Essay on Ethics and Morals in the Criminal Justice System

Ethics and morals help in the prevention of lives destruction as the criminal justice system oversees the smooth running of the community and makes decisions that directly impact on the lives of many. Mistakes from the criminal justice system could be too costly to mend, and it is through ethics and morals that this is prevented from occurring. Misjudgment in the criminal justice system could result in major catastrophe as it handles the aspects of peaceful coexistence in the society as well as peoples freedom. The police force faces highly contradictory situations in the field that determine if they are going to make an arrest or let the matter pass through warnings or lighter charges. Furthermore, they have a lot of power granted to them in the criminal justice system and it takes morals to handle the power granted to them of which in the absence of morals they may end up abusing. The courts on the other hand issue sentences on those convicted, different crimes have different magnitudes whereas a single case can be ruled in hundreds of different ways and this takes the ethical measures and moral aspects by the prosecution and the judges to determine the extent to which a crime may be punishable.

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Unethical acts may end up weakening the society through poor cooperation between the police and the people (Close & Meier, 2003). Unethical conducts by the police force may compromise the regard in which the society views them. For instance, an unethical police force may engage in the harassment and the mistreatment of people in the society. This leads to a fear factor towards the police force by the people and therefore destroying the relationship that exists between them, this would concurrently lead to a decrease in the number of reports that the society makes to the police regarding crimes and other illegal matters. Without faith in the police force, members of the society may turn to taking the law into their own hands leading to a chaotic society as the public tends to make extreme and unjust decisions when there is no set protocol for executing matters of justice. The crime rate would increase and the justice system would become incompetent in the absence of ethics and morals.

The moral and ethical obligation of the police force exceeds the mere legal formalities and compliance so as to address the necessary actions that may improve the relationships that exist between them and the community. For an effective functionality of the police force, there must be support from the community. It is important for the police to address the moral obligations in the justice system. This can only be accomplished through studying and listening to the community while working alongside them.

There is always a very high possibility of ethical issues arising in the criminal justice system and it takes utmost moral and ethical measures for the police force and other representatives of the justice system to ensure that the numbers of conflicts resulting are minimized. The criminal justice system is not only faced with possibilities of unethical acts that are serious but the possibility of conflict that may lead to major unethical decisions by the criminal justice system. Ethical issues may arise from the measures by the authority, information sharing, human rights or even crime reporting through the media. This shows some of the typical ethical and moral issues that may arise due to factors such as power and prominence by the criminal justice system. This entails that the system is faced with matters that may escalate to major problems if not handled with care and caution. It is, therefore, necessary for the system to implement a platform where ethics and morals may find a balance since ethics alone could lead to major problems.

Ethics are elements of the ruling and decisions made by the criminal justice system, however, noble actions by the justice system could lead to serious conflicts of interest. Morals come on hand to help in the correct decision making as they provide the remaining element of the ethical segment. For instance, in a situation where information sharing is needed and the authorities have to access personal emails may lead to major disagreements by the society at large, however, it would be necessary if it is a countermeasure against a possible terror attack. This makes the distinction and the importance of why the criminal justice system should be equipped ethically and morally. Morals provide for a basis of reasoning out what is right and wrong in either a wrong or a right situation whereas ethics state what should be done in certain circumstances. Ethics and morals are therefore important in the line of the criminal justice system.

The concept of ethics in the criminal justice system is in four major segments just as the criminal justice system is subdivided. These include the police sector morals and ethics, court ethics, correctional ethics and the probation ethics. Police morals and ethics has majorly evolved to be in a position which they can handle crime appropriately. Traditionally the police force implemented more of ethics whereby they had to follow a provided protocol whereas most recently morals have shown the importance of societal collaboration with the police force as they have to exceed the ethical paradigms and engage socially as a moral measure to see the right justice served. Ethics and morals have therefore transformed the criminal justice system into a better and more efficient body. Through ethical and moral measures the police force has established a better ground to serve and protect the interests of the community. Through morals and ethics, crime handling has become easier as the society can collaborate with the police force without any feeling of coercion or strict rules; criminals are therefore viewed simply as individuals who have gone astray and not as distinct groups in the society.

Ethics alongside morals enable the courts to make the right decisions on some matters. Besides the police having the possibility of engaging in unethical behaviors, court practitioners also face some similar dilemmas as there are varying degrees in the discretionary powers (Pollock, 2007). However, out of moral obligations, the prosecutors and the judges have a number of available arrays to turn their decisions. This helps prevent unnecessary longer hearings, unjust rulings from mere crimes and also makes the burdens on the courts lighter.

The aspect of morals and ethics also plays a major role in the correctional facilities ethics amongst the correctional officers. Morals and ethics in correctional facilities ensure that the officers treat the prisoners in just manners without using excessive force. This ensures that there are order and coordination in the prison facilities; excessive force towards prisoners and unjust treatment leads to chaotic uprisings in the jails for instance as it happened in the 1980 Mexico prison uprising where the officers lacked moral conduct as they used some of the goons to abuse offenders in a way of creating control and dominance. This was one of the examples of moral decadence amongst the correctional officers that led to the biggest ever prison riots in the American History. Morals are values that impact subconsciously to people and they can recognize the respectful...