NCJ Number
85080
Date Published
1981
Length
321 pages
Annotation
Police, court, and corrections officials face ethical dilemmas in their daily actions that often result from their attitudes, the multiple roles they play, their decisionmaking powers, or the ethical codes under which they operate. This collection of essays examines these dilemmas and makes suggestions for resolving them.
Abstract
The essayists demonstrate how organizational concerns with efficiency influence practitioners' ethics. One author cites the personal risks involved in ethical behavior, finding that colleagues may regard the ethically minded professional as a troublemaker. The International Criminal Police Organization's Secretary General describes ethical problems in law enforcement arising from officers' multiple roles, and suggests criteria for an international police ethics code. An analysis of the International Association of Chiefs of Police ethical code discusses its relevance to day-to-day law enforcement problems. An article on the potential for cyclical police corruption in New York City suggests that large-scale corruption, arising from police cynicism, secrecy, and anomie, will surface again before the century's end. Other authors describe problems with prosecutorial discretion, standards of professional organizations as they relate to criminal trials, and the ethics of plea bargaining. An article on correctional ethics shows that agreement on ethical standards is difficult because practitioners have diverse roles and divergent self-concepts. Some believe that while the ethics of combat may apply to the courtroom, a conflict perspective in corrections may lead to the perception of inmates as enemies rather than clients. The treatment ideal conflicts with prisons' inherent organizational makeup; values learned there hamper successful reformation. A former Executive Secretary of the Idaho Commission for Pardons and Parole discusses how social groups' values influence the parole process and how knowledgeable inmates try to imitate the ideal. The Director of the National Institute of Justice's Office of Program Evaluation outlines research steps sensitive to ethical influences and suggests strategies for increasing ethical objectivity. The text ends with a discussion of ethical norms for determining if criminal justice policies and practices are just. Chapter notes and references are given. (Author summary modified)