Judicial Review: a Double-Edged Sword
Crystal Jennings
Professor S. Bond
CRJ 220
9 June 2013
Ethics of Means and Ends
It’s an ethical dilemma that stands before every criminal justice professional because we shape, restrain, and reform the lives of our society’s convicts, both inside and outside of prison walls. In this way, we impact the lives of every member of our nation. Ethical dilemmas are everyday challenges, but how they are handled says a lot about you and the position that you hold as a criminal justice professional.
The expectation of probation officers is to ensure community safety by providing appropriate supervision of criminal offenders assigned to their caseloads. When ethical dilemmas arise, probation officers must act appropriately to avoid compromising the integrity of the community supervision system.
Utilitarian reasoning is accepted as an ethical rationale, but it does not justify all actions just because they may protect us. 1. The end must itself be good. 2. The means must be a plausible way to achieve the end. 3. There must be no alternative and better means to achieve the same end. 4. The means must not undermine some other equal or greater end. Probation officers should adhere to the highest ethical standards and perform their job with honesty and diligence. Probation officers carry out their duties on behalf of the court system. They are meant to function as extensions of the court and to uphold its decisions and rules. Integrity means that probation officers need to understand their positions and carry out their jobs as best they can regardless of personal feelings. Regardless of their own personal opinions, probation officers are obligated to be as unbiased as possible and to relay any pertinent information back to the courts. Their duty is to the community as a whole, as well as to the individual offenders. Probation Officers, whether on or off duty, will abide by and follow all federal, state and municipal criminal laws, as well as those laws governing the
Professor S. Bond
CRJ 220
9 June 2013
Ethics of Means and Ends
It’s an ethical dilemma that stands before every criminal justice professional because we shape, restrain, and reform the lives of our society’s convicts, both inside and outside of prison walls. In this way, we impact the lives of every member of our nation. Ethical dilemmas are everyday challenges, but how they are handled says a lot about you and the position that you hold as a criminal justice professional.
The expectation of probation officers is to ensure community safety by providing appropriate supervision of criminal offenders assigned to their caseloads. When ethical dilemmas arise, probation officers must act appropriately to avoid compromising the integrity of the community supervision system.
Utilitarian reasoning is accepted as an ethical rationale, but it does not justify all actions just because they may protect us. 1. The end must itself be good. 2. The means must be a plausible way to achieve the end. 3. There must be no alternative and better means to achieve the same end. 4. The means must not undermine some other equal or greater end. Probation officers should adhere to the highest ethical standards and perform their job with honesty and diligence. Probation officers carry out their duties on behalf of the court system. They are meant to function as extensions of the court and to uphold its decisions and rules. Integrity means that probation officers need to understand their positions and carry out their jobs as best they can regardless of personal feelings. Regardless of their own personal opinions, probation officers are obligated to be as unbiased as possible and to relay any pertinent information back to the courts. Their duty is to the community as a whole, as well as to the individual offenders. Probation Officers, whether on or off duty, will abide by and follow all federal, state and municipal criminal laws, as well as those laws governing the