Criminal Justice Ethics (for Henry)

 

Criminal Justice Ethics Responses

 

Responses to Other Students: Respond to 2 of your fellow classmates with at least a 100-word reply about their Primary Task Response regarding items you found to be compelling and enlightening. To help you with your discussion, please consider the following questions:

 

•What did you learn from your classmate’s posting?

 

•What additional questions do you have after reading the posting?

 

•What clarification do you need regarding the posting?

 

•What differences or similarities do you see between your posting and other classmate’s postings?

 

Identifythe ethical and legal issues presented in this scenario. The issues in this scenario would be that the officers take things for free. One of the things that an officer is taught in the academy is that, that is one thing they do not do. By doing this they put themselves in a position for trouble, and with this knowledge the store owner thought he could get by and should not be held accountable for running the red light.

When did criminal justice professionals begin to seriously examine ethics and police officer misconduct? This started back in the late 18 hundreds when a group of police chiefs got together and formed a code of ethics, this code was to ensure that they provide fair and confidential service within the person’s constitutional rights.

How do you think this situation would have been handled 50 years ago? 25 years ago? 10 years ago? Fifty years ago I think that because of the freebies, the older officer would have told the rookie to just overlook the fact that the store owner ran the red light. Twenty-five years ago I believe that the senior officer would have told the rookie he would take care of this problem and would give the store owner a chat and let it go with a warning. However, ten years ago and now I do not believe the store owner would have gotten by with it.

What factors do you think contributed to the evolution of criminal justice ethics throughout recent history? Years ago the police was somewhat a private force but as years have went by the police force has become a public and because of this boundaries had to be set.

Which of these ethical and legal issues do you feel are the most important? I feel that if the officers were not taking the freebies from the store owner then I do not believe that he would not have been apt to ask the senior officer for the favor. You can be friends with the people of the stores that you may frequent when on duty, however do not take freebies for then the people think you owe them one and should not be held accountable for the laws they may break. What would you do in this situation? Why? Even though the store owner appreciates the officers that come into the store and gives freebies, I think still would have written him the ticket. Yes, I may have gotten some heat from my co-workers, but it was his choice on the freebies but that does not give him the right to break the law, to the point of recklessness. The store owner got off lucky that running the red light did not hurt anyone.

Remember to place yourself in the deputy chief’s shoes when determining how you would handle this situation. I think I would have to start putting distance between the store owner and myself. Those two wrongs do not make a right and when I did go into his store I would insist on paying for my items. If you were to ticket the store owner, how do you think the other officers might respond to your actions? The other officers may not like what I done but they would just have to get over it. He made the choice to hand out freebies but that does not give him the right to break the law. I would stop taking the freebies but still go in to let him know that I was still going to do my job.

How would you address their responses? Yes we have a code; and in that code personal is personal and business is business, however wrong it may be on taking freebies some places still insist on it, just because they give a freebie that does not give them permission to break the law to the point of possibly hurting someone.

Reference: Banks, C, (2013), Criminal Justice Ethics: Theory and Practice, Third Edition, Retrieved from http://wow.coursesmart.com/9781412998567/?CSTenantKey=coloradotech&spid=

From: Margaret

I think this is one of the biggest issues that faces police and people in general these days. We are having a harder time finding that line between right and wrong. It is such a fine line because we want it to be right to reward the people around us, we want it to be right to say thank you to the ones who protect and serve us. But then there are the few that come in and only give so that they may use it as leverage later and it puts everyone else in a situation to be questioned for their generosity.

I think in the last 25 years or so it has become more of an issue to look into police misconduct. People have become more corrupt and police have had a harder time figuring out where to draw the line as things change. I think that people have also demanded that we watch those who watch us a lot more closely. I think that 50 years ago was the start of looking into the ethics of our justice professionals.

