Ethics in Criminal Justice: Race, Policing, and Reform

Introduction: Ethics and Criminal Justice

Criminal justice is an inherently ethical profession. The judiciary crafts laws that reflect the ethical sensibilities and social norms of society, which are often embedded in the American Constitution. The role of the criminal justice system is to ensure that local, state, and federal laws are applied and enforced in a manner consistent with constitutional and regional codes. Issues like the equal protection clause are also fundamentally ethical matters. The core objective of the criminal justice system is built on ethical responsibility — specifically, the system's ethical responsibility to its main stakeholders: the American people.

However, there are also ancillary ethical issues associated with criminal justice that are not codified. Such issues are often linked with ambiguities and philosophical complexities. Applying criminal justice ethics entails sensitivity and awareness to prevailing political and social climates. Among the most pressing ethical issues in criminal justice are those related to race and socioeconomic class. In addition to these primary concerns, criminal justice officials contend with the ethics of the bureaucracy, its methodology, and the workplace environment. The media has a great impact on the execution and operations of criminal justice, and therefore ethical issues with the media do arise. Policing remains one of the most critical areas of ethics in criminal justice, with concerns related to racial profiling, corruption, and brutality continuing to plague the field. The differential treatment of white-collar versus blue-collar crimes is also an issue, as are specific areas of law such as drug legislation. Ethics related to the privatization of prisons is likewise a pertinent issue. Criminal justice policy is a continually evolving field that must take into account ethical discussions and diverse philosophical approaches.

Law Enforcement Ethics and Racial Profiling

Ethics in law enforcement remains one of the most pressing matters in the criminal justice system, and will continue to be so for some time given the complexity of the issues and their diverse manifestations. Law enforcement officials have an ethical obligation to their profession in upholding the law and ensuring that taxpayer resources are devoted toward the prevention of crime and the pursuit of individuals or organizations that are suspects or parties to criminal activity. Police also have ethical obligations to victims, including protecting their rights and needs and ensuring confidentiality in appropriate situations. Suspects are brought to trial in a manner consistent with the law, but police sometimes take advantage of loopholes or administrative policies that condone ethically questionable actions.

For example, police officers in some states have been empowered to apprehend persons suspected of being undocumented immigrants. This policy is contentious because it legitimizes the use of racial profiling and undermines the judicial application of probable cause clauses, which require law enforcement officials to have a reasonable suspicion that a law is being broken before making a stop — and especially before making an arrest. On one hand, law enforcement argues that their job is made easier by the ability to apprehend suspects based on appearance. On the other hand, such practices constitute a blatant form of racial profiling.

Police Brutality and Institutional Racism

Racial profiling has been a major issue in American law enforcement, rooted in a long history of racial segregation and double standards applied to white and non-white individuals. According to the American Civil Liberties Union (2012), racial profiling refers to "airline, police, and government enforcement that targets racial or ethnic minorities, like traffic stops for 'Driving While Black.'" The issue of racial profiling is also deeply connected to other ethical problems, including police brutality.

The Rodney King case is one prominent example of how police brutality plays a major role in criminal justice ethics and how it intersects with racial profiling. Police brutality and other forms of police misconduct are serious ethical infractions in law enforcement (Krugman, 2012). The practices of brutality, use of excessive force, and even torture have at times been condoned on the basis that they promote public safety by entrenching the power of law enforcement. However, brutality ultimately serves the opposite function — it makes law enforcement appear less legitimate in the eyes of the public. The public does not trust law enforcement that uses ethically questionable methods, which is one of the main reasons the criminal justice system should not overstep its boundaries in seeking to maintain power. A tremendous amount of power is vested in the criminal justice system, as the public entrusts it with their safety. The system therefore has an obligation to ensure that the rights of innocent people are not infringed upon by unethical practices such as the use of excessive force.

Sociological theories such as labeling theory and self-fulfilling prophecy theory illustrate how law enforcement officials can be biased in their application of the law and in daily practice, contributing to racial profiling. African American males continue to be overrepresented in prison populations while remaining underrepresented in positions of meaningful political, social, and economic power. As Block and Obioha (2012) point out, the war on drugs is one of the most widespread criminal justice campaigns to legitimize institutionalized racism in the United States. The war on drugs targets Black men disproportionately compared to any other demographic group in the country. Generations of exclusion from the legitimate economy have driven and fueled an underground marketplace. The crack cocaine versus powdered cocaine sentencing disparities that arose in the 1980s were clear examples of how the law is applied differently depending on race and class. Law enforcement has an ethical obligation to ensure the safety of communities, but must also work within broader ethical frameworks aimed at reducing or eliminating racial and social disparities. Police are in a position of power to help alter economic, social, and political inequities, and it should be a part of their ethical code to do so (Block & Obioha, 2012).

Conclusion: Toward Consistent Ethical Practice

Ethics is one of the most fundamental aspects of the criminal justice system, which is why it is important to discuss ethics when learning about criminal justice administration and operations. Philosophical traditions such as deontology versus utilitarianism play themselves out in the criminal justice arena, and there is no single right or wrong approach to every ethical problem. Nevertheless, consistency in the application of ethical principles is essential for ensuring that equal protection is put into practice. A sociological understanding of crime helps clarify some ethical issues, including the roles of race, class, and gender in criminal justice. By becoming more sensitive to issues like racial profiling and police brutality, all branches of the criminal justice system can become more accountable to the public they serve.