Ethics relates to making moral judgments concerning what is right or wrong. Ethical considerations are central to humans as they go about the day to day activities and encountering unique situations that require moral judgment. Similarly, there are some situations that individuals need to differentiate between right and wrong. Individuals, there must be able to make decisions on what they should do when they are confronted with situations that do not necessarily present a wrong. Psychologists working in the criminal justice system have not been spared. They are often faced with conflicting situations that have sparked fierce debate in the profession. Such ethical questions are as a result employment term that contradicts the applicable laws and the code of service resulting to lack of independence.
In the criminal justice system, psychologists are often confronted with situations that require choosing between the interests of the patients and the applicable standards and loyalty and undue influence from the employer and other forces. Some cases present two ethical questions, and tough choices have to be made because each side of the situation is embedded in the core values of society. Rushworth Kidder developed four paradigms to aid in understanding ethical dilemmas when one has to choose between to rights. The models are truth versus loyalty, justice versus mercy, individual versus community, and short-term versus long-term.
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Truth Versus Loyalty
The ethical dilemma, in this case, is concerned with the conflict of one’s desire to stick to the truth about a given situation against the fidelity to friends, family, groups, and organizations. Psychologists working in the correctional facilities are often confronted with an ethical dilemma over the best course of action that they should pursue. In the organizational context of a penitentiary system, staff psychologists have a reporting structure that they can use to address any severe ethical issues that need to be dealt with by the management. There are instances when some of the ethical issues are not discussed since some of the individuals in the chain of command are not willing to deal with the problems faced by lower-level employees (Weinberger & Sreenivasan, 1994). It is with this regard that standards applicable to the correctional mental health were developed.
The psychologist, in this case, was confronted with the option of conforming to the facts and the standards initially developed as a result of such dilemmas. The rules are anchored on confidentiality and non-existence of misrepresentation thereof. The psychologist had the option of expressing loyalty to the employer by disregarding the violations and discriminations deep-rooted in the facility. During the investigation, the psychologist had to make a tough choice of breaking the loyalty to the employer by reporting failure from the management to act on reported cases of attempted suicide. The psychologist was not obliged to take a specific course of action. However, moral obligation dictates otherwise, and he was required to stick with the truth over loyalty because he would not have them both.
Individual Versus Community
In the day-to-day decision making, the code of conduct is intended to be the accessible guide. In some instances, one faces a dilemma that sets a particular course of action that seeks to preserve the rights of an individual in conflict with a course of action that serves the greater good of the community. During the investigations, the psychologist's obligations as the family man and the breadwinner were set in conflict with the interests of the inmates whose rights were at stake because of discrimination, indifference, and life-threatening conditions. The choice to pursue individual interests or decisions aimed at preserving the interests of the majority is a right in which case one cannot have them both. Taking the course of action that benefits the majority is often interpreted by management as going against the wishes of the employer. Lyon and Levine (1982) found that chances of those psychologists remaining in the criminal justice system will be slim.
Justice Versus Mercy
Justice persuades individuals to stick to the available principles and the set of rules aimed at ensuring fairness without undue influence under any given situation. The investigations from the facility confirmed the existence of violations of the inmates' rights with total disregard of the Eighth Amendment of the U.S constitution. The psychologist awareness of the happenings was in a dilemma as the investigation set in conflict justice against mercy for the inmates who had to go through the ordeal. He had to choose between fairness in the face of the laws and applicable standards and expressing care for the inmates. Mercy urges one to care for needs of others while expressing kindness in every way possible. Enforcing justice is right. It is also right to be merciful (Lyon & Levine, 1982). According to the author, when implementing justice, care must be taken not to over-predict dangerousness thereby depriving the inmates of their liberty.
Short-Term Versus Long-Term
Short-term concerns are directed towards attainment and satisfaction of the current needs. Long-term interests relate to the courses directed toward the achievement of future needs. If one is in a dilemma and opts for short-term or long-term needs, it does not make the other a wrong. According to Kidder (2009), short-term goals are often achieved at the expense of long-term goals. The psychologist had the option of not divulging all the information about indifference and discrimination against inmates with disabilities for short-term gains of cementing his loyalty for the employer (Lyon & Levine, 1982). Speaking truthfully to the investigating bodies of what ails the facility was for the greater good since the benefits far outweigh the short-term ones.
The pursuit of delivery of justice presents some ethical questions where the staff and other service providers have to make tough decisions. There are instances when it is difficult to decide the best course of action especially if the outcome of an ethical decision will negatively affect the personal and private life of a practitioner. Different situations present different dilemmas, and the questions are not often about right and wrong as some difficulties require one to choose a course of action with the greater good for the benefit of the majority.
References
Kidder, R. (2009). How good people make tough choices . Pymble, NSW: HarperCollins e-books.
Lyon, M., & Levine, M. (1982). Ethics, power, and advocacy: Psychologists in the criminal justice system. Law and Human Behavior , 6 (1), 65-85. doi: 10.1007/bf01049315
Weinberger, L., &Sreenivasan, S. (1994). Ethical and professional conflicts in correctional psychology. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice , 25 (2), 161-167. doi: 10.1037/0735-7028.25.2.161
