There has been incredible growth in society's interest in ethics and morality. Such attention and growth have attracted people at all levels to live good lives to prevent unethical behaviors. In the same breath, people now observe a world where values like efficiency and material goals outweigh ethical concerns such as honesty, integrity, and compassion (Xu, 2017). For criminal justice, attention is directed to the ethical questions that have overgrown from the past four decades. Such interests focus on professional ethics as a legal procedure in any given society. The purpose of this paper is to discuss a scenario of the two police officers, Robert and Peel, receiving a gratuity after their lunch meal. Police officers are law enforcement officers whose acts and moves are required to be perfect. Circumstance, for instance, that for Officers Robert and Peel are cases that appear to compromise them and leave them in a dilemma on whether they are ethically right or wrong. Officers gratuities have had ethical concerns in policing, whether it is a free cup, meal, or food restaurant discounts (Parent, 2020). For the police, receiving any form of gifts or offers from any institutions or citizens, despite the low risks, requires an elaborate discussion.
From my law enforcement knowledge of police gratuity and application of common sense, a gratuity on food is a small token, which is meant for civic friendship between them and the restaurant, which also aids in generating bonds that are key in community policing. In such a case, it is assumed that the tokens were offered to them for all the right reasons and not for corrupting the officers. My argument and stand are based on common sense on police gratuities from experience obtained through law enforcement. The two offers should offer to pay their bills after they are done, and in case the business employees reject, they move and leave the money for their bills as a tip. Such an idea goes a win-win situation for everyone. When they do this, they will not violate their departments code of ethical conduct or general orders and still did not offend the business establishment by refusing to accept their generosity to pay the bills since they shall have left money to pay their bills and at the same time shown respect and in good faith by accepting the business's offer. I do not feel comfortable while accepting any gratuities or anything free while in uniform. My conscience tells me that such offers have strings attached to them as they may lead to an impression that there are favors owned by me in the future. It is a way of handling such gratuities while at the job so that officers can exercise their duties effectively without rage or guilt to bring offenders to face the law. The idea helps though it is a scenario that must always attract debates and discussion among the officers. However, even though it is not wise to accept such offers, they often show friendship and admiration of police officers, despite central police departments discouraging acceptance of gratuity in the fear that such condition and introducing police to taking bribes, there is little proof and empirical evidence that a significant number are enticed to take bribes for officers who accept gratuity (Marshall, 2019). Gratuities and gifts are not all about corruption. They are offered to police officers voluntarily and choose to accept or reject even though they raise ethical issues on democratic policing, which guarantees all citizens equal treatment and access to police services. Ethics plays a vital role in criminal justice. It is the foundation of the criminal justice system as it helps society develop reasoning to identify and define, resolve for an acceptable punishment. It is key to the systems since any criminal justice should be handled in an ethical manner that favors all participants' rights (Cullen, 2016). Therefore, the three roles of ethics to justice includes;
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Police Operations
There are several ways to examine how ethics influences police behavior, including how the police interact with members of society and how society members interact with them. When there is a perception that police interactions are ethical, the community will also be open in their business with the policies, and they will act ethically. They will then champion together morally to prevent the occurrence of crimes.
Attorney Behavior
Ethically handling yourself in a justice system scenario is not about winning a case at all costs but making the best representation for one's client in the best manner possible. Therefore, it is essential to note that the attorney must not act in an unethical manner, which will be inappropriate. It is there due to this reason that there are rules written specially so that they can be followed with the spirit of the law; hence, expect the attorneys to do the same.
Self-participation
There is always a need to understand that the way people interact with criminal justice professionals is part of the criminal justice ethical equation. Therefore, it is essential to consider peoples' willingness and ability to share information and be considered part of the justice system. Such a move shall encompass everything, including jury duty participation, by reporting any local criminal activities. Leaders are known to be pacesetters for department policy and ethical behaviors. When leaders are appropriately trained and motivated, they can achieve high standards across the agency. Any individuals who intend to work as police officers should often have a natural tendency to serve and protect (Dwenger, 2020). Three principles can be vital to a scenario that involves police Gratuity and free offers. They include management use of directed actions, Oath of Office, Department policies, and Duty Manual. For the case of the gratuity dilemma, the department policy principle is critical. Officers, while in their duties, should ensure that their actions conform to the organization's policies. Therefore, it is essential that the organization clear that acceptance of gifts and gratuities is unethical according to their system. Any officer who decides otherwise would have gone against the rules. The management should, however, take strict actions on those officers who go against their policies. Both the officers and the community must also be sensitized to the need to remain moral right. When everyone understands the importance, cases of corruption, bribery, and mistrust will go down.
Conclusion
The two officers should not accept the token. Actions against the police policies with be unethical and may lead to an unjust society where not very one will access the same treatment from the police service. Furthermore, the organizations must understand the need for ethics in criminal justice to ensure that such righteousness is served right.
Reference
Cullen, F. T., & Chouhy, C. (2016). The role of theory, ideology, and ethics in criminal justice policy. In Advancing Criminology and Criminal Justice Policy (pp. 66-77). Routledge.
Dwenger, W. L. (2020). Police Perspectives on the Acceptance of Gratuities: A Qualitative Case Study (Doctoral dissertation, Capella University).
Marshall, S. (2019). Whistleblowing and Moral Dilemmas in Policing: An Analysis of Police Culture and the'Blue Code of Silence'.
Parent, R., & Parent, C. (2018). Ethics and Canadian law enforcement . Canadian Scholars’ Press.
Xu, J. (2017). The good child: Moral development in a Chinese preschool . Stanford University Press.
