Ethics in Criminal
Justice
Thomas N. Davidson, J.D.
Ethics Defined
Ethics can be defined as a branch of
philosophy that is concerned with the
study of what is morally right and wrong,
good and bad. The term comes from the
Greek root ethikos, which means
character.
Why study ethics?
 Professionals
are recognized in part
because professions include ethical
standards.
 Develops analytical skills.
 Consequences for ethical errors.
 Germane to management decisions.
Goals
 Become
aware of ethical issues.
 Develop critical thinking skills.
 Become more personally responsible.
 Understand how business is involved in
coercion and persuasion.
 Develop “wholesight” which means to
explore issues with one’s heart as well as
one’s mind.
Normative Ethics
Normative ethics is the branch of
philosophical ethics that investigates the set
of questions that arise when we think about
“how ought one acts morally speaking.”
These theories determine which moral
standards to follow & which actions are
morally right or wrong.
Ethical Models
Deontological ethics or deontology
(Greek: Deon meaning obligation or duty)
is a theory holding that decisions should
be made solely or primarily by considering
one's duties and the rights of others. If the
act is good, then ethical even if bad
outcome and vice versa.
Ethical Models
Consequentialism (Teleological Model)
refers to those moral theories that hold
that the consequences of a particular
action form the basis for any valid moral
judgment about that action. Thus, on a
consequentialist account, a morally right
action is an action which produces good
consequences. The act may look bad, but
if good result, then ethical.
Ethical Models
The Kantian-Utilitarian Principle emphasis
doing the most good at the expense of the
least amount of people. It recognizes that
there may be a means to an end. But it is
only ethical if as few people as possible
are treated as means to the end that
brings good the greater number.
Ethical Models
Egoism is belief that one ought to do what
is in one's own self-interest, although a
distinction should be made between what
is really in one's self-interest and what is
only apparently so. What is in one's selfinterest may incidentally be detrimental to
others, beneficial to others, or neutral in its
effect.
Ethical Models
Altruism is an ethical doctrine that holds
that individuals have an ethical obligation
to help, serve, or benefit others, if
necessary at the sacrifice of self interest.
Ethical Models
The ethic of reciprocity or "The Golden
Rule" is a fundamental moral principle
found in virtually all major religions and
cultures, which simply means "treat others
as you would like to be treated." It is
arguably the most essential basis for the
modern concept of human rights. Principal
philosophers and religious figures have
stated it in different ways.
The Golden Rule
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"Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of
thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the
LORD." — Moses (ca. 1525-1405 BCE) in the Torah Leviticus 19:18
"This is the sum of duty; do naught onto others what you would not
have them do unto you." from the Mahabharata (5:15:17) (ca.
500BCE)
"What you do not wish upon yourself, extend not to others." —
Confucius (ca. 551–479 BCE)
"What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man." — Hillel (ca. 50
BCE-10 CE)
"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." — Jesus (ca.
5 BCE—33 CE) in the Gospels, Matthew 7:12, Luke 6:31, Luke
10:25
"Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you." — Muhammad (c. 571 –
632 CE) in The Farewell Sermon.
Ethical Models
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Religion: conform to God’s will.
Codified Ethics: formal written rules.
Natural Law: what is good is that which is
natural. Hierarchy: Profession virtues, American
virtues, and Human virtures.
Metaphysics: Creator, human soul, supernatural.
Ethics of Care: meet the needs of those
concerned.
Ethics of Virtue: conform to the Golden Mean.
Golden Mean
Area
Fear
Pleasure
Money
Anger
Truth
Defect
Mean
Excess
Coward Courage Reckless
Insensitive Control Indulgence
Stingy
Generous Extravagant
Apathy Gentle
Hot-head
self-dep. Truthful Boastful
Apologia
 Act
or omission.
 Cognitive Dissonance.
 Rationalization that transforms the act or
omission to being ethical.
Cognitive dissonance is a psychological term
which describes the uncomfortable tension that
comes from holding two conflicting thoughts at
the same time.
Apologia
I
didn’t get anything for it.
 It wasn’t illegal.
 He made me do it.
 He had it coming.
 Everyone else is doing it.
 If I didn’t some one else would have.
Ethical Judgment Analysis
Free will
Effects to
others
Motive
Model
Act or Omission
Tort Ethical Analysis
Likelihood of Harm + Gravity of Harm
<>
Cost to reduce or eliminate the risk
Gravity of Harm or Good
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Intensity – strength of pain or pleasure.
Duration – how long it lasts.
