Monday/Wednesday 11am-12:15pm
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:
Identify the vocabulary of ethics (morals, ethics and values).
Explain the ethical responsibility of law enforcement of the Criminal Justice system.
Examine the major arguments supporting the importance of studying ethics in the criminal justice field. Identify and explain the major ethical codes applicable to criminal justice situations.
Analyze an ethical dilemma common to Criminal Justice. Articulate ethical issues in criminal cases.
Faculty Contact Information
Monday-Thursday 12:30pm-2:00pm
Dr. Melvina Calvin-Edwards
Course Information
At the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Identify the vocabulary of ethics – i.e. morals, ethics and values.
- Explain the ethical responsibilities of law enforcement of the Criminal Justice System.
- Examine the major arguments supporting the importance of studying ethics in the criminal justice field.
- Identify and explain the major ethical codes applicable to criminal justice situations.
- Analyze an ethical dilemma common to criminal justice.
- Articulate ethical issues in the prosecution of criminal cases.
- Introduction
- Police Professionalism
- The Nature of Police Work
- Why Be Ethical?
- What Is Character?
- The Development of Character
- Ethical Formalism
- Utilitarianism
- An Ethic to Live By
- Judgment Calls
- Types of Police Misconduct
- The Causes of Police Misconduct
- Practical Applications
- The Law Enforcement Code of Ethics
- Being a Good Officer
Professional Ethics in Criminal Justice, 5th ed. Albanese, J.S.
Case Studies in Criminal Justice Ethics, 3rd ed. Braswell M., Miller L., Pollock J.
Students will examine and discuss ethical case studies in small groups during class for attendance points WRITING ASSIGNMENTS
Writing Assignment #1-Analyzing Ethical Theories
Writing Assignment #2-The role of Character in police work
Writing Assignment #3- Community policing and Ethics 
In class movie discussions & reviews for each chapter (10pts each )
Case study/policies
Journal article reviews (2)
Midterm-Personal reflection on ethical policing
Final Exam-Ethical leadership in policing
Business, Technology & Human Services
Dean, Paul Carlson; 815-802-8858; V105; pcarlson@kcc.edu; Division Office – W102; 815-802-8650
KCC continues to comply with the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and the Illinois Department of Public Health as we teach and learn in the COVID-19 era. Masks are optional.
At a minimum, the average person can expect to spend one to two additional hours outside of class. This time will be dedicated to reading the textbook chapter(s), answering study questions, studying for quizzes and tests.
Regular attendance at all scheduled class sessions is expected. There are NO excused absences. To receive full class attendance points, you must not be late or leave early. Reading assignments are indicated on the schedule and should be finished before the topic is covered in class. Some important information provided during the lecture does not appear in your textbook, but you will find it useful for completing your labs, quizzes or tests. It is the student’s responsibility to obtain handouts and information presented for any class for which he/she is absent. If a student misses four or more classes in one semester, he/she will receive an automatic “F”. Use of cell phones during class is not permitted. Use of tablets or laptops during class is not permitted. Please turn off or set cell phones to vibrate. If a call must be answered, please leave the classroom quietly.
If you violate any of these policies, you will lose that day’s attendance points and be asked to leave the class. Students need to adhere to the Code of Conduct located in the college catalog.
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Study Questions can NOT be made up. Study Questions must be submitted by the date/time due. Any student failing to submit Study Questions by the date/time due will receive a zero.
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Students may earn extra credit by participating in approved activities outside of regular class time. Opportunities include, but are not limited to, attending Teen Court sessions, volunteering at police agency events, or other community-based criminal justice activities as announced by the instructor.
Extra credit will be awarded in the form of points added to course assignments or overall grade at the instructor’s discretion.
Students must provide verification of attendance or participation (e.g., signed documentation, supervisor confirmation, or a brief reflection paper) within one week of the event to receive credit.
Extra credit is intended to enhance learning and cannot replace required coursework. Points earned through extra credit are limited to a maximum of 5% of the final grade.
Extra credit points are added (535 total course points). However, they are capped at a maximum of 27 points (5%), depending on the instructor’s chosen limit. Extra credit cannot replace required assignments.
All extra credit opportunities must be pre-approved by the instructor to ensure fairness and relevance to course objectives.
