Criminal Justice

Criminal Justice Ethics

The duties of a detective are to enforce the laws and ensure public safety. Law enforcement officers are also responsible for investigating and gathering information on all types of cases. The information and evidence that can be found originally at a crime scene is crucial in solving the crime. Hence, it is extremely important that the detectives follow all department policies and demonstrate thorough judgment when making decisions.  

In the tutorial I am a police detective working with a partner. My partner and I handle the majority of all homicide cases in our community. Just recently, a woman in our city was walking alone at night and was later found brutally beaten and left for dead. This woman is now in a coma. Earlier that same evening of the attack, a group of young men were seen in the area, attacking and threatening pedestrians. The responding officers picked up two members of the group. The two members are 14 years of age each were found near the location of the beaten woman. The two minors had fled questioning by the police and both have records for robbery and assault. 

My partner in separate interrogation rooms interviews the suspects. The minors are entitled to have their parents present, but it seems that no significant effort was made to contact them. It is also department policy to have significant interviews taped. My partner did not tape either one of the interviews. My partner then comes up to me and tells me that both suspects have confessed to the attack. I analyze how my partner handled the interview and I know it wasn’t handled correctly. However, I also know the history of the two minors and that they’re guilty. How do I handle this?

From a deontological perspective people have a moral duty to perform certain actions regardless of the consequences. (Ruggiero, 2008, p. 146)   The detective knew what the protocol was for handling a situation such as this. First, the detective didn’t videotape the...