No matter what department or sector a person works in, they have to lead and manage people working under them. They have to make several tactical and strategic decisions. Taking charge and making decisions is as essential in public administration as it is in the business world. Regardless of the sector or industry, ethical leadership is the quality that ensures organizational success.
Ethical leadership is a type of leadership for the common good. The person in charge is responsible for demonstrating exemplary behavior and conduct to help their subordinates do an excellent job. So ethical leadership consists of three major characteristics:
- Being the example
- Emphasizing the importance of ethics in work
- Value-driven decision-making
Like every other sector, the public service sector, such as criminal justice, requires ethical leadership. Since public service providers have to interact and deal with commoners daily, they have to act as ethical leaders. Often, public service providers are in situations where they have to make quick decisions. Thus, having leadership qualities and ethical conduct is extremely important in such cases. But suppose the person doesn’t have the necessary training and skills to be an ethical leader. In that case, their decisions can often have devastating outcomes.
For this reason, several degrees, such as public administration or online pre law degree, etc., ensure to develop students’ ethical leadership. These courses prepare the individual to deal with people and follow a set of ethics that comply with human rights. So the reasons why ethical leadership holds significance in criminal justice are:
1. It defines a code of conduct
Individuals working in the criminal justice system have to adhere to some rules, regulations, and codes of conduct. Their behavior and work affect the institution they serve as well as the community. Here, ethical guidelines act as a code of conduct and guide them in dealing with situations. If an individual doesn’t adhere to these rules, they can derail the order among the community and the institution. When individuals have to deal with people daily, putting more value on ethical conduct only helps them carry out their tasks efficiently.
2. Ethical values maintain civility
Society cannot maintain law and order if there is no sense of civility. Therefore, the people who make up the society commonly agree on what is best for their community. They determine the means to maintain the societal structure and ways to achieve desirable goals. These achievements and positive outcomes give the society terminal values. The criminal justice agencies have to reinforce these values and maintain order. For this purpose, people serving the criminal justice system must commit to ethical values and establish the foundation of acceptable behavior. But ethical leadership requires an individual to assess their sense of morals and ethics on top of society’s values.
3. It helps avoid inhuman practices
In criminal justice, ethics and morals are pertinent to policy decisions and management relating to punishment and penalizing of individuals. Therefore, ethics are vital in determining whether to rehabilitate, deter, or impose appropriate penalties. For example, ethics help law enforcers decide whether it is morally correct to send an individual for a treatment program against their will. Given the system of punishment is concerning rehabilitation. If we continue the same example, ethics help determine whether it is acceptable to send the offender to prison and not provide the treatment options to correct their behavior. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure that ethical leadership prevails in every setting and situation. It not only helps in determining morally correct conduct toward offenders but also for the professionals who exercise authority and power over others.
4. It determines behavior when no one is monitoring
There is no doubt that the real test of our ethics and morals is when no one is watching. For example, if an officer found drug money at a crime scene, he will inform others to show up and confiscate it. But until the dispatch hasn’t arrived and no one is around, it is easy for the officer to nick some cash from the pile. The corrupt human nature and traits like greed and selfishness will view it as token money for a job well done. But ethical leadership qualities will keep these negative needs at bay. Ethical leadership keeps problems such as violence and corruption at bay by ensuring fairness and just behavior.
Conclusion
Ethics serve as the yardstick in measuring morally acceptable behavior and in ensuring ethical standards. It helps us do good and follow moral and ethical values established by society and institutions. These rules and codes exist to provide the protection of the officer and the commoner involved. They also exist to address ethical dilemmas and conflicting values that emerge in the criminal justice system. Hence, it is safe to say that ethical leadership plays a huge role in criminal justice and other professions in the world.
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