Various ethical situations and circumstances within the criminal justice system require the relevant law enforcement or the justice system officer to apply the moral and ethical campus in order to help make the right decisions. According to Pollock, this may be represented in the form of an ethical pyramid which she argues is the foundation of an organization’s or individuals moral behavior and values. This ethical pyramid consists of ethical system at the base, followed by moral rules and lastly moral judgment at the top of the pyramid (156). Moreover, Bayley notes that the main ethical ideologies and frameworks that are helpful for making ethical decisions by criminal justice professionals include the situations, subjectivist, absolutist and exceptionist approaches (4). According to the situations approach, the ethics of one’s actions depend on an individual’s assessment of the situation.
Pollock argues that before making a decision when faced with an ethical situation or dilemma, a criminal justice professional should ask themselves five main questions. First, whether the action violates another person’s rights, whether the action would mean treatment of another individual as a means to an end; whether the action is legal, whether the decision will produce more bad than good for those affected by the decision and whether it will violate one’s professional duty.
Based on this, as a probation officer in the current situation, I would recommend to the judge not to send the juvenile defendant to a juvenile facility but instead advise the judge to have a guidance and counselor appointed for him to dissuade him from theft. This is because committing him to juvenile facility will not him reform but instead make things worse for him and his ailing mother. Further, using Pollock’s ethical pyramid, it would be against my ethical judgment to have the defendant committed to a juvenile facility. Also, based on Bentham’s utilitarian ethical principle, since sending him to a juvenile facility would produce more harm than good to him and his family, it would be ethical to help him reform behaviorally.
Works Cited
Bayley, Bruce. “Ethics in law enforcement.” 24 July 2015. Web. 21 June 2016. www.policeone.com/patrol-issues/articles/1864833-improving-ethics-training for-the-21st-century/#
Pollock, Joycelyn M. Ethical dilemmas and decsions in criminal justice. London & New York: CENGAGE Learning, 2013. Print.
