DISCUSSION 1:
STUDENT 1:
Budgeting in a Police Organization
Budget cuts have continued consistently for the past 8 years at the local level. They have even affected the federal level as well with all the military budget cuts going on. Within departments there are always ways to trim the budget. Some of them are not so pretty. The first plan would be to seek out all programs or divisions that are obsolete to the department and absorb them into current productive divisions. This reduces costs and waste as well as personnel. The downside is that it also reduces the need for those officers. This can put a damper on effectiveness. A more comprehensive approach is for the chief to request unit heads to show that old and new programs or strategies effectively address a goal or objective. More effective strategic and operational planning is generated when the chief requires a comprehensive justification for all budget requests.(Gaines, 2012) Budget cuts are an unfortunate beast of nature. They are not popular since something has to go. The second plan would be to limit overtime for officers on duty. By limiting overtime you reduce over spending to meet quota. Many officers love overtime but shifting duty hours can limit how much is needed to fulfill obligations. Police departments should closely scrutinize activities such as court appearances, shift extensions, staff size, emergency mobilizations, and special events to determine if overtime can be reduced. Police departments should examine overtime expenditures continuously to see if they are necessary or can be reduced. More efforts should be exerted to manage this widespread problem.(Gaines, 2012) Third to reduce the budget would be to limit buffering the budget. Any not needed items that are requested should be cut to ensure that everything falls within the lines of the budget process.
Gaines Larry K. POLICE ADMINISTRATION. 2012. Delmar, Cengage Learning. Prior editions, published by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.,
STUDENT 2:
If I were a police executive facing more budget cuts and needed to make some cuts I would cut overtime. I would have to make sure supervisors are being held responsible to monitor overtime. The use of overtime can highly leveraged expenditure and cost maybe 50% more than regular staffing. A way to fix it would be to assess the overtime usage by identifying the need for staff transfers, schedule adjustments, or increased staffing levels. If a person needs overtime then it needs to be approved. Monitoring sick leave is another budget cut. It's like overtime, people using sick leave should be monitored. For example, the person who uses sick leave has to have someone replace them and that person will end up with overtime. Another cut could be the equipment that is being spent on "luxuries" equipment. For example, cellular phones or leather chairs. Lowering the budget by repairing and renovating instead of replacing items. For example, the maintenance department could easily fix items instead of replacing an item because it would be easier than to fix it. The last thing that can be minimized is the promotion testing officers. It should be done twice a year and so officers could have time to purchase their own materials and pay for their test.
I think letting these items first, second, third and so on would be a great place to start to see if it can make a difference before getting rid of programs that are needed like community policing, SWAT, and so many others. It shouldn't affect the department too much. If anything it would affect the extra money police officers maybe looking for.
DISCUSSION 2
STUDENT 1:
Accountability in a Police Department and the Community
The Internal Affairs office within the department should front line the investigation into police misconduct reports or lawsuits. Internal Affairs should be in charge of Receiving and recording complaints concerning police misconduct Investigating complaints and other indications of misconduct on the part of police, Investigating incidents involving the police use of deadly force, homicide or serious injury, or possible breach of integrity or ethical standards by a member of the police agency, Evaluating policies related to police ethics and behavior, Providing administrative trial mechanisms for reviewing instances and accusations of police misconduct, Prosecuting employees who are revealed by evidence to be responsible for serious misbehavior, Providing commanders with intelligence on deviancy and misbehavior occurring within the agency, and Informing complainants and victims of police misconduct of actions on their behalf by the police agency.(Gaines, 2012) The police chief should start by ensuring that all officers are aware of the departments code of ethics as well as the expected behavior of all officers. He or she should institute mandatory ethics classes for all officers on a regular basis. Constant over-site and records of all police and public interactions must be kept. The police chief should require all officers to be trained on Body Cams and that all officers will have their cams active at all times during their shift. The same can be said for the officers vehicle cameras. This will reduce the conflict between the public and the police by proving that the issue did not happen. If the officers refuse to use the cams or refuse to activate them than department punishment can be approved. A picture is worth a thousand words and if the officer has video and audio of the interaction with the public there can not be any doubt to what actually happened. The chief will also need to work with community leaders to continue to have a transparent department that does not need to keep information under wraps so to speak.
Gaines Larry K. POLICE ADMINISTRATION. 2012. Delmar, Cengage Learning. Prior editions, published by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.,
STUDENT 2:
Unfortunately, people in today's society are sue happy. Police are under scrutiny constantly. It is important to conduct a serious investigation under any and all claims, but it is also important that the officers that are accused know that the department has their backs. It makes doing their job extremely hard when they know that can be accused of wrong doing at any given time. This makes continual training very important. It leaves less room for error on the police officer. If an accusation is made I would utilize civilian review as well as internal investigation. Civilian review one model of external review for the police organization, in which a civilian body reviews the police department's actions and findings through investigation, adjudication, and the recommendation of punishment (Gaines, L., & Worrall, J. (2012). Kerstetter (1985) identified three models: civilian review, civilian input, and civilian monitor (Gaines, L., & Worrall, J. (2012). I would not be so quick to pay out a settlement because people are so sue happy. By using these models it puts some of the control in the community's hands. Once it is realized how much money is wasted on false law suits, the citizens can step in and make recommendations on is the complaint is reasonable , thus be a bit responsible for money being wasted on unneeded lawsuits. Then when the funds are being overspent paying people out the community is at fault for allowing these payouts as well.
