Customer Reviews

Criminal Justice Ethics: Theory and Practice

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

book arrived in a great condition. i couldnt tell if it was new or used beacuse it hardly had marks and or signs of wearing.

I originally purchased this book as required reading for a Masters class in Criminal Justice Ethics and just finished it. Banks does a great job of underscoring most of the topics you'd expect to study with regard to ethics in this context including: the nature of policing excessive force by police, sex offender laws, prosecutors and the way they view ethics, torture of terrorism suspects, the death penalty, alternatives to incarceration like chemical castration, racial profiling by police and other racial discrimination within the justice system, suspect privacy rights, the conditions in supermax prisons, the incarceration of women, prison rape and society's indifference to it, the war on drugs and the incarceration surge it caused, defense attorneys and the ethics involved in representing the guilty, three strikes laws, and overall corruption within the system. In addition, she discusses different theories of morality including consequentialism and deontology, as well as virtue ethics and the connection between ethics and religion. The theories behind why we, as a society, punish and questions regarding whether our methods of punishment truly further our goals is also asked. Hedonism, egoism, and stoicism are also touched upon briefly as well as cultural relativism and cultural pluralism as it applies to judging the ethics of foreign laws.

It's a very quick read despite some of the heavy topics she covers, and the book is peppered with case studies and discussion questions to facilitate student discussion, but is not overly used.

I would have given the book five stars, except I found the chapter on virtue ethics and ethic of care to be a little less concise and more convoluted than the other chapters which were what I felt was an easy read.

The book is 317 pages without the references and index. It's ideal for a Bachelors level class, and a good basis for a Masters level class when combined with more in depth supplemental reading. What I liked most is that Banks provides history and theory for the issues she discusses, and also incorporates practical examples within the text using case studies and actual court cases to illustrate.

I was assigned this book for a graduate-level criminal justice ethics course. The book is divided into two main sections. The first discusses practical applications of ethics, e.g., racial discrimination, ethical issues in law enforcement, etc. The second half of the book details the relevant ethical theories. The author notes that this arrangement is somewhat unorthodox and that the book can be started from either the first or second half depending on how the instructor wants to structure the course. I felt that the book is arranged well and that the examples, topic headings and sidebars were well done. My only real complaint is that the book appears to me (and several of my classmates) as anti-law enforcement. One gets the impression that the author has strong feelings on this issue. For an intro level text book that purports to provide "comprehensive coverage" of ethical topics, I do not think it appropriate for the author's biases to be as obvious as they are in this book. I don't know what alternatives there are so I cannot recommend one. I would suggest that anyone that is going to read, study or teach this book, address this bias up front.

I have kept this textbook since using it during my CJ 450c Values in Criminal Justice course(my senior capstone). It was a great review of ethical philosophies and made CJ ethics accessible. Definitely recommend this text.