The 21st century criminal justice system is dynamic. This is because it demands for a certain way of doing things. Any failure to abide by the prescribed way of doing things by whichever agency involved in the criminal justice system will almost inevitably lead to a severe backlash from various stakeholders. Ethics and professional behaviour are perhaps the two most important requirements for any effective criminal justice system. They are especially important in the administration of criminal justice. Individuals who are tasked with the administration of criminal justice thus have an obligation to uphold high ethical standards. In addition, their professional behaviour must be beyond reproach. These are two very pertinent requirements as the administration of criminal justice is a very sensitive issue. The degree of this sensitivity can be highlighted by the fact that administration of criminal justice will in a number of situations determine whether the concerned persons will continue enjoying their liberties or some of those liberties will be curtailed.
Ethics may simply be defined as a topic which broadly focuses on how individuals should live. However, ethics is more specifically concerned with the making of decisions of a moral nature about what is good or bad. Put differently, ethics is concerned about defining what is right or wrong from a moral perspective. What is right is then termed as being ethical. On the other hand, what is wrong is termed as being unethical. With the regard to the administration of criminal justice, ethics come into play when one examines the actions of the officers who are in charge of the administration of criminal justice. Their actions are examined with a view of establishing whether they are morally right or wrong. It goes without question that the administration of criminal justice does not take place in a vacuum but that it rather occurs in a given society which has its own morals. Therefore, in as much as the officers tasked with the administration of criminal justice in a particular society have certain rules to guide their conduct; they must also observe ethical practices that are upheld by the society. Any failure to do this will hamper the effective administration of criminal justice.
Professional behaviour may simply be defined as behaviour which is in conformity with the profession of the concerned officer as per the rules, guidelines and regulations governing that profession. Consequently, individuals have a responsibility to ensure that all the actions that they take while in their official capacities in their various professions conform to what is expected of them as members of that profession. They have the singular duty and obligation to ensure that the acts they perform in their official capacities do not amount to what will be termed as unprofessional behaviour. The tenets or professional behaviour equally apply to the administration of criminal justice. The various officers tasked with the administration of criminal justice right from the police officers have a duty to ensure that at all times their actions conform to what is expected of them in their profession as administration of criminal justice officers. Just as is the case with ethics, professional behaviour is also key in the administration of criminal justice.
There is no clear divide between ethics and professional behaviour with regard to the administration of criminal justice. Indeed, the relationship between the two is so close that one can hardly discuss one without mentioning the other. This article contends that ethics go hand in hand with professional behaviour in as far as the administration of criminal justice is concerned. For instance, an officer who is mandated with the administration of criminal justice has to always deal with the two twin issues in the performance of his or her duties. They have duty to abide by what is required of them as professionals in the administration of criminal justice. This is what informs their professional behaviour. However, their professional behaviour is greatly influenced by the code of ethics they subscribe to. Thus, an officer who subscribes to a wrong code of ethics will engage in unethical acts which may ultimately also include engaging in unprofessional behaviour. In this case, the unprofessional behaviour can be viewed from an ethical perspective where the officer will have chosen to do what is morally wrong and this consequently nuances on his or her behaviour as a professional. Thus, in as far as the administration of criminal justice is concerned; ethics and professional behaviour are inseparable.
Critical thinking plays a pivotal role with regards to the relationship between ethics and professional behaviour. This is because the administration of criminal justice requires making of decisions which have an ethical or professional dimension or in some instances both of the two. Consequently officers involved in the administration of criminal justice have to engage in a critical thinking process before making any decisions in their official capacity as such decisions will often have implications on their ethical stand as well as professional behaviour. Additionally, at times there may arise conflict between the ethical stand and what is expected of one as a professional. Critical thinking thus becomes pivotal in resolving such disputes and as such critical thinking is key especially for persons involved in the administration of criminal justice.
Proposal for seminar in ethics training
The proposal highlights five areas of ethical concern that will be stressed in the seminar. The first area is on corruption. Training law enforcement officers on how to deal with corruption will lead to reduced cases of corruption among the officers and will also increase the efficiency of the law enforcement officers. The community will benefit from improved service delivery from the law enforcement officers. In addition, the community will be able to be treated fairly by the law enforcement officers.
Secondly is the area of brutality. This area has been purposively identified due to the increasing complaints of brutality of the law enforcement officers, a conduct which is both unethical and unprofessional. It paints the law enforcement officers in very bad light as instead of safeguarding the law, it portrays them as persons who do not even respect the law itself. The officers will gain as they will learn other ways of handling situations without resorting to any brutal acts. The community will also benefit as they will be handled in a more humane way by the law enforcement officers. The human rights and personal dignity will be respected.
Professionalism will also form an area of ethical conduct that will be covered in the seminar. Professionalism is important as the effectiveness of any law enforcement agency or officer is greatly determined by the level of professionalism that they show while undertaking their duties. Training on professionalism will greatly benefit the officers as it will improve their effectiveness and efficiency in undertaking their tasks. Additionally, the law enforcement agency will be a more cohesive unit as all the officers will be persons who have embraced professionalism. The community stands to benefit even more as law enforcement officers who have embraced professionalism will deal with issues in a more professional way with the end result being a highly effective law enforcement regime which guarantees more certainty and stability in the community.
The fourth area that will form the subject for the seminar is on discrimination. This area has been specifically picked because discrimination of whatever kind by law enforcement officers adversely affects the administration of criminal justice. Training on discrimination will enable the officers to appreciate various differences among individuals in the community. It will also equip them with skills on how to best deal with all the various groups of people in the community without appearing to be discriminating any group of persons. The community will benefit as any previous discrimination which may have existed will cease.
Lastly, the training will address the issue of insubordination. This is particularly key as in the past insubordination has led to lack of team work among the law enforcement officers. It has led to infighting with the result being the inability of the law enforcement officers to focus on their main task which is law enforcement. The training will enable the officers to appreciate the importance of following and respecting the chain of command and this will in turn lead to more cohesive law enforcement activities by the officers. The community will benefit as it will have officers whose efforts are synchronized and coordinated thus leading to better service delivery.
References
Alan, S. D. (2011). The Persistent Pull of Police Professionalism. New Perspectives in Policing. UC Berkeley Public Law Research Paper No. 1788463, 1-21.
Siegel, L. J., & Worall, J. L. (2012). Essentials of Criminal Justice. Connecticut: Cengage Learning.
Wheeldon, J. (2013). To Guide or Provoke? Maps, Pedagogy, and the Value(s) of Teaching Criminal Justice Ethics. Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 97-121.
