NCJ Number
127912
Editor(s)
M C Braswell,
B R McCarthy,
B J McCarthy
Date Published
1991
Length
405 pages
Annotation
This book raises ethical issues pertinent to policing, the courts, corrections, criminal justice research, and crime control policy.
Abstract
In setting the context for subsequent ethical discussions, the introductory chapter surveys four divergent ethical theories: utilitarianism, deontology, connectedness, and caring. Each theory presents a distinctive approach to moral problems. The second chapter argues for the futility of searching for absolutes in criminal justice ethics as it demonstrates that most criminal justice issues are "insoluble" because they involve conflicts between fundamental values. A section on ethical issues in policing considers deception by police, the abuse of police authority, and the learning of police ethics. The section on ethics in court structure and operations considers ethical dilemmas in an adversarial system; prosecutorial misconduct; and ethical issues in sentencing including the capital punishment debate. Discussions of ethical issues in corrections focus on issues in offender moral development in corrections programs, the control of corruption in prison management, and ethical issues in probation and parole. Two chapters identify ethical dilemmas in criminal justice research, and two chapters on ethics in crime control policy identify crime-control-policy myths and the complexity of assessing blame as a mechanism of crime control. The concluding chapter discusses issues in setting an ethic for the future in criminal justice. Chapter notes, references, and discussion questions