EXPLORING ACADEMIC DISCOURSE ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE ETHICS: WHERE ARE WE?

Abstract

ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to understand the current state of discourse on ethics in the disciplines of criminal justice and criminology, in terms of pedagogy, verbal dialogue (with criminal justice professionals, faculty, and students), and scholarly activities (conference attendance, conference presentations, and publishing). Understanding the extent to which faculty and students are engaged in such discourse on criminal justice ethics is critical for both criminal justice and academic professionals, due to the increased call for accountability in professional conduct, as well as the rise in popularity of academic criminal justice programs. Using quantitative and qualitative data obtained from an email survey of American Society of Criminology members, we find that respondents discuss criminal justice ethics more with faculty and students than criminal justice professionals, and these discussions are influenced by academic rank, type of institution, and academic exposure to ethics. Further, respondents have little experience teaching ethics-specific courses and publishing peer-reviewed ethics-related materials. Lastly, we find there is controversy over the place of ethics in criminal justice and criminology program curricula.