Assignment task: Ethics ad Discretion in Criminal Justice
Scenario:
You are working with a juvenile probation agency. One weekend, you are out with friends in a downstairs bar frequented by college students. To your surprise, you see Sarah, a 16-year-old probationer, dancing. In watching her, you realize that she is drunk and, in fact, is holding a beer and drinking it while she is dancing with a man who is obviously much older than she is. You go over to her, and she angrily tells you to mind your own business and immediately leaves with the man. Later she comes back into the bar and pleads with you to keep quiet. She is tearfully apologetic and tells you that she already has had several violations of her probation and at the last hearing was told that if she has one more violation, she will be sent to a juvenile detention center. You know that Sarah has been doing much better in school and plans to graduate and even go to college.
1. Describe the ethical dilemma faced by the law enforcement officer.
2. Explain the ethical system that can be used to analyze the dilemma.
3. Discuss the area of ethical concern for the law enforcement officer.
4. Discuss the ways in which ethics, trustworthiness, and responsibility influence those working in the field of criminal justice.