Ethics in criminal justice

Criminal Justice Ethics

In Chapter 4, "Learning Police Ethics," Lawrence Sherman describes the process by which individuals decide to become officers of the law, and also how new officers develop their moral and ethical orientations. Ethical decision-making is influenced by a wide range of factors, both formal and informal. For example, textbooks provide formal training and objective, even absolute ethical guidelines, whereas senior officers and peer pressures provide a less formal but equally as viable and powerful set of ethics. The process of socialization that all officers undergo greatly impacts the development of professional ethical standards. Rookies are usually confronted with difficult personal conflicts between the formal and informal sets of rules.

Sherman also describes the intersections between the moral and occupational aspects of being a police officer and outlines several stages of career development: choice, introduction, first encounter, and metamorphosis into a full-fledged group member. The entire process results in a total transformation of the individual's self-concept and identity. Choice to become a police officer is often based on socioeconomic factors, even more than personality. The introduction to the career involves recruitment, lectures, classes, coursework, and group discussions. Next, the first encounter for officers of the law is usually through Field Training Officers (FTOs), which demonstrate through hands-on experience the day-to-day actualities of being a police officer. These actualities elucidate the differences between textbook and practical learning. Usually the first encounter involves a reality check, shock, and self-consciousness on the part of the rookie officer. Finally, the individual metamorphoses into a member of the subculture, developing interdependence with colleagues and loyalty to other officers of the law. Frequently, the public is viewed as the enemy.

Sherman also describes the value conflicts that arise on the job, including the ethics of use of force, racial conflicts, and contingencies such as level of danger and social pressures. Situational justifications, called apologia, are an integral part of being an officer. In sum, learning ethics is not a clear-cut or smooth process but rather, a complex and difficult one.

Similarly, Jerome H. Skolnick and Richard a. Leo describe the legal and moral gray areas of police work in Chapter Five: "The Ethics of Deceptive Interrogation." Whereas the use of physical force was tolerated in the past, nowadays, psychological coercion is more the norm. Psychological coercion raises a host of complex issues that use of physical force does not. The legal system has attempted and continues to try to differentiate between what should and should not be acceptable police practices, but the law remains deliberately vague. For example, the Miranda decision of 1966 clarified the specific interrogation and arrest guidelines used by officers but even the reading of Miranda rights can be a manipulative function. Confessions must be reliable and fair. Trickery and deceit are commonplace in the interrogation procedure, for the officer of the law continually straddles the line between ethics and the necessity of capturing criminals.

Joycelyn Pollock describes police ethics in terms of four basic categories in Chapter 6: "Ethical Dilemmas in Police Work." The issues addressed in the literature, such as corruption, brutality, and bribery, are not necessarily encountered by police officers on a daily basis. In fact, many officers note that drinking, sleeping, and having sex on the job are more common ethical offenses than bribery (90). Pollock notes that officers generally view five main elements that comprise the "good" police officer: legality, service, honesty/integrity, loyalty, and ascription to the Golden Rule. These five elements can be grouped into four main ethical categories: those involving discretion and the law; those involving duty and service; those involving honesty; and those involving loyalty. Of these, the conflict between loyalty and whistleblowing and the use of discretion in difficult situations are the most significant and widespread ethical issues experienced by officers of the law.