A code of ethics can be thought of as a moral compass that helps one decide how to act in critical moments. Ethics is particularly important for those who are in a position of power in corrections, as these individuals have the greatest influence over their employees. Officers in correctional facilities make extremely critical decisions every day and their choices have a profound effect on lives. It is therefore imperative that these men and women do what is right and are free of biases. Corrections professionals must have character and exemplify good ethical conduct.
These professionals must take their jobs serious and never betray their oath in office, their public trust, or their badge. Character and ethics are qualities that
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One more form of misuse of authority is sexual harassment that involves staff members and inmates, or their family members, or friends, or staff against staff. Obtaining financial or personal benefits is a form of misconduct in exchange for not pursuing or selectively pursuing an investigation on an inmate or additional charges on inmate. However, accepting bribes and gratuities is unethical. This is a temptation that some officers cannot resist and make the good officers look …show more content…
“Criminal justice leaders obviously play a key role in ethics. Not only must they enforce and uphold ethical standards, they must also set an example and see that employees are instructed in the ethical conduct of police business” (Peak, 2010,). Kanungo argues that the ethical actions of a leader can be explained by three factors: “the motive of the actor which is the primary source of one’s behavior, the manifest behavior itself, and the social context in which the behavior takes place” (Kanungo, 2011). Therefore, considering these three points, the honesty and ethics of a leader will determine how the leader strives to do the best for the followers and the organization. The values a true leader will be recognized in the daily actions of the leader. Personal values direct the leaders thinking in daily life. Leaders constantly make decisions, consciously or unconsciously. Individuals decide which friends and acquaintances to associate and if these people are
1. Ethical concern. Describe and give examples of the concern. How is it pertinent to the field of criminal justice?
Working in the field of law enforcement and being ethically sound is important. It is important within our professional career that we are able to maintain a standard that doesn’t cross any ethical lines. Even in our academic we have to hold ourselves to an ethical standard, because we are trusted to do what is right. If we violate the academic integrity it put a mark on our ability to be trusted. Just as Dr. Steven Davis stated if someone is will to cheap to get ahead how can they be trusted
Many people’s perception of the police is that they are corrupt. In Kevin Grant’s Article Ethic and Law Enforcement, Grant states, “it also constitutes one of the most significant obstacles to positive police-public relations in today’s society.” Recently displayed in the media has been the corruption or appearance of corruption of police departments all over the country. Grant’s list, which includes, acceptance of gratuities, association with known criminals without a supervisor’s knowledge or consent, disclosing confidential information to unauthorized persons, disclosing information about ongoing investigations, falsifying documents, sexual or ethnic harassment of citizens, co-workers, or subordinates, and failure to protect and follow
The hardest part during ethical issue is identifying the causes as they will lead to other personnel not enforcing the standars and identify those who are not stweards of the profession. Two retired
As Bartollas states, ‘It is necessary to suspend to terminate staff who abuse inmates and violate their rights” (2013). The administration must take a hard stance on such individuals who are convicted or found guilty of these actions. Allowing the individual to retire or resign to avoid charges suggests that there is a concern for image and reputation and not the welfare of the inmate which they have been given custody of. As such, respect is lost from other staff members and inmates alike. Thus fostering the notion that the actions of the staff member were acceptable or justified and no corrective actions will come in future violations.
Assignment #1 Review questions Chap. 1 p. 26: 1. A single standard of ethics cannot be applied to all criminal justice agencies. The world is too complex to legislate morality and ethics. The cultures that make up each part of the world are not the same.
However, both concepts might play a role in either situation. Some individuals question whether or not “ethics” should play a big part in law enforcement. Ethics should play a part in professional standards of conduct because it sets a standard for how individuals should behave. It is very important for police officers and any other individual in the law enforcement field to properly abide by ethical standards.
In the discussion of moral objectivism and moral relativism, it is important to understand the difference, and the impact that a moral system has on the criminal justice community. The community exists to enforce the laws. Moral judgments are made with votes, and the decisions on how laws are crafted are made by elected officials. For this reason, it makes sense for the criminal justice community to separate themselves professionally from their own moral views. Moral Relativism is the view of morality, much like beauty, is relative to the person, culture, or organization.
Ethical leaders As we see changes in the way of policing, ethical leadership and behavior is becoming more challenging for law enforcement officers. Police officers should be ethical leaders committed to the law and professional standards. Police officers with ethical leadership posses a philosophical moral foundation and his/her actions and decisions will be based on that; many officers may face challenges or difficulties while trying to adapt to the new way of policing, especially when working with unethical peers. With this being said there are specific characteristics in addition to strong ethical and moral values that can successful develop ethical leaders.
While it can be interpreted as standing for ones beliefs, a police officer must uphold a high moral code in accordance to the society which is being served. The ethics to which police officers holds themselves, must include the character traits demonstrated in personal life, in addition to operating as public servants. If an officer is deemed untrustworthy at home, they cannot be trusted to work legally within the police department. Honesty within policing is just as important, where failing to admit a mistake can weaken a reputation and call previous cases into question. Although these traits can be trained into an individual, integrity must be developed personally before it can be applied
Many police agencies today have established a code of ethics, or codes of conduct, and it easy to find parallels between Peel’s principles and present policies and
In this week’s module one content. I learned that there should always be police integrity and community trust. “With police and community trust, there is an honored relationship between citizens and a government agency.” (Community Trust and Police Integrity, p.7-16) Secondly, police officers must be trusted to behave in an ethical way on their own.
‘’Most officers enter law enforcement with minimal experience in the field or in handling the moral dilemmas that officers typically encounter. They learn how to perform their jobs, as well as recognize the organizational norms, values, and culture, from their peers and supervisors. While supervisors provide direct, formal reinforcement, officers’ peers offer friendship and informal rewards that, in many cases, hold greater influence than official recognition from the agency’’ (Fitch, 2011). Officers who come across situations where they are unsure what is morally and ethically best to do often turn to their peers for assurance and guidance. Good ethical behavior can easily be influenced by officers and those in law enforcement.
Must employees will notice, criticized, or even emulated the moral failures of their leaders. If we look at our world history, it is filled with examples of how competent leaders have failed from ancient times to modern times. Periodically, we read about unethical behavior in some type of media outlet. Which often corrupts the public’s trust in the leader’s company or agency, then it brings the individual leader into question.
There is need to pay more attention to an analysis of unethical behavior in leadership and its relation to corporate culture. Ethical leadership is a growing concept and many large companies are promoting business ethics as their corporate social responsibility. The behavior and the individual values of the leader provide the direction to the business. Leader’s actions in term of ethical behavior and unethical behavior gives ideas to the employee and other stakeholders that what need to follow and what values are aspired in an organization. The position of the leader with moral and ethical values is most important to provide the solutions to ethical issues in a workplace.