Application of the utilitarianism concept or the implementation of actions that are deemed as right as long as the consequences are good or bad consequences are minimal (Williams & Arrigo, 2012) in the given scenario for the officer due to retire soon would be in line morally with Utilitarianism. In his case, having on many occasions apprehended such suspects, processed evidence and arrest tickets only to go to court and have the charges reduced, dropped or the defendants charged with what amounts to a slap in the face conviction by the courts and prosecutor, the decision not to pursue in his eyes would seem the to create the greatest good or happiness. Additionally, the officer may consider the amount of marijuana likely to be in the possession and give consideration to the fact that they are smoking and not attempting to sell the marijuana. …show more content…
Eager to enforce every law and ordinance to the letter, the rookie officer may feel that the veteran officer is lax in his judgment and views the potential actions of the suspect as a threat to society, justifying and encouraging their behavior and therefore, action should be taken to thwart any future crimes that might be committed as a result of. Additionally, assuming the rookie officer hasn’t had the opportunity to appear in court in such cases, his perception of the justice system is of a grand and noble machine, exacting due justice to everyone equally. In this instance, utilitarianism is not considered morally acceptable as the negative consequences far outweigh the
Being just in the American criminal justice system is a topic that is highly debated. Some believe the system is just, while others believe it is a flawed. The truth however, is that humans are not always right. God is the only who can practice justice in complete perfection, because humans are not perfect. Although many people in the American criminal justice system have good intentions, sadly that does not necessarily mean they are always just.
1. Ethical concern. Describe and give examples of the concern. How is it pertinent to the field of criminal justice?
For my article I chose, “Decision Making in the Crime Commission Process: Comparing Rapist, Child Molesters, and Victim-Crossover Sex Offenders” by Eric Beauregard, Benoit Leclerc, and Patrick Lussier. In traditional beliefs it suggests sex offenders are mainly driven by an uncontrollable urge to sexually offend. This article takes a looks into comparing how rapist, child molesters, and victim-crossover sex offenders make their criminal decisions. It investigated how decision-making is involved in target selection. The researchers used mixed methods along with Clarke and Cornish’s decision-making model to evaluate the offender’s actions.
Through the use of financial and administrative sanctions against police officers we can better deter illegal searches and seizures. If an officer makes an illegal search and seizure there can be a set fine that they would have to pay to the courts, the fine can adjust in value to match the severity in misconduct. Officers can face being removed from the case, suspension without pay, or even termination from their job depending on the severity of the violation. These alternatives provide real and motivating consequences to police officers and would act as a better deterrent than the exclusionary
Many states have Peace Officer’s Bill of Rights and it is argued that the Peace Officer’s Bill of Rights makes it very difficult to discipline or remove bad officers; only other officers many times judge officers, and it makes an investigator’s job of
Certainly, he expected to find it readily applied in his position with the state police, who exercise authority, and are sworn to uphold the law. Hopson’s expectation for this was shattered as a rookie trooper, and as a result, he experienced moral stress. Geuras and Garofalo (2011) state, “...moral quandaries cannot be denied. At the same time, however, organizational structures and cultures, expectations and reward systems, often tend to ignore or invalidate moral stress, leaving conflicted individuals with a Hobson’s choice: silence or whistleblowing” (p. 134). Hopson made the choice to remain congruent with values that aligned with ethical behavior and eventually elected to become a whistleblower; he could not remain
Ethics and the Evolution of Police Policing in this present day is defined as an individual or group of individual who prevent and detect crime within a community. Policing compares in many ways. They all attempt to provide services, keep the peace and reduce crime. Policing has evolved into something much more than what it used to be. Within this essay are the many different perspectives and how ethics were learned.
Let us break down what justice is; justice is behaviour that is just or fair. So the justice system is the system that enforces the law which involves apprehending the accused, prosecuting the accused, defending the accused, sentencing and punishing the guilty. The justice system makes sure that every citizen is heard for and is helped according to what has happened to them. The criminal justice system today When a person commits a crime there are different levels of punishment and decision making if a person has committed a minor crime like speeding, littering, shoplifting, prostitution, vandalism being drunk, possession of drugs etc.
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.
The theories of Restorative Justice and Utilitarianism seem to have much in common. Both aim to reach a virtuous response to crime, and therefore they are positive and forward looking. Utilitarians argue that punishing offenders crimes are likely to be reduced. Jeremy Bentham identified two objectives for punishment that share the same idea. Specific deterrence and general deterrence purpose are to increase the "price" for a criminal act in order to discourage potential offenders from choosing to commit crimes.
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.
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
There are three components that make up the criminal justice system – the police, courts, and correctional facilities – they all work together in order to protect individuals and their rights as a citizen of society to live without the fear of becoming the victim of a crime. Crime, simply put is when a person violates criminal law; the criminal justice system is society’s way of implementing social control. When all three components of the criminal justice work together, it functions almost perfectly. For a person to enter the criminal justice system, the process must begin with the law enforcement.
It is easy to learn about a subject from a book, but it is an entirely different matter to learn about a subject through real life experience. I hope to learn how to serve and protect while implementing the law correctly, especially in today’s world when the level of support for police officers is very low and the level of misconduct cases concerning the police are very high. It is not easy to know what to do in every situation, especially when some reactions are needed with very little or no time to think about. It is one thing to hear about a crime happening and the response that would be best to give, and another thing to need
‘’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.