NCJ Number
193090
Editor(s)
Roslyn Muraskin,
Matthew Muraskin J.D.
Date Published
2001
Length
168 pages
Annotation
This anthology of 13 chapters examines the role of morality and codes of ethics in the various criminal justice professions and some criminal justice policies.
Abstract
An overview of morality and the law notes the need of criminal justice personnel to ensure that offenders, victims, and the community at large are treated fairly and sensitively under the requirements of the law. This is followed by a chapter that counters challenges to the construction of standardized and uniform codes of ethics and that proposes a strategy for professional ethics that emphasizes both daily habits of virtuous behavior toward others and an analytical approach to specific complex ethical challenges. The third chapter distinguishes between degrees and types of deviance labeled by a society as "crime," "sin," and "poor taste," advising that "crimes" be limited only to the most dangerous and severely disruptive behaviors. Seven chapters address the particular ethical responsibilities involved in the tasks of specific criminal justice personnel, namely, the criminal defense attorney, the criminal prosecutor, the judge, the police officer, probation and parole officers, and correctional officers. Two chapters analyze ethical issues associated with private vengeance by crime victims and the use of the death penalty. Chapter references and a subject index