This paper examines the leadership skills and ethical considerations essential for professionals working in the criminal justice system. Drawing on Carpenter and Fulton's practical guide for criminal justice careers, the paper outlines core leadership traits such as integrity, dependability, courage, and confidence. It then explores ethical dimensions of leadership through the work of Souryal, who identifies integrated thinking and moral agility as foundational moral virtues, and Wright, who addresses how the nature of criminal justice work can tempt officers to overstep ethical boundaries. The paper concludes by referencing Roberts's findings on a public confidence crisis in the American criminal justice system, emphasizing that genuine leadership requires both professional competence and a deep commitment to virtue and community service.
Leadership is vitally important in any field, whether in the public or private sector. It is especially important for professionals in the criminal justice field, however, since the welfare and safety of the public is at stake. When ethical values are not adhered to in the criminal justice system, it creates a gap in quality service for citizens; moreover, a lack of virtue and ethics presents a very negative and potentially embarrassing scandal for public servants. This paper discusses leadership skills and ethical considerations as they relate to the criminal justice system.
Michael Carpenter and Roger Fulton's book A Practical Career Guide for Criminal Justice Professionals offers practical advice to those who would serve the community in a criminal justice capacity. Being a leader entails a great deal more than being "the boss," Carpenter explains (Carpenter et al., 2007, p. 52). It entails leading by example, whether the person is a probation officer, a sergeant in the police force, or someone newly hired in the district attorney's office.
Carpenter asserts that leadership is "earned by the consensus of your peers or bosses," and when people feel comfortable around you, they will follow the directions you offer. They will follow because "your character, your integrity, your work ethic, your decision-making abilities," and "trustworthiness" shape how people see you. These character traits, Carpenter insists, are why people will follow a leader. The positive traits typically seen in a leader include: (a) use of common sense; (b) taking command of any situation; (c) honesty and integrity; (d) fairness; (e) always being willing to help; and (f) consistency (Carpenter, p. 53).
Carpenter adds to that list: "courage" (moral and physical courage to stand up for what is right and legal); "dependability" (keeping one's word and following through); "optimism" (a positive person with a positive outlook); "creativity" (always thinking of solutions, not problems); and "confidence" (being well-prepared and knowing what to do). Other leadership characteristics include personal energy, loyalty, tact, and humility (Carpenter, p. 55).
Author Sam Souryal quotes from James Madison's 51st Federalist Paper: "If men were angels no government would be necessary, [and] if angels were to govern men neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary" (Souryal, 2010, p. 205). Of course, men are not angels, and angels do not govern men — other men and women do the governing and provide the leadership. And though leaders are mere mortals, they are expected to be ethical. Ethical management, Souryal writes (p. 206), means more than just "looking good"; it entails "being good" professionals.
To achieve the "being good" part of professionalism, a leader must possess two "moral virtues," Souryal explains (p. 206): integrated thinking and moral agility. Integrated thinking involves a talent for wisdom grounded in "reasoning and deductive logic," and those qualities must be totally independent of bias (Souryal, p. 206). In order to transcend immediate issues and questions, a leader with ethical integrity must be able to achieve a "higher level" of thinking, according to Souryal.
Moral agility, in turn, entails the talent for differentiating between different shades of moral choice. It is based on putting to good use "intelligence, maturity, flexibility, and the ability to make analytical distinctions when distinctions are hardly visible" (Souryal, p. 207). In other words, criminal justice leaders are expected to act wisely on every occasion. Theirs is a culture of virtue centered on "liberty and justice" and "honesty and fidelity," and they must lead through "decency and social righteousness" (Souryal, p. 207).
Professor Kevin N. Wright of Binghamton University believes that part of the problem when criminal justice professionals use unethical strategies is simply due to "the fallibility of human beings" (Wright, 1999). Moreover, the very nature of criminal justice work "may heighten the forces to act inappropriately," Wright explains. Law enforcement officers see the public "at our worst," and eventually officers form perceptions about people that provide "fertile ground…to overstep ethical limits" (Wright, p. 67).
In order for criminal justice leadership to prevent ethical lapses and foster virtuous behaviors, Wright argues that the CEO or commander has to "talk about ethics…[and] the CEO has to be consistent" — willing to walk the walk as well as talk the talk. In other words, leaders cannot hold staff accountable and then themselves become a heavy drinker, a philanderer, or someone who accepts gifts from parties seeking influence within the department (Wright, p. 68).
"Survey data revealing a U.S. criminal justice confidence gap"
Leadership is far more than being boss or being in charge. Leadership — in this case, within the criminal justice system — is based on others believing that the leader is honest and just, and that they can be depended upon for consistency and competence. Ethical considerations are a central part of leadership, and as this paper illustrates, ethics is not merely a skill that a leader can acquire; it is a philosophy grounded in virtue and in doing the right thing for the community being served. Criminal justice professionals who internalize this philosophy are better equipped to earn public trust and fulfill the obligations their roles demand.
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