Devry

Criminal Justice Ethics Paper

HUMN232

Criminal Justice Ethics Paper

Working in the criminal justice systems my partner and I handle the majority of the homicide cases in our town. A woman was walking alone at night and was brutally raped and beaten, and she has now been in a comma for months. Earlier on the day of the incident there were gang members spotted in the same area antagonizing others that were passing by. Two of the gang members were apprehended by police officers after the group fled from questioning. The two members that were captured were both adolescents and waited in custody to be questioned.

My partner and I have been investigating this crime for months and we are eager to find the criminals and convict them. We believe that the two individuals we apprehended are in fact the criminals behind this crime; they both have a criminal record and were found with the gang that was in the area. As police officers we have to follow policies and go about this in the most ethically correct way possible. As minors they are to be informed of their legal rights, one is that their parents can be present during the interrogation process and that the process can also be videotaped. My partner decided that he did not have to abide by the ethical rules and obligations and he just went ahead with the interrogation.

After the interview my partner informed me that they both confessed to the crime and we should get them prosecuted immediately. I decided to confront my partner about the incident; he stood behind what he did. He admitted to violating their rights in order to get the truth out of both suspects. I am still skeptical because he still could have at least recorded the interrogation. Ethically this puts him, me, and our department at risk.

As officers we have a higher obligation to uphold the laws and standards that we expect civilians to abide by as well. We have to use our conscience to help us make the moral and...