The study of criminal justice ethics considers crucial criminological and philosophical issues, such as the meaning of right and wrong, what constitutes proper conduct, the nature of justice, and the practical moral problems that institutions and actors face. Research and analysis in this area is conducted by a wide range of scholars such as psychologists, criminologists, sociologists, legal theorists, ethical theorists, as well as scholars of legal studies and police science. This new Handbook aims to unify and define this emerging field of enquiry.
This book presents a realistic and illuminating integration of the conceptual, empirical, and normative aspects of ethical issues in criminal justice. More than being a collection of studies of how ethical theorizing can apply to criminal justice contexts, the Handbook will explicate the ethically significant and problematic aspects of criminal justice. Ethical considerations are notbrought to bear on issues in criminal justice, they are present as aspects of issues in criminal justice. Questions considered include:
- To what extent does the legitimacy of criminal justice depend upon broad agreement on moral values?
- To what extent should criminal justice in a liberal polity be an attempt to legally enforce moral values?
- How should the relation between criminal culpability and moral blameworthiness be understood?
- What, if any, is the responsibility of criminal justice in regard to the immorality of many offenders?
- What are the distinctive concerns and features of criminal justice in a liberal democracy?
A range of substantive sections focus on a range of issues such as criminalization anddecriminalization, supervision, corrections, incarceration, and reintegration, agents and institutions, as well as policy and practice.
