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Ethics in Criminal Justice

NCJ Number
140215
Editor(s)
F Schmalleger
Date Published
1990
Length
222 pages
Annotation
Twelve papers discuss ethics in various contexts for criminal justice professionals and how ethics should be taught to prospective and practicing criminal justice personnel.
Abstract
The introduction defines "ethics" as "higher-level belief systems that support particular social values and behavioral choices." The introduction also discusses operative ethical systems under the categories of macro-ethics, mid-level ethics, and micro-ethics. A paper describes and evaluates the role of public defenders in the justice system, based on interviews with public defenders working in Denver, Col.; this is followed by a paper that reports the findings of a survey on work attitudes among criminal defense attorneys. Another paper considers the propriety of remedial measures for the defense attorney in dealing with client perjury. A paper on the development of a police professional ethic focuses on the composition of a general ethical position that defines the nature of the relationship between the police and the general public. Another paper on police ethics highlights the ethical concerns of police administrators and officers in a post-Watergate age, followed by a paper that discusses problems and possibilities for the advancement of private-security personnel toward professional ideals. Four papers discuss various aspects of the content and techniques for teaching courses in criminal justice ethics. The concluding chapter discusses directions for the future. A 250- item teaching bibliography