Ethics of Criminal Justice Workers
Ethical standards give a person instruments to evaluate right actions from wrong ones. In a sense, these standards help a person act morally, upholding the standards of behavior in society. For some, ethics would then be equivalent to the legal system, a system that people in the criminal justice field are sworn to uphold. However, this paper argues that ethics are very different, and that criminal justice workers should constantly evaluate their decisions and actions based on ethical principles.
While equating ethics with legalities is a useful guide, this is often not enough. Historical examples would show, for example, that slavery was once considered legal. Even in this country's history, however, the ethics of the practice was disputed and today, hardly anyone would defend slavery is ethical. The same argument goes for other activities previously deemed illegal, such as consensual homosexual relationships and interracial marriages. Conversely, despite Roe v. Wade, people continue to challenge the ethics of abortion, a legal practice.
Since laws are subject to change, ethical principles provide one with a more enduring standard to measure right from wrong. Towards this, the ethical principles put forward by German philosopher Immanuel Kant provide useful starting points for the debate. In his categorical imperative, for example, Kant argued that ethical principles must be both logical and must be applied to all. For a criminal justice worker, a law stating that it is okay to steal would be unethical, because if everyone stole from each other, then there would be nothing left to steal, according to Kant's logic. Also, a law stating that it is okay only for corporate executives to steal fails the second part of Kant's categorical imperative. To be ethical, the law against stealing must be applied to all thieves, whether they steal a $5,000 car or, in the case of Enron's Ken Lay, millions worth of employee pension funds.
This example illustrates how an ethical core would assist a criminal justice worker in evaluating ethical behavior. In summary, laws are subject to social change and while they are useful standards, a more enduring system should remain in place for evaluating right from wrong. Hence, the continued need for ethics in criminal justice.
