The administration of criminal justice involves various players and institutions such as the police, court judges, police chiefs and prison officers coming into contact with members of the society most of the time. The manner in which these groups of people conduct themselves or behave while handling the public to a great extent preserves and boosts the general confidence in the administration of justice system. Therefore, any unethical or unprofessional behavior by those charged with the administration of justice undermines and erodes this confidence. More often than not, however, the police, for instance, have been cited for misconduct and misbehavior such as conducting of unconstitutional searches, engage in fishing expeditions for evidence, drug dealing, provision of false testimony, conniving with criminals, harassing the public and submitting false police reports.
Ethics generally involves what the society considers good and acceptable moral conduct and behavior. It concerns making of morally justified judgments concerning what is right or wrong, good or bad. It is significant for the smooth and successful administration of criminal justice. Dealing with some of these moral and ethical issues and dilemmas in a professional manner may help improve the public’s perception of the criminal justice system, hence enable it to function better and efficiently (Pollock, 2014). Further, to ensure principles of ethical behavior are entrenched in the administration of criminal justice, it is important for the law enforcement officers to be trained and inducted on the same through seminars and workshops. This paper analyzes the relationship between ethics and professional behavior in the administration of criminal justice and explains the role of critical thinking with regard to this link.
Ethical behavior, conduct and professionalism are also interlinked with the criminal justice administration in that they enable the stakeholders within the criminal justice system to make informed ethical decisions concerning the several social issues that come before them on a daily basis. For instance, ethical behavior will enable the police or law enforcement officials not to demand or solicit bribes from suspects or drivers, for example. It would also ensure that they don’t engage in misconduct such as the one that was witnessed in the Rodney King incident involving police unnecessary violence and use of force on civilians (Pollock, 2014). For criminal justice players such as judges, ethics and professionalism help them to reach difficult but important decisions where the rights of accused are at stake and the interests of the general public need to be protected. Strong ethical principles and professionalism will guide their decisions and ensure that they don’t make legal decisions along racial or political lines. Furthermore, the relationship between ethics, professional behavior and the administration of the criminal justice is may be argued to exist on the basis that lack of professional ethics in the criminal justice system administrators is likely to result in unprofessional behavior and conduct which not only dents its reputation, but also weakens it and make people lose faith or confidence in it (Kleinig, 2008). If anything, ethics is normally considered by many to be the mainstay of professionalism.
Critical thinking plays a very important role with regard to the relationship of ethics and professional behavior and the administration of criminal justice. To begin with, critical thinking enables criminal justice administrators such as police chiefs to develop analytical and reasoning skills while handling various issues and cases reported to them. Additionally, critical thinking skills enable stakeholders such as judges and prosecutors or lawyers to critically analyze cases and legal issues apparent in the disputes brought before them for resolution and settlement. It also endures that law enforcement officials are intellectually aware of the various factors and circumstances that influence and contribute to crime and other unethical behavior in the society and hence be able to resolve them. Critical thinking also ensures that the moral and ethical values and standards of behavior or conduct are adhered to by employees of the criminal justice system without the need for them to be constantly reminded of what is expected of them in any given situation that calls for thinking. Moreover, critical thinking helps to inculcate the desired values of a criminal justice system such as integrity and humanity and also helps players in the system to make informed decisions based on sound ethical judgment. Through critical thinking too, the various stakeholders within the criminal justice system are also able to be innovative and creative enough inn their relations or interaction with the society and also in devising new ways of fighting crime or improving the administration of the criminal justice system. In addition to this, through critical thinking skills and ability, judges, for instance, are able to sift through large pieces of evidence and come up with a comprehensive analysis of the case and give judgments that are deemed by the parties as being just.
As has been observed before, in order to inculcate in the various administrators of the justice system the culture, principles and values of ethical behavior, conduct and professionalism, it is important that they be trained on the significance of observing ethics and professionalism. Ethical training helps the administrators to develop reasoning abilities and analytical skills that are necessary in understanding various aspects of the system. Moreover, training enables the officers of the criminal justice system to recognize the existence of ethical issues and problems in the system that need to be solved, make sound and informed decision and choices, acquire tools for dealing with the ethical issues and problems that plague the system (Gleason, 2016). It also ensures the integration or inculcation of the principles of ethics and professionalism in the professional and personal engagements or lives of the police and other members of the criminal justice system. According to Gleason (2016), given that the police and other members of the criminal justice system are held to high standards of conduct and behavior by the society as stewards of public trust, ethics training enables them to take necessary action based on a given choice, take recognition of ethical dilemmas and problems, make ethically sound and rational choices and take responsibility for the outcome of their choices and actions. The training also raises their awareness of potential ethical issues within their profession, instills courage and commitment in them to act in an ethical manner in all circumstances and make them aware of and expect accountability for any consequences flowing from their actions, choices or decisions. According to Pollock and Becker (1996), some of the ethical dilemmas that the police encounter in their daily practice include the use of discretion, dire circumstances, lack of clear course of action to take, strict legality requirements under the law of searches for example, office wrongdoing, self-enrichment, honesty and declining gratitude. Training will hence impart them with relevant skills on how to tackle such ethical dilemmas that can sometimes lead to unprofessionalism and misconduct or unethical behavior while on duty.
Some of the main values of ethical conduct that should be emphasized in a training seminar for the administrators of the criminal justice include integrity, accountability, proper use of discretion, honesty, professionalism, discipline, competence, respect for human dignity or rights, and openness in professional dealings . The main areas of ethical conduct that need to be stressed during the training seminar include professional competence, human rights, accountability, police deviance or misconduct and discipline. They benefit of the training for both the officers and the community is that it will improve the performance of the police or other officers of the criminal justice system besides enhancing the relationship between members of the community and the justice system.
References
Gleason, T. (2016). Ethics training for police. The Police Chief. Retrieved March 3, 2016, from http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display_arch&art icle_id=1054&issue_id=112006
Gruber, C. (2015). 3 ways ethics influences criminal justice. Retrieved March 3, 2016, from http://www.cps.neu.edu/prospective-students/tips-for-success/ways-ethics-influence- criminal-justice.php
Kleinig, J. (2008). Ethics and criminal justice: An introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Pollock, J.M., & Becker, R.F. (1996, November). Ethics training: Using officers’ dilemmas. Retrieved March 3, 2016, from https://www2.fbi.gov/publications/leb/1996/nov964.txt
Pollock, J.M. (2014). Ethical dilemmas and decisions in criminal justice system. Boston, MA: CENGAGE Learning.
