The Importance of Ethical Conduct and Professional Responsibility Essay

The Importance of Ethical Conduct and Professional Responsibility (criminal justice system) - Essay Example To understand the importance of ethical conduct and professional responsibility, the staff of the criminal justice system must first acquaint themselves with the relevant Codes of Ethics and Professional Responsibility. These codes are useful in enabling employees to aspire to the required level of ethical and professional conduct. Second, being ethically and professionally responsible helps criminal justice personnel to strive for excellence both at the personal and professional levels. To achieve high ethical and professional levels of performance, it is imperative that the criminal justice system’s personnel identify all the causes of professional and ethical misconducts, which are rather numerous considering the apparent diversity in the system’s clientele and tasks (Pollock, 2011). The main reason criminal justice personnel have lagged behind in achieving and maintaining high ethical and professional levels include failure to achieve high levels of competency through further education, work experience, and training. Since some employees do not seek continued education and training implies they are not abreast with the latest ethical and professional developments in the system. This lack of improved competency translates into reduced prompt, less efficient, unethical, and unprofessional performance by criminal justice personnel. Low levels of personal and professional integrity have also been cited as causes of professional and ethical misconducts in the criminal justice system (Pollock, 2011). ... criminal justice system’s personnel identify all the causes of professional and ethical misconducts, which are rather numerous considering the apparent diversity in the system’s clientele and tasks (Pollock, 2011). The main reason criminal justice personnel have lagged behind in achieving and maintaining high ethical and professional levels include failure to achieve high levels of competency through further education, work experience, and training. Since some employees do not seek continued education and training implies they are not abreast with the latest ethical and professional developments in the system. This lack of improved competency translates into reduced prompt, less efficient, unethical, and unprofessional performance by criminal justice personnel. Low levels of personal and professional integrity have also been cited as causes of professional and ethical misconducts in the criminal justice system (Pollock, 2011). What is more, failure to observe and mainta in the legality of professional competence and knowledge and ignorance of the available advice or assistance are the other common causes of professional and ethical misconduct in the criminal justice system. Similarly, some professionals’ personal life failures have impinged on their professional abilities and jeopardized their professionalism. The other causes of unprofessionalism, though to a slight extent, are poor communication, addiction to substance such as alcohol, failure to address client concerns, and excessive demands at work such as inappropriate work practices, poor mentoring and supervision (Pollock, 2011). Finally, personality conflicts and complacency towards professional standards have also had negative effects on professionalism since they escalate unethical behaviors. Addressing