Applied Ethics in Criminal Justice Management - Research Paper Example

Applied Ethics in Criminal Justice Management Applied Ethics in Criminal Justice Management Just like any other social system or organization, the criminal justice system also needs to employ effective leadership and management to guide the system to succeed in achieving its goals and objectives. In the criminal justice system, leadership covers concepts such as command, the span of control and the leadership styles used in the process. For the common goals of the criminal justice system to be attained, it is necessary to understand the different roles that the system plays. On the same note, it is imperative that each member of the criminal justice system clearly understands his or her functions in the system and the functions of others so as to aid smooth operations. Ethical questions and issues within the criminal justice system have become very popular. What is right and wrong, good or bad within the criminal justice system is an issue that needs to be demystified by studying and analyzing the criminal justice system. It is important for all stakeholders in the criminal justice system to be informed about issues of ethics so that high ethical standards can be maintained within the system. Introduction Criminal justice ethics is a pertinent issue in the leadership, supervision and management of the criminal justice system (Aldam, 2002). Any system or organization needs to be guided by certain ethical principles within that system, the criminal justice system being no exception. This is one sure way that can make the system effective and efficient in its functions and operations (Savelsberg, Lara & Cleveland, 2004). All the stakeholders and key player within the criminal justice system need to be made to understand ethical principles within the system and the value of ethics to the criminal justice system (Neocleous, 2004). These key stakeholders and player in the criminal justice system include the lawyers, judges, the police, investigators, parole and probation officer, correction officers, court officers, line officers and any other administrative personnel required to run the criminal justice system (Maguire, Rod & Robert, 2002). All these personnel, key player and stakeholders must be well versed in all the security, police and disaster or emergency procedures so as to help in upholding and maintaining the ethical standards required of the system (Fuller, 2005). The manager, supervisors and leaders of the criminal justice system must also be well trained in the administration of the criminal justice system so that they can effectively lead the other players towards achieving the common goals of the system (Schroeder & Lombardo, 2006). This paper will discuss ethical issues in the management of criminal justice by expressing, interpreting and assessing the social and ethical impact of leadership, management and supervision on criminal justice stakeholders and personnel. The paper will also summarize and assess the theoretical and historical underpinnings of supervision in modern criminal justice agencies. This paper aims at comparing, contrasting and selecting contemporary issues of management, leadership and supervision of criminal justice. The paper will finally discuss how to use leadership and supervision to positively impact racial profiling and misconduct within the criminal justice system. Impact of Supervision, Management and Leadership on Criminal Justice Stakeholders Criminal justice management has been broadly described as the supervision, management and oversight of any criminal justice system (Schroeder & Lombardo, 2006). The managers, supervisors or leaders of a criminal justice system may range from the smallest ranks such as the police chief of a small police department within a town to the country director of an entire crime fighting organization of the whole nation (Neocleous, 2004). This means that anyone who has been given a leadership, supervisory or management role within the criminal justice system, no matter how small their position may appear, is considered a leader, manager or supervisor of the entire criminal justice system (Maguire, Rod & Robert, 2002). Apart from being well versed with the procedures of the criminal justice system, the managers or leaders of a criminal justice system must also have the necessary education and training that will enable them to execute their duties effectively. Education on managing criminal justice systems can be acquired from institutions offering sociology or criminal justice management programs (Savelsberg, Lara & Cleveland, 2004). The criminal justice system is known to embody different regulations and laws (Fuller, 2005). With this in mind, it is important for the stakeholders of the criminal justice system to fully and correctly apply these laws and regulations (Savelsberg, Lara & Cleveland, 2004). This is because the duty of protecting everyone from criminals and ensuring that justice prevails has been left to them (Aldam, 2002). They must therefore be fair and just in all their undertakings during the execution of their duties and responsibilities. In order to achieve this, the criminal system needs to have impeccable and outstanding leadership, management and supervision (Neocleous, 2004). Various research studies have revealed that any organization is a good as its leadership. Those that hold leadership positions in any organization are the determinants of whether the organization will be successful or not (Maguire, Rod & Robert, 2002). The supervisors, managers and leaders of the criminal justice system have a crucial role to play in impacting all the other stakeholders towards overall goal attainment and upholding of ethical standards (Fuller, 2005). Before assessing the impact of leadership, supervision and management on criminal justice stakeholders, it is important to understand what is required of a good leader of the criminal justice system (Savelsberg, Lara & Cleveland, 2004). Effective leaders are always clear about their goals and they ensure that they lead their teams towards attaining these goals. Good leaders within the criminal justice system are also supposed to provide direction to their teams and not negative criticisms (Maguire, Rod & Robert, 2002). This will enable them to command significant positive