M8A1
YOUR NAME HERE
EXCELSIOR COLLEGE
1.Identify two types of ethics and explain their role in criminal justice organizations. Support your responses with resources.
Ethics- A social, religious, or civil code of behavior considered correct especially that of a particular group, professional, or individual.” (Collins, 2003)
Kenneth Peak asserts that there are two types of ethics; absolute and relative. When dealing with absolute ethics, Peak claims that there is no fluctuation of definition and a “rigid standpoint which is clearly defined.” (Peak: 338) Absolute ethics are based on a definitive and clear-cut guideline in reference to what should and should not be done, in the terms of how a person …show more content…
In terms of law enforcement, the answers lie within each individual and depending on what school of thought a particular decision-maker may have come from could determine the result. The resolutions to ideologies such as these are based on the situation as a whole and the totality of the circumstances from which those factors arise should be taken into consideration. There are always two sides to every story and ideally there would normally be a definitive “right and wrong”. However, from an operational standpoint, there may be underlying factors that may have led a perpetrator to say or do something questionable to achieve a desired outcome. This outcome may be of questionable validity to the masses but in that individual’s eyes, it may have been the only course of action warranted at the …show more content…
This practice is known as disparate treatment. But the law does not tell the employer whom they must hire. “In effect, the law does not prohibit discrimination.” (Peak: 362) However, there is a fine line between discrimination and denying employment, terminating employment, and initiating disciplinary actions of an employee based off of who or what they are. For example, if an organization denies the opportunity of employment to a group of Asian-Americans who apply for law enforcement positions based on the fact that their English is not very good, this group of individuals could sue the department for discriminating their race. The underlying factor that the department did not take into consideration is that these applicants could have eliminated distrust from the Asian community towards the police department and built new community partnerships with public servants. Moreover, the department failed to look into the fact that these persons were fluent in the native language and could have served as valuable linguists to the department. This is an example where the department could have greatly benefited by hiring these persons and instead, are now dealing with a lawsuit that will cost the department unnecessary funds, bring the department into a negative media spotlight, and will more than likely lead to other