Certainty – how sure we are of outcome.
Propinquity – how soon the pain or pleasure
starts.
Fecundity – probability the pain or pleasure will
be followed by more pain or pleasure.
Purity – probability the pain or pleasure will be
followed by more of the same.
Extent – the number of people effected.
Ethical Problem Solving
Consider:
 Benefit and harms caused by each alternative;
 Which alternative;
1. Best respects moral rights.
2. Best promotes common good.
3. Does not discriminate or shows favoritism.
4. Best promotes virtues.
Things to consider
 Relativism:
What is good or immoral
changes over time.
 Absolutism: What is wrong is always
wrong.
 Situational Ethics. I choose which model
of ethics to follow depending on the
circumstances.
Key Terms
 Reasoning:
a method of thinking by which
proper conclusions are reached through
abstract thought processes.
 The Divided Line: Plato’s theory of
knowledge. 4 levels of knowledge. 1)
lowest level is conjecture & imagination; 2)
belief based on faith; 3) scientific
knowledge; & 4) the highest level is
reasoning.
Key Terms
of Realism: Aristotle’s explanation
of reality. 3 concepts: Rationality, ability to
use abstract reasoning; potentiality &
actuality, the capacity to become & a state
of being; and the golden mean, the middle
point between extreme qualities.
 Ethics: Philosophy that examines
principles of right and wrong.
 Theory
Key Terms
 Morality:
practice of applying ethical
principles.
 Intrinsic goods: objects, actions, or
qualities that are valuable in themselves.
 Non-intrinsic goods: good only for
developing or serving an intrinsic good.
 Summum bonum: principle of the highest
good that cannot be subordinated to
another.
Key Terms
 E=PJ2:
guiding formula for making moral
judgment. E is the ethical decision; P is
the principle; & J is the justification of the
situation.
 Determinism: theory that all thoughts &
actions result from external forces beyond
human control.
 Intentionalism: free will.
Key Terms
 Mitigating
(M) is to act in such a way as to
cause an offense to seem less serious or
the action of lessening in severity or
intensity.
 Accentuating (A) is the act of giving
special importance or significance to
something.
Exploring Virtue: Socrates
 Life
(469-399 B.C.)
unexamined is not worth living.
 A belief unexamined is not worth following.
 A practice unexamined is not worth
adhering to.
 Dialectic method: exchange questions &
answers to establish or deny the truth of a
matter.
 Socratic method: the same as dialectic
method above renamed after Socrates.
Socratic Reasoning
 What
is it?
 What is good for?
 How do we know?
Establish the purpose of the phenomenon
and determine its goodness by fulfilling its
purpose.
Guiding Formula for Moral Judgment
1.
2.
3.
4.
Select moral principle that best defines the problem:
honesty, fairness, equity, loyalty, et cetera.
Justify the situation by examining whether it conforms
to the selected principle. If not, accentuating or
mitigating factors that make it more or less fitting?
If situation fits exactly, then the judgment should be
made exactly in accordance with the principle.
If it does not fit, judgment is made by determining a
high or low likelihood that the situation fits the principle
by examining the accentuating & mitigating factors.
E=PJ2
E
is the ethical decision to be made.
 P is the principle.
 J is the justification of the situation.
 Square on the value of J is proposed to
allow for justification to be ratcheted up or
down depending on the power of
accentuating or mitigating factors.
E=PJ2 put to the test.
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1.
2.
3.
4.
E = Death penalty.
P = Sanctity of Life.
J = Protect Society
Deterrence (A)
Retribution (A)
Extinguishes risk of escape and other
transaction costs of incarceration. (A)
Killing is intrinsically evil even when done by
the government. (M)
Rules of Moral Judgment
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Intrinsic evils are the lowest levels of morality
and should be avoided.
Intrinsic goodness is the highest level of
goodness and should be sought.
Summum bonum is the highest moral choice
and should be sought.
If intrinsic goodness cannot be achieved, the
highest level of non-intrinsic goodness should
be sought.
Whenever intrinsic evil can be avoided, the
highest level of non-intrinsic evil should be
sought.
When in doubt, apply E=PJ2.
Christian Ethical Model
Justice
Love
Holiness
Three legged stool
Holiness
for God – riches, material goods, &
career goals are of lesser importance.
 Purity – honesty & morality.
 Accountability.
 Humility.
 Avoid abuses of Holiness: legalism (rule
keeping), judgmentalism (finger pointing),
& withdrawal (flight from responsibility).
 Zeal
Justice
Procedural Rights – notice & hearing for those accused
of wrong doing.