Reference
Gaines, L., & Worrall, J. (2012). Police administration (3rd ed.). United States: Delmar Cengage Learning
DISCUSSION 1
STUDENT 1:
Christopher Williams and Bruce Arrigo (2012) in the textbook Ethics, Crime and Criminal Justice state "the ethics of human rights begins with the natural law assumption that there is a certain universal moral order that exists apart from social, cultural, and historical conditions- a moral order which supersedes or "trumps" the "man-made" laws and socially constructed moral principles that are particular to civilizations and time periods" (p. 177). Some examples of these rights include health care and shelter. If you examine the criminal justice field you can see these basic rights being provided for inmates under the care of a corrections facility.
Legal rights are given and protected by law. Christopher Williams and Bruce Arrigo (2012) in the textbook Ethics, Crime and Criminal Justice report " this is especially true in criminal justice where the notion of rights typically refers to legal protections that people enjoy when interacting with representatives of the justice system" (p. 178). An example of this is the fourth amendment which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures.
Though there is some overlap between moral and legal rights, moral rights relates more to ethics. Christopher Williams and Bruce Arrigo (2012) in the textbook Ethics, Crime and Criminal Justice advise "some interpret moral rights as being derived from a universal moral order that precedes social and historical conditions- a moral order that applies to all human beings, everywhere, in every time period" (p. 178). The criminal justice systems acknowledgement of moral rights can be seen in the evolution of the way the death penalty is carried out.
A past preferred method of execution was hanging which, was found to be cruel and unusual punishment when many times the neck of the hanging person did not break forcing them to endure the agonizing death of suffocating to death. The electric chair was then the new method of carrying out the death sentence however, after reported cases of inmates catching on fire during the electrocution it was also deemed cruel and unusual punishment. Currently the preferred method of euthanasia is lethal injection. According to the Death Penalty Information Center (2016) "the three-drug protocol uses an anesthetic or sedative, typically followed by pancuronium bromide to paralyze the inmate and potassium chloride to stop the inmate's heart" (para. 1).
References
Death Penalty Information Center, 2016, Retrieved from
https://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/lethal-injection
Williams, C. R., Arrigo, B. A., 2012, Ethics, Crime, and Criminal Justice, VitalSource for Ashford University, 2nd Edition. [VitalSource Bookshelf Online]. Retrieved from
https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781269305297/
STUDENT 2:
Rights, morality, and the criminal justice system
Human rights are rights standards that are given to everybody. They do not have to be earned and are relevant to everyone, everywhere and in all situations. Human rights are universal principles that apply to all people in all cultures. These rights such as right to education, health care and housing do not need to be earned and they cannot be taken away. In reference to the criminal justice system these right can come into play when dealing with the incarcerated population. Although they have been convicted of a crime, they still have the right to exercise these human rights.
Legal rights are rights that refer to legal protection and representation when interacting with the criminal justice system. These rights include the right to the presence of an attorney in a criminal trial, the right to humane treatment and legal protections such as Miranda rights, where a subject is informed of their protection under the law before agreeing to submit to any questioning or statements while in custody. In reference to the criminal justice system all people arrested have a right to the above mentioned protection regardless of the crime they are accused of committing. Officers may see an opportunity to take advantage of a situation where they might obtain valuable information for a conviction but must take into account the legal protection rights and how it might jeopardize their case. Officers also must treat everybody in a humane manner, only using necessary force to affect an arrest if applicable and caring for a suspect's safety while in their custody.
Moral rights are liberties and protections that possess a deeper and more enduring significance that may or may not be created by government. These rights are attached to people simply by virtue of their being human and are considerably more fundamental than the articulated legal protections. Moral rights include the right to self-protection and the right to liberty against unjustified interference with the pursuit of happiness. Some dilemmas that may come into play in dealing with the criminal justice system are acts of self-defense and the decisions that follow when deciding to possibly pursue a criminal act.
Reference
ETHICS, CRIME, AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Second Edition Christopher R. Williams Bradley University Bruce A. Arrigo University of North Carolina at Charlotte Copyright © 2012, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.
DISCUSSION 2
STUDENT 1:
Christopher Williams and Bruce Arrigo (2012) in the textbook Ethics, Crime and Criminal Justice report "while it is common in everyday language to refer to "character traits" moral philosophers have historically used the more specific virtue and vice to refer to traits of character that are regarded as "good" or "bad" in moral contexts" (p. 190). Moral virtues are the good characteristics that causes a person to act morally. Moral vices are the negative character traits that cause a person to act immorally. Moral virtues cause an individual to act in a way that benefits themselves or others, while moral vices cause an individual to act in a way that is harmful to themselves or others.
