Ethics and the criminal justice curriculum

In this essay, it is argued that ethics is not only a valuable addition to a criminal justice curriculum, but also essential for undergraduate or graduate degrees. If a university education is designed to aid students in becoming professionals, one should develop a moral sensibility as well as accumulating knowledge and acquiring skills in reasoning, analysis, and communication. This sensibility can be defined as the ability to recognize ethical issues, to emphathize with others on either side of the issue, and to evaluate alternatives to dilemmas using ethical rather than legal or egoistic criteria. A separate ethics course as part of the degree requirements would allow the instructor the opportunity to identify and develop concepts that run through the criminal justice system. Concepts such as authority, discretion, law, individual liberties and punishment, cynicism, and public service can be dealt with in a manner that ties the system together rather than breaking it into its component parts. This process enables the student to recognize the fundamental issues associated with a system of social control in a free society and to understand where all criminal justice professionals fit into the scheme of things. Finally, the essay presents a brief discussion of important books and works in criminal justice ethics.