I think that the biggest ethical issue here is what he will do in the situation. I think that this situation will determine how the patrol officer conducts himself for the rest of his career. I think that as a higher up you are supposed to set a good example and show the younger ones what to do and how to handle themselves. I think that showing the younger officer the correct thing to do is the best thing that this chief can do.

If this was me and I was in this predicament I would have to write the ticket. I know that my relationship with the community is important but they also have to know that I am going to do my job no matter what. I think this is a hard situation because this could be the drivers first offense but I know that I cannot let him off just because we have built up a rapport. I must show them now that I will do my job even if someone offers me a bribe so that the people of this community may feel safe with me in charge.

I think that ticketing the store owner would show the officer that I am not afraid to do my job no matter the circumstances that are in front of me. I think that it will help show him direction in his own career so that he may make the right decisions later, when he is on his own. I think that it can benefit this officer to see that you can make these decisions even when a friend or even an acquaintance is involved. I think that other officers in the district may be a little hurt especially if the store owner decided to stop providing the free items. I think that there may be a little resentment even.

I would address this issue by reminding them that we must do our jobs no matter what. I would remind them that if we bend the rules for some then we will have to bend the rules for everyone and then we would not be effectively doing our jobs. I would also remind them that this person broke the law even if we do know them and we do appreciate what they do for us. I think that I would have to remind them that no matter what two wrongs do not make a right and that the man was wrong for speeding but he was even more wrong for assuming that he was above the law that we had sworn to protect.

From Staci

Identifythe Ethical and Legal Issues Presented in This ScenarioEthical issues presented are honesty and nepotism while the legal issues presented is ignorance of law. According to the information given in the scenario, the deputy chief was not supposed to accept gratuities or discounts, half-priced meal not even free cup of coffee from the store owner. According to the scenario, the store owner was heading home at around 3:30 a.m the same time deputy chief with his officers were on patrol. The store owner pulls over his car which had gone through a red light and calls the deputy chief by his name to disperse the attention of the officers and be recognized as best friend of deputy chief.

The criminal justice professional began seriously to examine ethics and police officer misconduct immediately after the store owner mentioned the name of the deputy chief. This made his officers believe that they knew each other from before. The store owner walks out of the car courageously as if he had committed no offence, shouts the name of deputy chief to signify officers that they were friends (Souryal, 2010).

Over the years, criminal justice has been declining in a very expedient way. Fifty years ago, this situation was worse, because Police officers used to accept bribery from different corners. Twenty-five years ago, the situation could be somehow better because as days go by, our society keeps on changing due to the good leadership. Then, ten years ago, this situation improved to the maximum. Dishonesty has been terminated and actions are taken against any person doing the act in case one is found taking bribes, he or she faces the consequences.

One of the factors that have contributed to evolution of criminal justice through out the recent history is nepotism and racism. Nepotism is a favoritism granted to relatives and friends regardless of the merits. The most important issue according to the scenario is nepotism. This has been a great concern because in most countries it has been growing at a higher rate. In this situation, one is supposed to impose fines and huge remedies to people who participate in nepotism and it should be a lesson to people who practice in nepotism in the society.

Assuming that I was the deputy chief, and the store owner, who is my friend, happens to commit the offence mentioned in the scenario, I would make him face consequences for ignoring the law, as it is the greater offence. In addition to this situation, I would order the store owner to accompany me to the police station, and report the matter to the officer in charge of such cases, and make him an example to others (Banks, 2004).

If I was to ticket the store owner, then I think my colleague will not be happy with such actions, and the store owner may end up reporting both of us to the officer in charge, which may lead to my job dismissal. As the deputy chief, I will address the responses accordingly and be fair enough. This will ensure nepotism is terminated.

References

Banks, C. (2004). Criminal justice ethics: Theory and practice. Retrieved

from http://whatiscriminaljustice.wordpress.com/

Souryal, S. (2010). Ethics in Criminal Justice: In Search of the Truth. Retrieved

from http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11154724-ethics-in-criminal-justice

from Connie