All student athletes will be granted attendance points while participating in KCC sporting events, not practices. All missed labs, quizzes and tests due to sporting events must be completed within one week of the scheduled quiz or test. All missed quizzes and tests due to sporting events must be rescheduled during posted office hours.
All course requirements must be completed by the end date of the course. An incomplete grade will NOT be granted regardless of the extenuating circumstances.
KCC defines plagiarism: Representing the words or ideas of another as one’s own. Plagiarism includes claiming credit for assignments completed by someone else. In all academic work, the ideas and contributions of others must be appropriately acknowledged and work that is presented as original must be, in fact, original. Using an AI-content generator (such as CHATGPT) to complete coursework without proper attribution or authorization is a form of academic dishonesty. If you are unsure about whether something may be plagiarism or academic dishonesty, please contact your instructor to discuss the issue. First violation will result in a zero for the assignment. The second violation will result in “F” failing of the course.
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| Learning Objective and Activity |
Week 1: | Course Introduction and Ice Breakers | ||
Week 2: | Recognizing Ethical Decisions: Ethicsand Critical Thinking | Chapter 1 | Develop the ability to understand the essence of good character. Distinguish betweenmorals, values, and ethics. Recognize the concept of moral relativism. Understand the importance of critical thinking to ethics. Movie: The Emperor's ClubMovie discussion |
Week 3: | Virtue Ethics: Seeking the Good | Chapter 2 |
Understand the centrality of moral virtue to understanding the ethics of Aristotle. Appreciate the hierarchy of goods and the difference between real and apparent goods. Recognize thedistinctions among virtue ethics, stoicism, and hedonism. Increase understanding of the linkage between the moral virtues in pursuing real goods. Movie discussion |
Week 4: | Formalism: Carrying Out Obligation and Duty | Chapter 3 | Understand thenature of deontological ethics. Recognize the centrality of duties versus inclinations in Kantian ethics. Increase the ability to isolate the categorical imperative from any set of facts presented in an ethical dilemma. Movie discussion |
Week 5: | Utilitarianism: Measuring Consequences | Chapter 4 | Understand the nature of teleological ethics and its differences from deontological ethics. Recognize the centrality of the principle of utility in the ethics of John Stuart Mill. Develop an appreciation of why utilitarianism is sometimes called consequentialism. Increase the ability to distinguish objective ways to assess the total happiness produced by an action. Movie discussion |
Week 6: | Crime and Law: Which Behaviors Should Be Crimes? | Chapter 5 | Understand the differences betweenthe consensus view and conflict view of criminal law.Appreciate the ethical issues posed by “qualityof life” offenses. Distinguish the major perspectives on crime causation: classical, positivism, structural, and ethical. Develop an appreciation for the linkage between Kohlberg’s theory of moraldevelopment and ethics. Understand Gilligan’s ethics of caring. Movie discussion |
Week 7: | Continue Crime and Law (continued) |
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Week 8: | Midtermand Movie | ||
Week 9: | Police How Should the Law be Enforced? | Chapter 6 | Understand how the Fourth and Fifth Amendments of theBill of Rightsprovide the principles for police stops,searches, arrests, and interrogations. Appreciate the threshold of “stop and frisk”and its differences from probable cause in evaluating situations for police. Recognize the differences among nonfeasance,misfeasance, and malfeasance in assessing police decisions. Develop an appreciation for the different causes and circumstances of police corruption. Evaluate the relationship between codes of ethics and |
ethical principles in producing consistent conduct. Movie discussion |
Week 10: | Police: How Should the Law Be Enforced? (continued) | Chapter 6 |
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Week 11: | Courts: HowShould a Case Be Adjudicated? | Chapter 7 | Appreciate John Rawls’ theoryof justice and the “greatest equal liberty” principle. Recognize the importance of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct for prosecution and defense conduct.Understand what a “mob lawyer” is and the proper role of a defense attorney in criminal cases. Assess the scope of a prosecutor’s discretion and its implication for ethical conduct. Evaluate the nature of plea bargaining and the ethical dilemma it creates. Understand the ethical underpinnings of sentencing decisions. Movie discussion |
