Theories, Values, and Duties Short Paper

Overview: For this milestone, you will answer the following questions about the scenario..

I. Ethical Theories and Personal Values

A. Identify the ethical theory you would rely upon to address this dilemma, and describe why it would be effective. B. How do you separate personal morals from ethics, and why is this important?

C. When is it appropriate to let your morals guide your actions? Why?

II. Duties

A. Describe your course of action if you were faced with this dilemma. Why would this reaction be appropriate and effective?

B. What is your responsibility as a professional in this scenario? Defend your response.

C. Does your ethical responsibility take precedence over your personal views? What do you do if the two are conflicting?

D. Identify the impact of society’s changing views of acceptable behavior as it applies to a criminal justice practitioner’s duties. Guidelines for Submission:

Your short paper needs to be 2–3 pages in length double-spaced, using 12-point Times New Roman font. Include APA citations as needed.

Scenario

Joe is a corrections officer in a juvenile detention center and works on a unit housing 15 offenders, many of whom suffer from mental health problems. Joe has worked there for about two months. He feels comfortable with his job and has been accepted by the other staff members. He has not had any significant problems with the juveniles and is generally enjoying his work.

It is lunchtime on Monday, and Joe is in the dining room supervising the juveniles as they eat. At one table sit six juveniles, one of whom is a 17-year-old named Brian, whom Joe thinks has a mental disability. Brian is displaying offensive behavior that is so bad that Joe cannot eat his own meal. Brian keeps adding ketchup in vast quantities to every dish, then slurping it from the plate. Brian uses his hands instead of a fork. Brian talks with his mouth full, causing him to spit his food across the table in front of the other juveniles. Joe can see that the other juveniles are repulsed by Brian’s behavior and are getting upset by his actions.

2 Joe is surprised to see his coworker and mentor Darren suddenly get up from where he is seated, go over to Brian, grab him by his shirt, and move him away from the table. Darren takes Brian off to the kitchen and returns with a large mixing bowl. In front of everyone, Darren tells Brian to scrape out what is left of his meal into the large bowl. Darren then takes Brian to the center of the dining room floor, puts the bowl of food on the floor, and tells him to eat. Darren tells Brian that he has disgusting manners, and if he is going to act like an animal while eating, he may as well get down on the floor like a dog and eat from his bowl. Darren tells Brian to stay on the floor and lick his bowl clean, like the animal that he is. The other juveniles are visibly upset at what Darren has done.

Joe does not do or say anything to Darren while this is going on, though he is taken aback by his coworker’s actions. Later, Darren explains to Joe and other staff who were present that the reason he acted this way was to shock Brian into understanding that his table manners were inappropriate. Darren thought if he used “tough love” on Brian that he would be less likely to act that way in the future.