often face difficult predicaments. Ethical dilemmas are inherently challenging, as an appropriate choice is not always clear because of the involvement of multiple factors (Pollock, 2019). Ideally, CJ specialists have to use their authority to enforce the law and safeguard the public, but how the authority is executed depends on many diverse elements (Banks, 2018). For example, an elected prosecutor may not support the practice of the death penalty but may have to utilize their power to pursue capital punishment due to state law and society’s demand (Pollock, 2019). Therefore, those working in CJ need ethics training to determine what elements may affect their thinking, how to make adequate decisions, and how a certain resolution may affect others.
The first reason for the importance of using authority to promote personal values (PVs) in ethics education is that one’s unique significances are likely to affect professional conduct when confronting a predicament. Although PVs represent only one aspect that impacts ethical decision-making, they are quite influential due to reflecting an individual’s cares and beliefs about what is important (Banks, 2018). PVs form during childhood and vary because people prioritize different things, and while some concentrate on honesty or their family, others pay more attention to health or material success (Pollock, 2019). Accordingly, PVs can generate value systems that may lead to judgments being ethical or unethical (Pollock, 2019). For instance, it is anticipated that police officer must not use their authority to take advantage of a situation for personal or professional goals (Pollock, 2019). However, PV’s that constitute one’s preferences for life and how to live it may cause a person to abuse their power to influence people and achieve desirable outcomes (Pollock, 2019). Therefore, CJ professionals need ethics training to ensure that they employ their authority to make decisions that would promote positive PVs instead of negative ones.
The second reason ethics instruction regarding authority and PV is more important than education in other authority-related problems is that PVs considerably impact behavior. In particular, PVs and subsequent value systems can potentially predict workplace misconduct, like using authority to avoid responsibility for wrongdoings (Pollock, 2019). For example, some police departments employ the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s Oath of Honor or its adapted version, and the professionals pledge to hold themselves and others liable for their actions (Pollock, 2019). Nonetheless, although a high level of accountability should match police officers’ authority, there is a possibility for abuse of discretion due to uncertainty and randomness in patrol practice (Pollock, 2019). For instance, if an individual’s primary personal value is maintaining social relationships, they may choose to cover up their peers’ wrongdoings to avoid social ostracism (Pollock, 2019). Such an ethical dilemma presents a case of when one knows what the right thing to do is, but doing so will cost them greatly (Pollock, 2019). Accordingly, to prevent CJ professionals from utilizing their authority to evade responsibility, teaching them to make ethical decisions based on favorable PVs is quite significant.
Furthermore, ethics training in PVs is important in preventing CJ specialists from abusing their power because ensuring the experts’ accountability is an intricate matter. For example, to maintain police responsibility, complex administrative arrangements have to be put in place, and some practices have already been introduced, although under pressure (Banks, 2018). Accordingly, Baughman (2020) proposes criminal accountability, which reflects the police’s effectiveness in solving offenses, is low across the nation. Typical strategies employed to improve responsibility concentrate on community policing, performance management, and ethics training (McCandless, 2018). The latter approach deserves special attention because rather than forcing particular behavior, ethics can explain the significance of accountability. In particular, ethics instruction can help in promoting high standards of personal conduct by focusing on such attributes as honesty and trustworthiness (Blumberg et al., 2018). Moreover, improving ethical skills can facilitate adherence to regulations and procedures (Blumberg et al., 2018). Consequently, ethics education can help CJ professionals understand the importance of taking responsibility and making adequate decisions through concentration on good PVs over solely legal requirements.
Ethics training is crucial in addressing the usage of authority to promote PVs because one’s individual values can lead to corruption. As mentioned above, different value systems can impact workplace wrongdoings, like misusing authority to receive some benefits (Pollock, 2019). For instance, free meals or discounts on purchases represent gratuities that are part of economic corruption (Pollock, 2019). The concept of gratuities describes objects of value received as a result of one’s role or position (Pollock, 2019). Although some CJ specialists view such items as mere rewards for hard work, many critics regard gratuities as symbols of abuse of authority for certain actions or inaction (Pollock, 2019). Consequently, preventing the utilization of power to obtain benefits from others appears as a problem of PVs rather than an issue that can be legally controlled. If a person believes that their PVs can be supported by taking a gratuity, they are likely to accept an offer. However, ethics training can reduce corrupt behavior by reminding CJ professionals that they must prioritize community needs regardless of their PVs.
A common aspect of ethical problems concerning the usage of authority is that they can be approached by transforming thinking instead of implementing more regulations. A CJ professional faces an authority-related ethical dilemma when there is a need to breach the law in terms of physical harassment, deception in interrogation, or tampering with evidence (Pollock, 2019). Therefore, focusing on only one type of power misuse or creating additional restrictions may not be useful. Instead, CJ specialists should be instructed on how to recognize and focus on favorable PVs to determine a greater worth and importance of a certain behavior (Pollock, 2019). Accordingly, PVs should be addressed first to change the way CJ professionals perceive the utilization of power.
To summarize, ethics training is necessary for criminal justice specialists in order to resolve the problem of using authority to promote personal values. People’s individual values vary, and while some prioritize such aspects as honesty or family, others emphasize the importance of material success or self-profit. Consequently, to achieve their PVs, CJ specialists may abuse the authority inherent to their occupational roles and make decisions that would negatively impact innocent persons. Therefore, one’s PVs can predict undesirable conduct, like misusing power to avoid accountability for wrongdoings or to receive gratuities, such as free meals or discounts. Simply creating more restrictions would not resolve the listed issues, but teaching CJ professionals to concentrate on good PVs may transform their thinking and discourage them from abusing their authority. Accordingly, while all authority-related ethical problems are interconnected, starting with teaching CJ specialists about favorable PVs may change their value systems and lead to better ethical decisions.
References
Banks, C. (2018). Criminal justice ethics: Theory and practice (5th ed.). Sage Publications.
Baughman, S. (2020). How effective are police? The problem of clearance rates and criminal accountability. Alabama Law Review, 72(1), 47-130.
Blumberg, D. M., Schlosser, M. D., Papazoglou, K., Creighton, S., & Kaye, C. C. (2019). New directions in police academy training: A call to action. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(24), 1-14. Web.
McCandless, S. (2018). Improving community relations: How police strategies to improve accountability for social equity affect citizen perceptions. Public Integrity, 20(4), 370-385. Web.
Pollock, J. M. (2019). Ethical dilemmas and decisions in criminal justice (10th ed.). Cengage Learning.