Week 12: | Punishment and Corrections: What Should Be Done with Offenders? | Chapter 8 | Understand the distinctions among the four purposes of criminal sanctions: retribution, incapacitation, deterrence, and rehabilitation. Recognize the issue of disparity in sentencing, how sentencing guidelines were designed to reduce disparity, and the ethical issues involved. Assess the issue of correctional ethics and the situations in which ethical decisions become crucial in correctional settings. Understand how corporal punishment and innovative sentences can be evaluated from an ethical perspective. Distinguish the issue of punishment under the Eighth Amendment, and how capitalpunishment and life in prison can be evaluated using ethical principles. Movie discussion |
Week 13: | Liability: What Should Be the Consequence of Unethical Conduct? | Chapter 9 |
Understand the nature of civil remedies for ethical misconduct, such as compensation and blacklisting. Recognize the double standards often placed on public officials regarding liability for conduct that is accepted when acting as private citizens. Evaluate the ethical dilemmas posed by sex |
offender notifications laws. Distinguish “right versus right”ethical dilemmas. Assess the liabilities facedin unethical individual, corporate, and government misconduct Movie discussion | |||
Week 14: | The Future: Will We Be More or Less Ethical? | Chapter 10 | Recognize the importance of the “24- hour test.” Evaluate the ethical dilemma in the case of the Unabomber. Appreciate the reason behind the establishment of the CDC panel of ethicists. Understand the ethical distinctions between killing and letting diein a medical context. Recognize the ethical importance of the story of Alfred Nobel. Movie Discussion |
Week 15: | Final exam topic discussion Review | ||
Week 16: | Final Exam | Final Exam | Final exam |
1. Fringe Benefits
2. Right Side of the Tracks—Wrong Side of the Law
3. Employment or Ethics?
4. Room at the End of the Hall
5. A Victim of Rape?
6. Different Choices, Equal Protection
7. "I've Got My Rights!"
8. Black and Blue
9. Double Bind
10. Judge, Jury, and Executioner?
11. Prominent Deviance
11. The Bully or the Badge
13. The War at Home
14. Eviction Notice
15. A Conflict of Purpose
16. Sanctuary City?
Section II. ETHICS AND THE COURTS
1. Where Does Protest End and Crime Begin?
2. Child Rapist?
3. Murder by Internet
4. Probation for Profit
5. Probation or Jail?
6. Lost Boys, Inc.
7. The Court and Child Abuse
8. A Question of Integrity
9. Everyone Does It
10. Conflicting Duties
11. The Truth or Perjury?
12. Presentence Investigation: A Fair Shake?
13. Defending the Constitution
14. Brothers and Law
15. It's a Rat Race, and the Best Rat Wins
16. See No Evil?
Section III. ETHICS AND CORRECTIONS
1. The Limits of Responsibility
2. The Minister and the Ex-Offender
3. A Farmer's Dilemma
4. A Legacy of Corruption
5. A Question of Policy
6. Family Connections
7. Man in the Middle
8. Correctional Counseling?
9. Temporary Release
10. Sexual Harassment
11. Confidentiality or Security?
12. Offender Rights and Public Expectations
13. Who's Running the Prison?
14. Covid 19: Managing a Pandemic in Prison
15. Outsourcing for Profit
16. Death Row Dilemma
Section IV. ETHICS AND JUVENILE JUSTICE
1. The Teacher, the Delinquent, and the Gang
2. A Family of Offenders
3. A Choice of Punishments
4. “I Sorry, Officer”
5. Neighborhood Brat
6. Zero Tolerance or Intolerance?
7. Cruisers
8. Mothers and Their Children
9. Sins of the Fathers?
10. Welcome Home?
11. A Conflict of Beliefs
12. Jihad Joey
13. Guilty by Tattoo
14. Just to See How It Feels
15. The Best Use of Resources
16. Armed and Dangerous?
College Policies, Resources and Supports
For information related to the Student Code of Conduct Policy, Withdrawal Policy, Email Policy, and Non- Attendance/Non-Participation Policy, please review the college’s Code of Campus Affairs and Regulations webpage, which can be found at catalog.kcc.edu under the Academic Regulations & Conduct Guide.
KCC offers various academic and personal resources for all students. Many services are offered virtually, as well as in person. Please visit Student Resources - Kankakee Community College to access student resources services such as:
- Clubs and organizations
- Counseling and referral services
- Office of disability services
- Student complaint policy
- Transfer services
- Tutoring services, etc.
The materials on this course are only for the use of students enrolled in this course for purposes associated with this course. Further information regarding KCC's copyright policy is available at https://kcc.libguides.com/copyright.
|Course syllabus/calendar is subject to change.