Ethics in The Criminal Justice Profession

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Ethics or being ethical is simply based on a person’s capability to choose what is right or wrong or good or bad. Ethics can be defined as the body of moral principles or values governing or distinctive of a particular culture or group. (Banks C. , 2009). Ethics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the study of questions of right and wrong and how we ought to live our lives; A system of moral principles (Banks C. , 2009). Over all, morality rests squarely on the shoulders one’s early social environment.

Ethics or being ethical in any business is very important. Business ethics, especially in retail, usually means three things, avoid breaking criminal law and labor laws, avoid action that may result in civil law suits against the company and avoid actions that are bad for the company image. Businesses are especially concerned with these three things given that it involves loss of money and company reputation.

In theory, a business could address these concerns by assigning corporate attorneys and public relations experts to supervise employees on their daily activities. Because at anytime an employee might stray from acceptable conduct, the experts would be there to guide them back. Obviously, this solution would be a financial disaster if practiced. Given that it would cost a company more in attorney and public relations fees, companies save more by having preventative procedures in place. Consequently, companies have established special task forces or special departments to combat company from losses that it more cost effective. Such as, loss prevention agents or specialists, security guards and or special police, etc., to help prevent “shrinkage”.

There are many major issues concerning criminal justice. These major issues ...

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...ears, it is has come to light that some criminal justice professionals (decision makers) have sometimes fell short of making the “right” choices, or have deliberately acted unethically in carrying out their duties (Banks, 2009). Being ethical whether it’s in criminal justice or loss prevention it all has to do with making the right decisions to better the company or job.

Works Cited

Banks, C. (2009). Criminal Justice; Theory and Practice, 2nd edition. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications Inc.,.

Grant, K. J. (2002, December). Ethics and Law Enforcement. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin , pp. 11-14.

Kleinig, J. (2008). Ethics and Criminal Justice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Less, R. D. (2008). Corperate Governance . Retrieved 03 15, 2012, from Code of Business Conduct and Ethics: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=64847&p=irol-govHighlights

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