influence over their teams. A good leader within the criminal justice system is also supposed to give the members of his or her team the opportunity to excel (Neocleous, 2004). This will enable the team members to be their best and achieve the desired results and make them capable of achieving a much higher level of performance that they would otherwise achieved (Schroeder & Lombardo, 2006). According to Schroeder & Lombardo (2006), for any criminal justice system to be effective, the leaders of the justice system are called upon to collaborate so that they can adequately address the challenging issues that face the criminal justice system. When there is collaborative and exclusive leadership, the stakeholders of the system will be positively impacted (Savelsberg, Lara & Cleveland, 2004). Managers must be leaders and leaders must be managers in order to be effective because it has been said that leadership and management are not the same (Schroeder & Lombardo, 2006). For criminal justice leaders to have any positive impacts on the other stakeholders of the system, they must be competent, trustworthy, good decision makers, followers, full of integrity, courageous, visionary, self confident and good communicators among others (Maguire, Rod & Robert, 2002). With all these skills and competencies of a good leader, high ethical standards can be maintained within the criminal justice system (Schroeder & Lombardo, 2006). The leaders can also have positive impacts on the other stakeholders of the system if they possess these skills and competencies (Savelsberg, Lara & Cleveland, 2004). The stakeholders of the criminal justice system are part of the team that is responsible for ensuring that the criminal justice system attains its goals and objectives. With good leadership, management and supervision, these stakeholders can be impacted in a number of ways (Savelsberg, Lara & Cleveland, 2004). The first impact of leadership, management and supervision to these stakeholders is that professional ethics will be upheld and maintained. The leadership is charged with the responsibility of implementing professional ethical standards amongst the stakeholders of the system (Aldam, 2002). As seen earlier, these stakeholders may include lawyers, judges, the police, investigators, parole and probation officer, correction officers, court officers, line officers and any other administrative personnel required to run the criminal justice system (Maguire, Rod & Robert, 2002). Management can ensure that all these stakeholders uphold ethics within the profession because they are responsible for serving society which expects them to be ethical and professional. It is very unlikely that any system becomes successful without the leadership, supervision or management of visionary and focused people (Aldam, 2002). Such leadership can have positive impacts on the ethics of the other stakeholders (Savelsberg, Lara & Cleveland, 2004). Most of the times, all the other stakeholders within the criminal justice system tend to follow what their leaders do. If the leaders are ineffective and inefficient, then the teams are highly likely to be the same (Savelsberg, Lara & Cleveland, 2004). If the leaders are competent, trustworthy, good decision makers, followers, full of integrity, courageous, visionary, self confident and good communicators, the people that they lead are highly likely to be the same (Maguire, Rod & Robert, 2002). It is therefore correct to conclude that leadership influences and determines how the rest of the team will operate and function (Fuller, 2005). Leadership influences their attitudes towards their work, their performance, their levels of motivation and many other factors that are related to their work (Neocleous, 2004). Ethical issues within the criminal justice system can be addressed by the leadership of the system. If the leadership upholds ethical standards, then the other stakeholders tend to do the same (Fuller, 2005). The ethical issues within the criminal justice system may be divided using several criteria such as ethical problems in the use of authority (Aldam, 2002). This may include the use of authority to avoid accountability for wrongdoing or simply to promote personal values. Ethical issues may also arise in the relationship between professional and personal interests (Schroeder & Lombardo, 2006). This may entail using professional status to promote personal interests, using institutional materials and time for personal gain or engaging in private or personal activities such as drug taking that are contrary to professional values (Savelsberg, Lara & Cleveland, 2004). Ethical problems within the criminal justice system may also come about in the professional and personal commitments to clients (Neocleous, 2004). This may include behaving unethically in the personal relationships with one’s clients or using relationships with clients for selfish personal gains (Maguire, Rod & Robert, 2002). There may also be ethical issues in information sharing such as problems with confidentiality, the ethics of withholding information and rules relating to disposal or retention of court records (Aldam, 2002). Ethical problems may also arise when dealing with human rights issues within the criminal justice system (Savelsberg, Lara & Cleveland, 2004). The issues that may be questioned here include the administration of unusual or cruel punishment, human rights violations and issues of capital punishment. Ethical issues may also arise as a result of policing policies such as the use of force, police profiling, use of police discretion and policing policy in domestic violence cases (Maguire, Rod & Robert, 2002). Lastly, ethical issues may also arise when dealing with media reporting of crime. When there is effective management, leadership and supervision, the stakeholders of the criminal justice system can be impacted positively towards upholding and promoting all these ethical issues (Neocleous, 2004). Leadership should therefore be by example because the other stakeholders will be influenced by their leaders (Aldam, 2002). Historical and Theoretical Underpinnings of Supervision in Modern Criminal Justice Agencies and a Comparison and Contrast of Supervision Techniques within a Criminal Justice Setting Criminal justice agencies are those departments that are charged with the responsibility of