 Fairness – adequate notice, hearing, and evidence.
 Equal Protection – people in similar circumstances are
treated similarly.
 Substantive Rights – those rights that are spelled out
and that which procedural rights seek to protect.
 Merit – cause and effect.
 Contracts – fulfill promises.
 Compensation for those offended.
 Beware of abuses of Justice: Harshness &
Condemnation.
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Love
 Emphasis
on relationships.
 Empathy – not the same as sympathy.
 Mercy – empathy with legs.
 Sacrifice of rights – negotiation,
consideration, and compromise.
 Avoid abuses of Love – doormat &
ambiguity.
Christian Model: Balance Holiness,
Justice, & Love.
Freedom from crime is not free.
The degree to which a society achieves
public order depends in part on the price
society is willing to pay to obtain it.
 Resources committed to crime
suppressions, detection, and prevention.
 The extent to which people are willing to
accept a reduction in civil liberties.
Government v. Liberty Tension
In a free society there is a constant tension
between its government’s legitimate police
function and its citizens’ liberty interests. It
has and will be with us and it will never go
away. It is a source of conflict that must
be understood by both the police and the
population in order for it to be controlled.
Ethical Discretion
 Depends
on one’s moral commitment to
both society and the agency served.
 Indiana’s Tort Claims act gives officers
immunity from liability for using discretion
as to whether to enforce or not enforce a
law.
 Special Relationship doctrine.
Indiana State Tort Claims Act IC 34-13-3
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Notice of tort claim 270 days for state; 180 days for
political subdivision.
IC 34-13-3-3 Immunity of governmental entity or
employee: The performance of a discretionary function;
The adoption and enforcement of or failure to adopt or
enforce a law, unless the act of enforcement constitutes
false arrest or false imprisonment; and an act or
omission performed in good faith and without malice
under the apparent authority of a statute which is invalid
if the employee would not have been liable had the
statute been valid.
The Act provides for 23 express instances of immunity.
Police Subculture
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A cultural subgroup differentiated by status,
ethnic background, residence, religion, or other
factors that functionally unify the group and act
collectively on each member.
 The existence of a subculture suggests that
officers share a number of attitudes, values, and
beliefs that separate them from other members
of society. These attitudes, values, and beliefs
are transmitted from one generation to the next
through a process of socialization.
More Key Terms
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Principled-Based Management: philosophy of
management that is based on ethical principles,
enlightened reasoning, moral responsibility, &
good faith.
 Integrated Thinking: Based on reasoning and
deductive logic independent of bias or interest.
 Moral Agility: ability to distinguish between
shades of moral choices.
Lying & Deceptive Interrogation
 The
public does not have a constitutional
right that the police will tell the truth.
 Public Policy: undercover officers.
 Lying by the police during interrogation
can be used as a factor to determine
whether any statements were coerced.
 Lying under oath, however, is a crime
(perjury).
Lying: Public Policy
 Acceptable
when innocent lives are at
stake; or
 When a lie can help achieve a higher
moral value, such as national secrets,
helping a patient recover, or sustaining
vital family relations.
Lying in Crisis Negotiations
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What is the benefit to be gained by deceiving the
suspect?
What is the likelihood the deception will be
discovered?
What are the possible consequences if the
deception is discovered?
If the deception is discovered, is there a way to
recover from it?
Is there an alternative to deceiving the suspect?
Justification for Deception
 Serves
a legitimate purpose.
 Nexus between lie and purpose.
 Deception serves the public interest.
 Does not violate law.
More Key Terms
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Justifiable Inequality: unequal treatment
necessary to serve legitimate social or
governmental interests.
 Unjustifiable Inequality: unequal treatment that
does not serve a legitimate social or government
interest.
 Discrimination: injurious treatment of people on
grounds irrelevant to situation.
 Stereotyping: automatically treating someone as
an exact duplicate and assigning characteristics
of a group to which he belongs.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
prohibits the unequal treatment of persons
based on race, color, national origin,
religion, gender, age, or disability.
 Disparate treatment. Prove that you:
1. A member of a protected class; and
2. Qualified; and
3. Rejected, demoted, or terminated; and
4. Position filled by a person not in a
protected class.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Disparate Impact: Practices or procedures
that are not intentionally discriminatory but
have the effect of discrimination.
Four-Fifths Rule: Minorities are hired or
promoted at a rate less than fourth-fifths of
the rate for the group with the highest rate
of hiring or promoting.