Five characteristics I would argue that are most typical of police officers are: disloyalty, untrustworthiness, courage, wisdom and justice. Working in a sheriff's department I have seen officers being nasty to each other and talking behind each other's backs which shows the moral vice of disloyalty. The officer's also fought getting GPS tracking on their vehicles because they didn't want anyone to know how fast they were driving which shows the moral vice of untrustworthiness. However, officers use their courage in dangerous situations wisdom in knowing state statutes and laws in the pursuit of justice. Ideally officers would trade their disloyalty and untrustworthiness for integrity and honesty to create a better working relationship so together they can use the moral virtues of courage, integrity, wisdom, honesty to pursue justice for all.
I can see how it would become easy for typical parole/probation officers to become insincere and rude due to working with offenders on probation. However, a successful parole/probation officer would have to be tactful, patient and reliable. An ideal parole/probation officer would have the moral virtues of patience, honesty, tactfulness, kindness and politeness.
Finally, lawyers are typically seen as arrogant and having the moral vice of ingratitude acting and treating others like they are the "top dog" and the efforts that others put towards their case means little. However, they do use their wisdom of the law and self-respect to present themselves and their cases in a way that will bring justice to the victims of the case they are presenting. An ideal lawyer would have the moral virtues of wisdom, tactfulness, honesty, temperance and justice.
STUDENT 2:
Moral Virtue and Moral Vice
Having moral virtue is basically describing someone's character trait and how they behave in certain situations. A person who can be described as having moral virtue will possess traits such as honestly, integrity, humility and self- respect to name a few. They are caring people who strive and choose to act out of moral goodness. They will act with good intentions, choose the right course of action to provide good consequences. Moral virtue are not only tendencies to act a certain way but people who possess these traits also think, feel, believe and desire to do good.
Possessing moral vices is just the opposite of possessing moral virtue. Moral vices can be described as character traits where people act in an indifferent or harmful fashion. People who possess these traits act with "negative emotions" and in ways where they are indifferent toward or that harm oneself and/or others. Vices interfere with our capacity to be moral and dispose us toward harm rather than morally desirable behavior.
In reference to CJ professionals, police officers, probation/parole officers and lawyers, I would argue the most typical type of characters you will see are:
Moral Virtue
Integrity, courage, responsibility, trustworthiness and open-mindedness. These professions should include these character traits. All of these professionals took an oath in some form of manner and these titles alone come with a level of accountability. First responders must act with integrity and be trusted to carry out responsibilities the public demands. They must display courage to handle situations that most people would run from and when conducting their duties they must not be bias and base decisions on facts while remaining open-minded.
Moral Vices
Arrogance, laziness, insincerity, intolerance and rudeness are some vices I would argue are most typical. The fact of merely being employed for these professions brings a lot of confidence. Over time, I think at some point confidence leads to being arrogant. Officer's deal with so many situations where they are the authority causes this trait which also leads to insincerity, intolerance and rudeness. Professionals who are subjected to a negative situation or environment on a continuous basis lose empathy and just want to clear the call or case. This can also lead to laziness. Where the officers once went above and beyond to handle a situation now are looking for the easiest way to get out of it or resolve it without considering possibilities of future effects.
CJ Professionals: Honestly, Justice, Tactfulness, Compassion and Responsibility. These traits are moral virtues for this profession. They must be honest when building a case and abide by the law when seeking justice. They display tactfulness in presenting evidence and have compassion for their victims and cause. There actions or inactions will always be viewed, they have a duty to serve and carry a large amount of responsibility.
Police, Probation and Parole: These moral virtues were covered under my Moral Virtue heading where I was describing these professions.
Lawyers: Arrogance, selfishness, dishonestly, insincerity and greed. To be fair when I think about lawyers I think about defense attorneys and professional experiences. In my experience any good defense lawyer will be filled with arrogance. I think this is a tool they use to make their clients feel confident in their abilities. They have been known to be dishonest when it comes to presenting cases. When displaying these moral vices it's hard for me to believe they can be sincere about any of their work which is usually driven by monetary gain that promotes selfishness and greed.
Ideal or desirable traits:
CJ Professionals and Police /Parole have already been listed.
Lawyers- Honestly, unselfishness, compassion, sincerity and trustworthiness. I think these would be great traits for lawyers. To have an honest lawyer who displays compassion and sincerity for their cases would promote trustworthiness and confidence in their abilities. An unselfish lawyer would care about a case and its true cause. They would carry more respect in their field and bring a better reputation to their chosen career.
Reference
ETHICS, CRIME, AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Second Edition Christopher R. Williams Bradley University Bruce A. Arrigo University of North Carolina at Charlotte Copyright © 2012, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.
References
Williams, C. R., Arrigo, B. A., 2012, Ethics, Crime, and Criminal Justice, VitalSource for Ashford University, 2nd Edition. [VitalSource Bookshelf Online]. Retrieved from
https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781269305297/