Ethics in Criminal Justice A Justice Professional Reader

"While many people", says Schmalleger, "the public and criminal justice professionals included, believe they lead ethical lives, they may find themselves, when pressed, hard put to define exactly what ethics is. Most definitions equate ethics with morality, and avow that the study of ethics is to be primarily concerned with behavior and the standards of right and wrong which govern behavior. Beyond the definitional level, however, agreement is difficult to achieve. The plurality of norms and values applicable to behavior among diverse social groups in our multi-cultural society complicate any ethical discussion. Attempts at specifying ethical codes or enumerating the values upon which such codes should be based are bound to meet with vigorous debate.This overview of ethical instruction in criminal justice today is intended to offer a description of teaching strategies and curricular goals. Many of the articles in this volume will maintain a theme of how ethics can best be taught to studentsof criminal justice and how society at large can best learn the same lessons. Other selections herein offer in-depth analysis of particular ethical dilemmas or aspects of professional life.Schmalleger, Frank M. is the author of 'Ethics in Criminal Justice A Justice Professional Reader' with ISBN 9781556051180 and ISBN 1556051182.