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Ethical and Moral Decisions

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Ethical and Moral Decisions

Everyday everyone is faced with making an ethical or moral decision in their life. Ethics is defined as the study and analysis of what constitutes good or bad conduct. A moral is defined as the judgment of behavior as right or wrong. It is hard to live up to the standards of your peers and the standards of your professional life. Being a criminal justice professional can sometimes cause a person to live two different lives. They have to remain professional while serving the public and making the decisions that affect people’s lives forever. They also have to live their personal lives and though we want to, we can’t control our family and friends, For example, a police officer Is not going to take his uncle to jail because he had a couple of beers at the family function and now wants to drive home. He may beg him to stay, but if he leaves will he jump in his squad car and chase him down the street? That is how discretion works. Things like that happen in everyday life.

How can we truly know that the laws are being upheld and everyone is treated fairly with criminal justice professionals having the authority to decide who to punish and who not to punish? Legislators have the power to define behavior as illegal and therefor punishable. They also have the power to set the amount of punishment. Police officers enforce the laws created by legislators. Prosecutors decide who and how to prosecute. Judges possess power to deny or accept plea bargains, make decisions regarding rules of evidence, and decisions about sentencing. Correctional professionals have a great deal of discretion over the lives of those they control. Criminal Justice professionals have a lot of power, that’s why it is important to make sure we elect the right people because we have to insure justice is served the right way. How we live our

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