CJEL M1. 200 words

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Criminal Justice 2011

CCJ4054

Criminal Justice Ethics

and Liability

Chapter 2:

Choices, Values,

and Ethics

CONSEQUENCES of CHOICES

• Acts of omission

• Voluntary

• Necessity

• Involuntary

• Duress

ETHICS AND CHOICE

Central role for choice

• Everyday

• What

• Why

• Consequences

THE TAVERN RAPE

• Is there a legal obligations and moral duty to

report crime?

• Do we have a moral duty to assist victims and

report criminal activities that we have

witnessed?

• What about criminal activities that have not

yet occurred, but the future likelihood of

which we have knowledge?

RELEVANCE

• Relevant to ethics and morality when freely made and impact the well-being of others.

• Child abuse

• Drug smuggling

– What about other drug offenses?

• DUI; DWI

MORALITY AND CHOICES

• Morality concerns choices we make that affect other people.

• Seat belt laws

• Abortion

• Handguns

• Suicide

• Illegal substances

MORALITY AND CHOICES

• Can you think of other “personal freedoms” that have consequences for others as a whole?

• Should these be limited by law?

MEDIA, VIOLENCE, AND MORALITY

• Television violence causes violence

• Agree or disagree?

• What about violent rap?

THE INVOLUNTARY NATURE OF EVIL

• All of our actions are aimed at something we perceive to be good

• If we know what is truly good, our actions will be aimed at what is truly good

• Similarly, if we are ignorant of what is truly good, our actions may well be aimed at what we believe to be good, but is truly evil

UNIVERSAL ELEMENT OF CHOICE

• Every consequence has further consequences

• Immediate and long term consequences

• A ink in a chain of events

• Example – Road Rage

MAKING VALUE CHOICES

• VALUES - happiness, pleasure, justice, equality, fairness, courage, loyalty, human dignity

• Are these important?

• When we “value” something, we regard it as desirable and important

• Values point out the things we should pursue in life

TYPES OF MORAL VALUES

• Some values, like happiness, are ends-in- themselves. Others, in turn, are “good” because they serve as a means to an end.

• Two types:

• Intrinsic

• Instrumental

• Moral values always take precedence over non-moral values, and intrinsic values always

take precedence over instrumental ones.

A BASIC FRAMEWORK FOR MORAL DECISION-MAKING

Moral Values and Principles

+ Facts of the Issue or Situation

= Practical Conclusion (Morally Sound Choices

and Actions)

NORMATIVE ETHICS AND MORAL DECISION-MAKING

Normative ethics

Deontological theories

Consequentialist theories

Virtue ethics

ETHICS, VALUES, AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Police subculture

Police value system

Police deviance

Informal values and norms

POLICE SUBCULTURE

INFORMAL VALUES AND NORMS

• Enforcing the law is guided by what the law says and who the suspect is

• Disrespect for the police is met with arrest or the use of force

• Officers should use force, including deadly force, against those who “deserve it”

• Due process exists to criminals and is ignored when possible

POLICE SUBCULTURE

INFORMAL VALUES AND NORMS

• Lying is an essential part of the police job

• You can’t go fast enough to chase a car thief or traffic violator nor slow enough to get to a ‘garbage’ call

• It is acceptable to take rewards the public wants to offer an officer

• Protecting fellow officers is the paramount duty

DISCUSSION

• In what ways might exposure to the norms described by Sherman lead to unethical and undesirable police behavior?

• Can you think of specific cases from the media where police deviance might be linked to organizational culture?

• What circumstances, conditions, or experiences might make a police officer more or less likely to be influenced by informal norms and values?