overseeing the criminal justice system within their jurisdictions (Fuller, 2005). They contribute to the overall functioning of the criminal justice system because each and every stakeholder of the criminal justice system is part of a specific criminal justice agency (Savelsberg, Lara & Cleveland, 2004). Therefore, these criminal justice agencies are made up of the different stakeholders of the criminal justice system such as lawyers, judges, the police, investigators, parole and probation officer, correction officers, court officers, line officers and any other administrative personnel required to run the criminal justice system (Maguire, Rod & Robert, 2002). These criminal justice agencies may include police departments, the courts of law, crime fighting agencies and prosecutor’s offices among others (Aldam, 2002). Today, supervision within these criminal justice agencies is not what it used to be many years back. Supervision within the criminal justice agencies has theoretically and historically evolved to be what it is today (Fuller, 2005). There are several new models and theories that are being used in the supervision of criminal justice systems that were not there before. These include client centered supervisors, cognitive supervisors and systemic supervisors (Fuller, 2005). Alfred Kadushin formulated the theory of supervision in social work but this theory can also be used in the context of criminal justice systems (Aldam, 2002). The theory is based on the functions of supervision which range from educational, administrative and supportive. According to this theory, supervisors today are supposed to promote and maintain good standards of work as well as coordinate practice with policies of management that will guarantee the efficient running of the criminal justice system (Maguire, Rod & Robert, 2002). The theory also provides that the supervisors or managers are supposed to ensure the educational advancement of all the stakeholders within the criminal justice system and all those that are under their leadership so that they can all realize their usefulness and maximize their potential (Aldam, 2002). According to the theory, the supervisors are also supposed to uphold harmonious and peaceful work relations within the criminal justice system (Savelsberg, Lara & Cleveland, 2004). These functions have changed because they were not always like this historically. In the past, supervisors were usually authoritarian and did not welcome the opinions of others (Neocleous, 2004). Their words were final and there was no room for democratic leadership. It was not easy to go against leadership or even correct the leadership because this would be seen as disrespectful and defiant to authority (Fuller, 2005). A good example of a criminal justice setting that can be used to show the comparison and contrast in the leadership and supervision techniques. Positive Impacts of Supervision and leadership on certain Misconduct and Racial Profiling As seen in this essay, supervision and leadership have a very big role to play in determining how the conduct of the rest of the stakeholders within the criminal justice system shall be. The essay has proved that more often than not, all the other stakeholders within the criminal justice system tend to do as their leaders do. If the leaders are ineffective and inefficient, then the teams are highly likely to be the same (Savelsberg, Lara & Cleveland, 2004). If the leaders are competent, trustworthy, good decision makers, followers, full of integrity, courageous, visionary, self confident and good communicators, the people that they lead are highly likely to be the same (Maguire, Rod & Robert, 2002). It is therefore correct to conclude that leadership influences and determines how the rest of the team will operate and function (Fuller, 2005). Leadership influences their attitudes towards their work, their performance, their levels of motivation and many other factors that are related to their work (Neocleous, 2004). Positive supervision and leadership has been able to eliminate misconduct because most stakeholders tend to abide by the ethics if the leadership and supervision is effective. The number of cases of misconduct among the stakeholders of the criminal justice system has gone down drastically as a result of effective leadership and supervision. This shows that leadership can indeed have positive impacts on certain misconduct and racial profiling. Racial profiling entails the use of someone’s ethnicity or race by law enforcement stakeholders to decide whether to enforce the law or not. This may include making an arrest or not (Aldam, 2002). This has been a common occurrence in some countries but with effective leadership and supervision, this habit has been kept under control. Conclusion Leaders, managers and supervisors today are under constant pressure to be successful, usually at a very high level of performance. The organizations that they lead and the staff they supervise are also expected to exhibit the same levels of performance. To become successful, these leaders are expected to have several attributes and qualities that will help them to be good leaders and to positively impact their members of staff within the organizations they head. The criminal justice systems are guided by various ethical standards that all the stakeholders must promote and uphold as discussed in the essay. Leaders, managers and supervisors must set an example for their juniors because juniors and other stakeholders tend to do as their leaders do. References Aldam, R. (2002). Government rationalities in police leadership: An essay exploring some of the ‘deep structure’ in police leadership. Policing and Society, 12 (1), 15-22. Fuller, J. R. (2005). Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Maguire, M., Rod, M. & Robert, R. (2002). The Oxford Handbook of Criminology. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Neocleous, M. (2004). Fabricating social order: A critical history of police power. London: Pluto Press. Savelsberg, J. J., Lara, L. & Cleveland, R. D. (2004). Institutional Environments and Scholarly Work: American Criminology, 1951-1993. Social Forces 82 (4), 1275–1302. Schroeder, D. & Lombardo, F. (2006). Management and supervision of law enforcement personnel. 4th ed. Charlottesville, VA: Lexis Nexis-Gould Publications. Read More