Ethics In Criminal Justice

The ethical standards in criminal justice have been identified as an administrative system, or codes of ethics planned to educate, and guide the behavior of those who work within the criminal justice system. The oath of office, which can be considered a shorthand version of the code of ethics, lastly, the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics has been declared by the International Association of Chief of Police or known as the IACP. Other standards of controlling law enforcement ethics are in U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Ethics and Criminal Justice

The nature of ethics and the role it can play within the criminal justice system can be referring as The Law Enforcement Code of Ethics. According to Police Codes (2012), As criminal justice professionals, "It is their fundamental duty is to serve mankind; to safeguard lives and property; to protect the innocent against deception, the weak against oppression or intimidation, and the peaceful against violence or disorder; and to respect the Constitutional rights of all men to liberty, equality and justice" (Law Enforcement Code of Ethics).

Criminal justice professionals can face ethical dilemmas every day. Ethical dilemmas are essential in the criminal justice system because criminal justice professionals can be challenged with having to make decisions that can contain ethical issues. Criminal justice professionals make decisions that are difficult on a daily basis with discretion. People can confuse the professionalism of the law enforcement officers, by their image of an officer who can be cool and distant showing no emotions, who has sharp uniform, polished shoes, who wears sunglasses, and using the latest technology as an authority to help deter criminals.

Personal versus Professional Ethics

Criminal justice personnel, when they are not working, should be always representing the department that they work for. The principles, which they work by should considered in their personal lives because they are greater than other members within society. If biases, dislikes, and friendships can have impacts their personal lives, and it also can have impact their professional careers. Spending time with people who have a questionable moral of character as a private citizen may transfer over into his or her professional career. If people start spreading the word that a criminal justice professionals are biased, prejudiced, cannot be trusted, and the possibility of their ability to serve can be impaired (Officer Requirements, 2012).

Critical Thinking and Ethics

What are the methods followed in regulating an ethical dilemma?

People have discussed that primary use of intuitive degree of moral thinking is used when individuals consider ethical dilemmas. This process provides people with simple standards derived from the person's upbringing and past encounters of decision making. The use of critical thinking is another process of thinking about moral decisions; when compared to intuitive thinking, critical thinking makes a claim that standards established by philosophy and moral ideals and is consequently nonnutritive. However, a person will tend to determine that a person's intuitions do not effectively provide people to make moral decisions and that critical thinking is required (Banks, 2004. pg. 13).

Combining a critical thinking process with the background of criminal justice, it enables a law enforcement officer to be more effective in his or her decision-making skills based upon the truth and factual evidence, rather than unknown variables and hearsay. By removing the unknown variables, an individual can bring to light the truth that helps an officer convict a suspect. Demonstrating the ability to arrive at a critical approach to an ethical dilemma is important and remains a valued factor in law enforcement.

Proposal for a Seminar

Based on some of the moral decisions of the law enforcement officers made in the past, a proposal for a seminar in ethics training will be provided for all criminal justice professionals. The topics that will be covered are the following and why these topics are so important to criminal justice professionals and the communities