Summary

Ethics has become an important factor in the criminal justice system. Law enforcers and officers in the criminal justice system are facing many challenges in implementing the law, which has the goal to maintain good ethical standards. These ethical issues revolve around moral standards in society, which should be followed, but may have differing meanings according to different people. The ethical issues faced include meting out of punishment, use of excessive force, prosecution decisions, and representations of those accused.
The main concern lies in the conduct in relation to the accused persons while seeking justice. This is bearing in mind that the law may lack guidelines on how to handle criminals in different situations. This covers the interrogation of the accused, custody, and the process of investigations. Banks (2009) seeks to show how these issues can be handled ethically so as to protect the rights of all the parties involved.
Banks (2009) looks at ethics in criminal justice through the social, religious and cultural perspectives of society. The cultural aspect is well highlighted, mainly because the criminal justice cuts across many cultures. It is, therefore, important for the justice system to consider all cultural characteristics of society, so that it does not violate the ethical standards. The system should ensure that the standards set are unified through all cultures. This implies that the same rules can be applied to any person from any culture in similar circumstances.
Ethical standards in criminal justice should also uphold the concept of moral pluralism. This holds that there are core truths that may determine the definition of morality under different situations. Thus, the definition of moral principles will vary from one situation to another. However, this should not alter the truth because there are fundamentals that define morality under all circumstances.