Chapter 1: Why Ethics?
Chapter Abstract
The material offers an introduction of the scope of authority of criminal justice members and ethical prescriptions for the administration of ones authority in contemporary society. The discussion introduces decision making and actions taken resultant of a decision that if they follow ethical pathways, it may aid in a better decision that can be well articulated and supported ethically. Materials offer an examination of one’s authority and thinking critically to come to a reasonable conclusion. This section suggests two propositions essential to CJ members: “Just because you can, does not necessarily mean you should”; and perhaps “We should guide our conduct on how we ought to live rather than how we actually live”.
Government and Ethics
The actions of government agencies in the criminal justice system are challenged to balance individual due process rights, with the need to provide effective crime control for the larger part of society. The decentralization of the criminal justice system, as displayed in the picket fence model is designed to provide separate but linked services at various government levels. The theme of this course is the challenge for the criminal justice system to balance its efforts in crime control, while acknowledging due process rights. The central premise of the due process model is the presumption of innocence. Due process protects the rights of a defendant while being processed through the system.
The first acknowledgment of any criminal justice practitioner is to understand that “Rules of Evidence are Rules of Exclusion”. By the same token not all evidence excluded from a trial or not seeing the light of day does not necessarily mean that the evidence was obtained illegally. The study of procedural due process has often been intriguing to me.
This material explores the evolution of ethics, the impacts of ethics within the administration of justice, and how does one maintain a strong ethical center when no one is watching. Sklansky (2006) asserts the demographics of policing has all but removed the “Blue Curtain of Silence” in policing. This author tends to agree with Sklansky, after serving a near 40 years in policing of which 28 years was as the head of an agency. This notion serving some is that most police are honest, which is true, but often never celebrated. Those that make headlines are generally officers in trouble. These headlines often create false equivalences that some accept. That is, officers just cover for wrong doing by other officers and are probably as corrupt. The latter is simply not true. So what keeps most in the CJ system honest? This journey explores these questions and hopefully will dispel false positives.
Before delving into the vast arena of criminal justice and just how ethics apply, one needs to understand the terms commonly consumed, often bantered about that rarely govern personal lives, realized by political affiliates that are often associated wit