Introduction
This paper looks into certain situations in the society where sound judgments and decisions are needed to come at a better solution to an ethical dilemma.
The ethical dilemma is a compound situation often involving apparent mental conflicts between moral imperatives where a party would be relatively disobeyed when the other party is deliberately adhered to. This is often called as the ethical paradoxes in moral philosophy and is more often than not brought into play in attempting to refute a particular ethical system or moral code (“What is an Ethical Dilemma,” 2012). Also, morals are of significant in the Criminal Justice field today. On the off chance that the police power excused the dishonest conduct, there would be practically equity being served. Authority police offense is any "frightful moves made by cops regarding their official obligations, which can prompt a premature delivery of capital". Be that as it may, "police wrongdoing may incorporate a more extensive scope of unfortunate behavior, mirroring the exclusive expectations that we expect of cops. Not at all like adverse authority action, police wrongdoing can apply to the on holiday conduct and also direct at work. Morals are applicable in an investigation because if the power supported exploitative practices, there would be practically nothing if any, equity being served. We will now concentrate on some situations questioning moral issues and perceive how these conditions can affect a case.
This research does not only delve into peer-reviewed resources but also acquires information based on the researcher’s point of view. It reflects the researcher’s ethical behavior towards certain situations that might come along the way in the future.This research focuses on the appropriate courses of action to be done in an individual case. It discussed the moral or ethical objective for the decisions made by the people concerned. It also identifies the proper decisions that the doer of the action should make. It also gives the motives of the doer of the action, the consequences of the both options, and the ethical bases for the doer’s decision towards the situation. (De Amicis, 2005)
The Parole Board
In the first given situation about the parole board, a certain Robert was involved. He was the chairman of the parole board. A ‘parole’ is the term used for identifying the provisional discharge of a prisoner who agrees to the condition provided by authorities prior to the completion of the prisoner’s maximum sentence period (“Parole,” 2015). The parole board is the group of persons who will be deciding whether an outlaw should be discharged from incarceration after having served the least portion of the prisoner’s sentence as stipulated by the sentencing judge (USLegal, 2015).
Now going back to the given situation, Robert, being the chairman of the parole board, was already aware of the state prisons’ condition—being too crowded. He believes that one option to avoid overcrowding of state prisons is to make broad the criteria for parole eligibility allow more inmates to be emancipated from their imprisonment. He also believes that the state prisons make themselves worthy of a community-based supervision, a less strict type of control as opposed to that of being put behind bars. But, as he reviewed the results of the “risk assessment”, he has come to realize that being too kind is risky. Being too kind in adjusting the standards of the parole to the inmates who have served their minimum sentence might only put the public at risk. Because inevitably, the character of the person might not be changed even in a large span of time, and he fears that these parole inmates might only cause more chaos outside of their cold prison bars.
Now, the Governor is asking for Robert’s advice on how to eradicate overcrowding of state prisons. As chairman of the parole board, it is deemed rather important for him to make the Governor realize both sides of the coin. If the Governor wants to lessen state prison overcrowding, he may do so by releasing federal suits. But Robert is also put in a situation where he needs to consider the public’s safety. So, it is his job to make the Governor understand that releasing parole inmates out in the open with less security might only be as releasing a wild lion from the den. Ethically speaking, Robert needs to weigh both options.
The Warden
In the second given situation, a century-old correctional facility was being managed by William. His allocation for the current fiscal year was cut short, and it only meant that he needs to cut costing—freeze hiring of replacement employees and eliminate overtime work for correctional officers. Due to the overcrowding of the correctional facility, his budget was only limited to the allocation of food and medical services to the inmates and fixed costs of the utility. He had lesser personnel before but it hiked due to aggressive prosecute and arrest campaigns. The place being overcrowded only meant that it was no longer a very safe place to look after, especially now that he lessened his personnel’s overtime work. He was concerned about his employees, so he let them resign or just not report for duty whenever the inmates threatened them. But, it was then when he recognized that this resort would only worsen his dilemma, so he thought of putting the additional inmates to an off-site work release program. However, there was no “risk assessment” done; thus, the designation of prisoners to the community-based supervision might only be based on unsupported security guess work. Now, representatives from the security officers’ union will be meeting with William to hear from him his plans for maintaining the safety of his co-workers.
