Ethics Training in Criminal Justice Organisations

Significance & Application in Criminal Justice

“Law enforcement organizations nationwide adhere to strict hiring standards mandated by certification commissions that seek out individuals with the highest moral values” (Fortenbery, 2015). It’s important to have individuals that will be able to treat individuals with the respect they are due, regardless of the situation. It is stated that “police seek and preserve public favor not by catering to the public opinion but by constantly demonstrating absolute impartial service to the law” (Fortenbery, 2015). Officers should be able to uphold as well as obey the laws that they are trying to enforce. There is an importance to make sure that these officers receive ethics training to stay on course with the guidelines of dealing with ethical behavior within their profession. And true, due to the fact that we are dealing with human beings, there is a chance of corruption and unethical behavior. So with that being said, the organization as a whole, needs to make sure they are doing what is necessary to decrease unethical behavior as well as misconduct.

Well when it comes to creating strategies that will be accountable for ethical training, this should be an easy task. As we should know, values have a way of influencing one’s attitude as do one’s attitude can bear influence on one’s behavior (Kerns, 2003). So when it comes to strategies, these values should be incorporated. To begin, having wisdom and knowledge is being able to use information you have and make it useful. Wisdom comes into play when you can use knowledgeable information to make decisions that will result in the greater good. Basically, to do “the right thing when facing an ethical dilemma is knowing what to do, knowing the difference between right and wrong” (Kerns, 2003). Then there is the strategy of self-control. This simply means that an individual can control themselves in an ethical manner to keep a situation in control. In other words, they don’t get hot headed and blow of the handle.

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Next, one will need justice and fair guidance. With this strategy, an individual must treat others fairly. When others have the feeling of being treated fairly, justice at that moment is served. One must realize that people just want a fair chance. They don’t want to be judged due to a technicality that others feel a certain way about them. People do make mistakes because as we all know; no one is perfect. Transcendence would be another strategy to enforce. You as an individual would have to understand that there is something greater than just you alone. Simply put, you are putting institutional and/or stakeholders interest above self-interests. The individual will also need to be able to show love and kindness. Treating people in a kind way helps increase an abundance of affection and love. This too will lead to recognizing and encouraging others for their contributions (Kerns, 2003). Finally, the individual needs to have courage and integrity. “Ethics requires the courage to do the right things consistently without regard to personal consequences. One will be able to make unpopular decisions based on fair consideration of the facts” (Kerns, 2003).

When it comes to an organization creating expectations for moral conduct, this is a task that most can handle. Moral conduct is the principal of human behavior that promotes orderly and peaceful existence in a community as well as in the workplace. Once and individual has accepted a position within an organization, they are given moral conduct guidelines and rules. Within these guidelines, it precisely explains the do’s and the don’ts of an organization. Individuals are normally given some sort of merit raises when all these guidelines are followed as well as other goals are also achieved. Basically, your supervisor will explain to you what they expect from you from the start. You are also given guidelines as to the way employees should carry themselves while on the campus of that organization. You are also explained the consequences of your actions that are not in accordance with the conduct. So at this point, there is not any reason one should be doing things that are not allowed according to organizations rules. The organization itself will inform you that they are keeping tabs on how you carry yourself and as well as how you respond to others. This is a way to keep all employees on the same page and for them to also be aware that monitoring of your moral conduct is crucial. The organization has to make sure that all rules are followed and that their customers and upper management are receiving quality service from their employees.

As we know, when your work with an organization, in order to get raises, you have to perform well. In order to get this achieved, there has to be a program evaluation set in place. This evaluation is a “systematic assessment of the results of program efforts to measure actual outcomes against the intended outcomes of the program; to discover achievement and results; to discover deviations from planned achievements; to judge the worth of the program; to identify unintended consequences; and to recommend expansion, contraction, elimination, or modification of a program” (Kirchner, Przybylski, & Cardella, 1994).

Being able to measure the impact of job performances when it comes to the relation of the goals and objectives they have set out to achieve, means there must be performance indicators involved. These indicators are defined as a way of showing the results of the effort expected. These indicators may be quantitative or qualitative. “A quantitative indicator can be expressed as a single measure or a degree of change. Qualitative indicators can be used where quantitative measures are not feasible” (Kirchner, Przybylski, & Cardella, 1994). With this evaluation in place, leaders will be able to see the areas that have improved as well as the areas that need improving. They will also be able to keep track of each employee’s status based off the information that has been retained for these individuals. On down the line, the department itself will be able to weed out the good ones as well as the ones that would not be a good fit for the department. This will also help the department run much smoother as well as with order in place. People within will be able to provide more useful behavior than the negativity of unwanted behavior.

In conclusion, it is the upmost of importance to have an agency that carries the upmost respect for its community. For the people of the community to have respect, the agency must be able to show it. The main goal is to basically treat people the way you want to be treated. And in return for the agency providing a good job, the employees should be rewarded for a job well done. For the most part, the agency will get the recognition it deserves.

References

Fortenbery, Jay, M.J.A., (2015). Developing Ethical Law Enforcement Leaders: A Plan of Action. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved from https://leb.fbi.gov/2015/may/developing-ethical-law-enforcement-leaders-a-plan-of-action

Kerns, Charles D. (2003). Creating and Sustaining and Ethical Workplace Culture. Graziadio Business Review. Retrieved from https://gbr.pepperdine.edu/2010/08/creating-and-sustaining-an-ethical-workplace-culture/

Kirchner, R., Przybylski, R., & Cardella, R. (1994). Assessing the Effectiveness of Criminal Justice Programs. Retrieved from http://www.jrsa.org/pubs/reports/handbook1.html