The criminal justice field is one of the most important fields in a civil society. Professionals in the field help to enforce our laws and make society safe for everyone. It is important that criminal justice professionals have leadership skills and ethics..
By showing good leadership, criminal justice professionals can set an example, not just for their employees, but for those who they are serving. A professional leader is clear about their goals, give their team members permission to excel, and provide direction, not criticism (Carter). It is important because in the criminal justice field, there are a variety of professionals, such as police, judges, attorneys, advocates and corrections workers, and they need to be able to collaborate in order to make the system the best it can be (Carter).
Use your promo and get a custom paper on
"Criminal Justice Leadership And Ethics".
Ethics helps people make the right choices and provides an acceptable code of conduct. Should professionals act unethically, it can have disastrous consequences for others, such as the case of Adolph Archie, an African-American who, in 1990, was injured and eventually died after claims by New Orleans police that he had killed a white officer (Sage Publications). He was reportedly injured by police, who took 12 minutes to take him to a hospital seven blocks away, where he died. (Sage Publications). A report in 1993 found that, although the chief of police had exonerated his officers, some police members had brutalized the man, and a “code of silence” existed between the police officers (Sage Publications).
This is one example of criminal justice professionals acting unethically. Not only did they kill a man, but the department flat-out sanctioned it, which can lead to a lack of confidence by the
public in the institution. Fourteen senior leaders of the Florida Department of Corrections once were surveyed on the importance of 10 leadership attributes (McCallum). Integrity was listed as the top attribute (McCallum). Without integrity by the leader, workers and the public will not believe in them. Trustworthiness and Competence were second and third, which, as we see by the Archie example, could seem to have been lacking (McCallum).
All in all, a good professional will not only show leadership in their position to their fellow workers and the public, but will also act ethically at all times.