It is William’s responsibility to ensure his members’ safety and well-being so the first thing he needs to discuss with the union representatives is his correctional facility’s situation then and now. He must make them understand that he might need manpower resources, perhaps more security personnel so that he is confident of his workers’ welfare in the long. He might also want to tap other establishments to help him lessen his inmates by assessing those who are deserving of community-based supervision. This will be done by perhaps proposing to the union representatives that he needs their help for the proper screening or assessment of the risk factors that come along the ceaseless increase of inmates. It is in this way that he might not be anymore too mentally preoccupied with coming up with ways to ensure his people’s safety because other suggestions might come in handy.
The District Attorney
The third situation portrayed Martha, a district attorney who is critical of plea bargaining and reduced prison sentences for convicted culprits. Due to continuous arrest campaigns, there was a dramatic increase in criminal cases in their district. However, the culprits involved in these cases were mostly “losers” in the criminal cases charged against because of fragile support. But, she knows very well that most of the people arrested were significantly involved in the city’s drug culture as per the review of the sample cases she has checked.
Knowing that anything other than aggressive prosecution of the culprits might make her seem unsupportive of her chief of staff. The directive she could most probably give to her prosecutors is to subject the arrestees to court. They should be examined in a much deeper sense with all the evidence and probable causes that might point out the truth about these culprits being heavily involved in the city’s drug culture. In this way, she’s doing herself and the entire district the favor of not letting another culpable act go unattended despite the weak on-hand evidence provided.
The Officer
In this case, Linda, a police officer, was put in a situation where she suspects a young man to be a drug deal “look-out”. The seemingly recognizable gestures and mannerisms of the person tell her something—that he is a drug dealer. Thus, she let him empty his pockets and lo and behold, and the man had several crack cocaine vials and $400 cash! Right away, the man can be identified as a drug deal “look-out” which automatically means that he should be detained. Even more so, the man refuses to identify himself. This alone is a ground for detainment because it portrays that the culprit is guilty of the police officer’s suppositions about him. Not long after Linda and the man’s little dispute, police officers call her to serve as a backup for a “burglary in progress”.
Being apparently torn by the situation, Linda must prioritize the first culpable act she spotted. If the young man she perceived as a drug dealer persists to remain silent about his identity, then Linda will be left with no other option but to bring him to the police station for questioning. That’s the most ethical thing to do rather than letting the young man go because of “duty calls”. Linda must tell the police dispatcher about the situation. In this way, she can leave the questioning to the police officers left the station before she can serve as a backup to the “burglary in progress” situation the dispatcher told her about.
Conclusion
In this paper, the part of morals in forming choices has been investigated. Morals have been demonstrated to be a focal segment in choices including moral predicaments, and the procedure of dissecting a moral problem has been outlined. Morals are concerned with measures of conduct and with "how I should act," and norms of behavior may change among distinctive social orders. Ways to deal with setting standards range from social relativism to good absolutism. A point of view that stresses moral pluralism appears to offer the best answer after determining issues of ethical dilemmas. Researching sources of moral standards uncovers that religion, regular law, and different types of law have an impact in molding moral guidelines. A comprehension of morals is crucial to capable choice making by criminal equity experts also, to the correct working of the criminal equity framework.
Lastly, to end an extensive number of the moral predicaments that increased against public security specialists, there should be a focus on how to solve the problem efficiently by the people within the group. The impact of human components upon individual execution must agree with excellent and sensible control. Pioneers must join with all the people from the group. Likewise, there should be a political package in meeting expectations in a police office. At last, those that are induced inside of a police division must be advanced in light of credibility. They should plainly show the fundamental strength to settle on the broad choices in both primary and particular circumstances. (Banks, 2004)
REFERENCES
Banks, C. (2004). Criminal justice ethics: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications.
De Amicis, A. (2005, August 21). An Ethical Dilemma In Corrections. Retrieved
Parole. (2015). In The Free Dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/parole
USLegal. (2015). Parole Board Law & Legal Definition. Retrieved from
http://definitions.uslegal.com/p/parole-board/
What is an ethical dilemma? (2012). Retrieved from http://www.socialworker.com/feature-
articles/ethics-articles/What_Is_an_Ethical_Dilemma%3F/
