The scenario presented portrays a number of legal and ethical issues that are associated with the criminal justice system. The two main forms of police misconduct which are considered unethical in the said scenario pertain to the matters of gratuities and corruption. Gratuities are forms of favors, given to others with the anticipation of receiving a favor too in the near future (Kleinig, 2004). These are often awarded in monetary forms or even in form of a service. According to the police department policy, accepting gratuities is unethical because it is regarded as a form of bribery (Roberg, n.d). When the shop owner is stopped by the patrol police officers, he expects to be forgiven because he supplies the deputy chief and his officers a much needed cup of coffee and warm welcome to his shop. The shop owner uses his favors and the services he offers at the shop to bribe his way out of a criminal offense.
Serious examination of both ethics and police officer misconduct by the criminal and justice professionals begun in 1972 (Webb, 2009), when the Knapp Commission exposed a massive number of unethical issues within the New York Police Department (NYPD). This formal investigation is among those that revolutionized the police department as a result of officers testifying against one another. Serpico, for example, testified against his fellow officers, following his testimony, however, he was shot dead during a routine drug raid but luckily survived. It was not until the Knapp Commission and its investigation that the NYPD saw it fit to do away with officer misconduct and corruption.
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Some ten to fifty years ago before the Knapp Commission, the presented scenario would have been handled using the principles that governed the police subculture policy. The police subculture forms were present in almost each and every police department and they had a negative influence on the criminal justice ethics (Rose & Unnithan, 2015). This is because, the subcultures encouraged law enforcers to engage in unethical code of conduct that is against criminal justice ethics. According to Hallett and Powell (1995), principals like ‘esprit de corps’ inhibited a police officer from investigating his fellow police officers code of conduct. Therefore, the shop owner would have been forgiven and the case buried the policies of the police subculture.
There is a remarkable state of revolution in the criminal justice ethics over the recent past. There are a number of factors which have led to this revolution. Firstly, increased levels of civic education has created awareness amongst the general public at large on the matter of their constitutional rights as American citizens (Chilton, 1998). Police brutality existed mainly because people lacked knowledge and understanding, concerning the constitutional rights due to them. Democracy has also influenced the evolution of criminal justice ethics. In a democratic government, which is that of the people, for the people and by the people, a citizen has the rights to his or her opinion. In cases of unethical behavior, therefore, the masses have continued to speak out against police misconduct, in accordance with their democratic rights, bringing an end to the police subculture policy.
Among the ethical and legal issues that have been portrayed recently, the fight against corruption is the most important. Corruption is the cornerstone of all the other unethical police behaviors. This is because, the main function of the criminal and justice system is to maintain law and order and punish the law offenders. When corruption exists, law offender are left to go free paralyzing the entire system, which otherwise, would have been functional. The fight against any forms of corruption is by far the most important ethical issue in the criminal and justice system because it is aimed at restoring the fundamental functions of the justice system.
In conclusion, if presented with the above scenario, I would have acted in accordance with the policies of criminal and justice ethics by allowing my police officer to issue the shop owner with a traffic ticket, as per the stipulations of the law. In so doing, I would also have ensured that my fellow patrol officer does not engage in any form of unethical behavior during the arrest, and thusly, also would have monitored the events, being the deputy chief. Despite the fact that the officers would expect me to forgive the shop owner, issuing the shop owner with a ticket would have been the right decision because in the eyes of the law, every individual is equal and should be treated in accordance to the rules of the land, irrespective of the presence of any social relations or their lack thereof.
References
Chilton, B. (1998). Constitutional Conscience: Criminal Justice and Public Interest Ethics. Criminal Justice Ethics , 17(2).
Hallett, M. and Powell, D. (1995). Backstage with Cops: The Dramaturgical Reification of Police Subculture in American Crime Enforcement . American Journal of Police , 14(1).
Kleinig, J. (2004). Police gratuities. Criminal Justice Ethics , 23(1).
Roberg, R. (n.d.). Police & society .
Rose, T. and Unnithan, P. (2015). In or out of the group? Police subculture and occupational stress. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management , 38(2).
Webb, J. (2009). Now is the Time to Reform our Criminal Justice System. Criminal Justice Ethics , 28(2).
