NCJ Number
185151
Date Published
1998
Length
384 pages
Annotation
After profiling major ethical systems and discussing moral development and the ideal of justice, this book provides professionals in the fields of police, courts, and corrections with the tools to solve ethical dilemmas in their work.
Abstract
An exploration of recent cases that include police brutality, attorney misconduct, and scandalous paroles provide a realistic portrait of unethical behavior by criminal justice professionals. This provides the backdrop for presenting the process by which sound moral decisions should be made in the context of various criminal justice settings. This third edition contains many new and expanded topics, such as the ethics of virtue, relativism, situational ethics, "three strikes" laws, prisoners' rights, private prisons, and prosecutorial misconduct. New case studies focus on how crime victims are treated by the criminal justice system. Chapters focus on the specific ethical challenges of the three components of the criminal justice system: law enforcement (use of discretion, graft and gratuities, deception in investigation and interrogation, and coercion and the use of force); courts (ethical issues for judges, defense attorneys, and prosecutors); and corrections (punishment and treatment alternatives). The concluding chapter discusses policymaking and ethical decision making in criminal justice. Chapter objectives, chapter outlines, critical thinking queries, review questions, and suggested readings are provided for each chapter. A 307-item bibliography, a glossary, and name and subject indexes