Employees prima facie case
 Belongs
to a protected group
 Was qualified for the job
 Was rejected
 Position remained open and search
continued
Employer claims action was taken for
legitimate nondiscriminatory reasons.
Employee counters that the reasons are
simply a pretext for discrimination.
Police Profiling
The Gates case raised new and revived old
questions regarding police profiling and
factors that lead to articulable suspicion
and probable cause.
Egoism in CJS
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Egoism: the theory that people will
naturally act only in fulfillment of their self
interest (self love).
Authority: the right to control others.
Power: the means to control others.
The sum of these three factors often
leads to abuse of power by police.
Official Responsibility
 Antidote
for natural egoism.
 Responsibility for the cause of their
actions.
 Accountability for the manner in which
duties are carried out.
 Obligation to follow the law & rules.
Internal Affairs Investigations
 Founded.
 Unfounded.
 Exonerated.
 Undetermined.
Tennessee v. Garner
Deadly force by police is justified:
1. To protect/defend oneself or a third party
from the threat of immanent serious
bodily injury or death;
2. To interdict a forcible felony;
3. To apprehend a fleeing forcible felon
once less lethal means of capture have
failed, and suspect will get away if you
don’t (provide a warning whenever
possible.).
Use of Force Continuum
Capital Punishment
 16,272
murders reported to police in USA
in 2008.
 37 executions carried out in 2008.
 111 convicted murders sentenced to death
in 2008.
 3,215 inmates on death row in 2008.
 1977 to 2007 only 19 of 94 inmates given
a death sentence in Indiana were
executed (20%). California 13 of 802
(1.6%)
E=PJ2 put to the test.
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1.
2.
3.
4.
E = Death penalty.
P = Sanctity of Life.
J = Protect Society
Deterrence (A) Really, is it?
Retribution (A)
Extinguishes risk of escape and other
transaction costs of incarceration. (A)
Killing is intrinsically evil even when done by
the government. (M)
IAC Law Enforcement Oath of
Honor
On my honor, I will never betray my badge,
my integrity, my character or the public
trust. I will always have the courage to
hold myself and others accountable for
our actions. I will always uphold the
constitution, my community, and the
agency I serve.
Meaning of the Oath
one’s word is given as a
guarantee.
 Betray: breaking faith.
 Badge: symbol of office.
 Integrity: adherence to a set of values.
 Character: individual qualities. . .
 Honor:
Meaning of the Oath
 Courage:
having the strength to withstand
unethical pressure, fear, or danger.
 Accountability: answerable and
responsible.
 Community: Your jurisdiction.
More Key Terms
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Malfeasance: direct misconduct.
Misfeasance: improper performance.
Nonfeasance: failure to act or live up to
responsibilities.
Grass Eaters: takes what comes along.
Meat Eaters: aggressively exploiting for gain.
Code of Silence: conflicting loyalties causing
officers not to report misconduct by other
officers.
Social Order
Secure and stable life within an orderly
community. Focus is on social norms and
legal sanctions.
Moral Order
Collective concern for superior values within
the realm of the spiritual. Focused on the
principles of humanity, fairness, and
righteousness, among other standards of
civility.
Ideal Model
A vision of law enforcement by which hard
working police diligently handle each case
on its merits.
Serviceable Model
Bureaucratic garage sale model. CJS
awash in arbitrary and irrational decisionmaking. Questionable motives for making
arrests, deviance by police, railroading,
revolving door practice of courts, and the
failure of corrections.
Hedonistic Corruption
Practiced for personal gain or comfort.
Gratuities, bribery, thefts, and dishonesty.
Obligatory Corruption
Knowingly violating rules and regulations for
egotistical purposes. Abuse of power and
authority, crude, and self aggrandizement
(increase one’s power, influence, or
status).
“I want to help people”
I have interview over 700 prospective police
officers. When asked “Why do you want
to be a police officer?” The answer is
always some variation of “I want to help
people.” These are sincere answers. How
then do some of these young idealistic
men and women become corrupt or
brutal?
Possible Causes
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Egoism.
The job does not live up to expectations, so the
officers try to stimulate their professional
experience.
Disillusionment (public, courts, administration).
Greed.
Anti-social personalities (sociopaths).
Apologia.
Corrupt subculture.
What can be done?
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Talk about ethics.
Search for the truth.
Demand ethical solutions.
Create an environment conducive to civility.
Don’t laugh at unethical statements or jokes.
Reinforce ethical principles.
Monitor your commitment to justice.
Must be rendered first and foremost by you.
Modeling.