Criminal Justice Ethics

Cyndi Banks is Associate Vice President of Student Success at Capilano University in Canada. She spent 16 years as a professor of criminology and criminal justice and Dean of University College at Northern Arizona University. She has more than 24 years’ experience of research and project implementation in developing countries in the fields of juvenile justice, probation, justice policy, and child rights. She has worked as a criminologist in Papua New Guinea, Bangladesh, Iraq, Kurdistan, Timor Leste, Sudan, and Myanmar. She is the author of numerous articles and books, including Criminal Justice Ethics; Youth, Crime and Justice; Developing Cultural Criminology: Theory and Practice in Papua New Guinea; Alaska Native Juveniles in Detention; Comparative, International, and Global Justice: Perspectives From Criminology and Criminal Justice; and most recently, Prisons in the United States.

PART I: THE INTERACTION BETWEEN ETHICS AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
Chapter 1: The Importance of Ethics in Criminal Justice
The Meaning of Ethics
The Value of Ethics
Normative Ethics
Ethical Relativism
Cultural Relativism
Ethical Absolutism
Ethical Pluralism
Religion and Ethical Standards
Ethics and Natural Law
Ethics and Law
Ethical Dilemmas
Ethical Issues in Criminal Justice
Chapter 2: Police Ethics: The Nature of Policing and Police Corruption
Ethics and Policing
The Nature of Policing
Police as an Institution
Police Culture
Police Discretion
Ethics and Codes of Ethics
Policing and Stress
Police “Militarization”
Police Corruption
Whistle-Blowing
Discrimination as a Corrupt Practice in Policing: Racial Bias, Racial Profiling, and Selective Law Enforcement
Chapter 3: Police Ethics: Use of Force, Investigations, Interrogations, and Lying
Police Use of Force
Policing, Mental Illness, and Crisis Intervention Teams (CITs)
Ethical Issues in Investigation, Interrogation, and Custody
Chapter 4: Racial Discrimination in the Criminal Justice System
Ethical Background
Historical Context
Is There Racial Discrimination in the Criminal Justice System?
Imprisonment Disparities
Hate Crimes
Explanations for Racial Discrimination in the Criminal Justice System
Chapter 5: Judges, Lawyers, and Ethics
Legal Ethics: Historical Context
The Nature of Professional Ethics
Defense Lawyers
The Prosecutor
Judicial Ethics
Chapter 6: The Purpose of Criminal Punishment
What Is Punishment?
Theoretical Approaches to Punishment
Why Punish? The Philosophical Approach
Restorative Justice
Why Punish? The Sociological Approach
Chapter 7: Ethics in Corrections: The Nature of Corrections
The Prison Explosion
The Prison Explosion: Time Line of Events
Maximum Security
Medium Security and Minimum Security
Stateville Prison: The Changing State of Corrections
Corrections Subculture
Power and Authority in Prison: Controlling the Inmates
Private Prisons
Disenfranchising Inmates
Chapter 8: Ethics in Corrections: Guarding Ethically
The Experience of Guarding
Guarding Ethically
Guarding With Discretion
Unethical Situations
Rape in Prison
Corruption
Whistle-Blowing in Corrections
Ethical Issues in Probation and Parole
Chapter 9: The Ethics of Criminal Justice Policy Making
The Ethics of Policy Making
Morality Policy
Public Opinion About Punishment
Mandatory Minimum Sentencing
The War on Drugs
Truth in Sentencing
Predators and Superpredators
Capital Punishment
Chapter 10: Ethics and the “War on Terrorism”
Defining Terrorism
Warfare or Crime Control?
The Morality of Targeted Killing
Chapter 11: Media Ethics and Criminal Justice
Media Constructions of Crime
Reporting the Truth
Avoiding Bias
Avoiding Harm
Serving the Public
Maintaining Trust
Manipulation
PART II: THE APPLICATION OF ETHICAL THEORIES TO THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
Chapter 12: Duty and Principle
Hypothetical and Categorical Imperatives
Conflicting Duties
Applying Deontological Theory
Chapter 13: Considering the Consequences
Pleasure and Happiness
Act Consequentialism
Rule Consequentialism
Public Policy and Utilitarianism
Arguments Criticizing Utilitarianism
Applying Utilitarian Theory
Chapter 14: The Importance of Character
Virtues
Aristotle and Happiness
The Golden Mean
Practical Wisdom
What’s Wrong With Virtue
Applying Virtue Theory
Chapter 15: Egoism, Pleasure, and Indifference
Stoicism
Hedonism
Ethical Egoism
Applying the Theory of Ethical Egoism
Chapter 16: A Sense of Justice
Application of the Principles
Justice as Fairness
Moral Development
Applying Rawlsian Theory
Chapter 17: Caring for Others
Kohlberg and Gilligan
A Theory of Moral Development
“In a Different Voice”: Carol Gilligan
Gender and the Ethic of Care
The Ethic of Care and Justice
Peacemaking
Applying the Ethic of Care