3 Oct 2022

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Ethics in Criminal Justice: Theories and Controversies

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In everyday life, moral rules are necessary not because they express outright actuality, but largely because they are dependable guides for the ordinary state of affairs. The rightness or wrongness of an action is in most cases determined by a moral philosophy referred to as ethics. Moral judgments on what is good or bad or right and wrong are thus made by implementing various ethical elements. Therefore, in case an individual is facing any uncertainty in what to do in case of a moral situation, one should apply ethical thinking.

In the case of the scenario involving the passing of contraband into the private jail, I should have reported the matter once I witnessed it. It is my responsibility to ensure that I do not just stand by silently and ignore the perpetration of the crime . Once prisoners begin to work with prison staff members or civilians in aiding towards smuggling of contraband into the jails, it places all people in jeopardy and danger (Heyward, 2015). The crime can also affect those inmates who would not like to be caught up in such incidents and want to serve their time and go back to society in peace. There has been increased cases of prisoners injuring one another and vent her getting killed as result of homemade contraband smuggled into the jails . Additionally , prison riots have in most cases been caused by smuggled drugs (Heyward, 2015). These drugs bring about the fierce competition between inmates as each one struggles to gain power. Within the jails, prison power is seen as being one of the most powerful weapons one can have. However, this can only be made possible through facilitating the contraband supply chain. The inmates are at times cunning, and they can give up the names of all staff members who facilitate the trade in exchange for a reduction in a number of sentence years of other services. Such staff will in a majority of the cases are bound to face a prison sentence, get fired, arrested or placed on probation.

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Once an individual decides to keep quiet and let a crime prevail, he/she becomes an accessory to the crime, and in the mentioned scenario , I am guilty of the offense. Despite not being directly involved in the contraband smuggling, I chose to let it go on with the fear of losing my job thus helped it to progress indirectly. Once presented before a court, I can be charged with aiding and abetting a crime. It involves not being present or actually committing the crime in place, but rather having an awareness of the crime and not reporting it to the relevant authorities (Schabas, 2006). However, in case I can prove that I was coerced and threatened into keeping quiet, the acts, in this case, cannot be a crime. Once a prisoner is put in custody, it means that I have now gained the total responsibility for his/her wellbeing and care. The only time when this will not apply is when the inmate is turned over to other professionals such as medical practitioners or other law enforcement officials. When the inmate is in custody, one will not only be responsible for their short-term wellbeing but rather long-term. It is an indication that even though one is to remain in jail for five minutes or years, the inmate is under the span of my control. As such, the core concepts that apply to this case scenario involves custody and care elements.

According to the principle of caveat emptor, it is insufficient to the pressure of modern social life (Kleinig, 2008). This results from the fact that, mots of social life is based on higher levels of trust between a client and a provider. In the case of this scenario, the role of correctional officers is to ensure that they oversee the care, control, and custody of people who have already been sentenced for committing various crimes or those awaiting trials. It is an indication that they should ensure such individual do not engage in any other form of illegal activity once they are in their custody. Nonetheless, in the case of the scenario, people will be forced to reasonably examine the correctional officer before letting any more inmates be in his/her custody. This is because, in case the inmates involve themselves in illegal activities that result into negative outcomes such as serious bodily injuries or death, the people will have to take responsibility for letting the correctional officer to take control of inmates.

Correctional officers are part of the law enforcement officials, and their ability to provide services is based on building trust with the public. In most cases, law enforcement officials have had “bad blood” with the public. In the case of this scenario, I should be allowed to get back to work and not be convicted nor be disqualified . My working environment is one that is marred by a high probability of violence against people regarded as being “snitches.” Therefore in case, I had informed on the activity at the prison, sooner or later, the other inmates and correctional facilities would have pinned it on me, and this would have resulted in me facing a higher probability of attacks. This results from the fact that, the correctional officers involved in the activity would have faced convictions, probations or get fired. They would still have had connections with the prisoners, and thus my life would be at risk.

References

Heyward, G. L. (2015). Corruption officer: From jail guard to perpetrator inside Rikers Island . Simon and Schuster.

Kleinig, J. (2008). Ethics and criminal justice: An introduction . Cambridge University Press.

Schabas, W. A. (2006). The UN international criminal tribunals: the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone . Cambridge University Press.

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StudyBounty. (2023, September 15). Ethics in Criminal Justice: Theories and Controversies.
https://studybounty.com/ethics-in-criminal-justice-theories-and-controversies-essay

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