Week 4 CRM 322 2024F PDF

CRM 322 Ethics in Criminal Justice Week 4: Theories of Ethics (Virtue Ethics) & Racial Discrimination in the CJ system (p. 1) Agenda Review of Week 3 Virtue Ethics ~ Break ~ Racism in the Criminal Justice System In-class reflection question 2 ...

CRM 322 Ethics in Criminal Justice Week 4: Theories of Ethics (Virtue Ethics) & Racial Discrimination in the CJ system (p. 1) Agenda Review of Week 3 Virtue Ethics ~ Break ~ Racism in the Criminal Justice System In-class reflection question 2 Review of Week 3 3 Week 3 Review Deontological Ethics Utilitarianism Goals of ethical Do moral duty Seek the greatest total behaviour happiness/utility Means of becoming Using the categorical imperative Maximize pleasure, minimize pain ethical as a principle of morality (principle of utility) Judging ethical conduct Assess actions against respect Make ethical decisions by weighing for human dignity, not treating benefits and harms of people as a means to an end, consequences of an action towards and principle of universality yourself and towards others equally and impartially Consequences of actions do not bear on moral worthiness and Duty and motivation behind an personal inclinations have no action are not relevant moral value 4 Week 3 Review (2) Applying Deontological Ethics (7 steps) Applying Utilitarianism (4 steps) Remember: you can apply ethical thinking to policies not just dilemmas e.g., death penalty, carding, etc. 5 Week 3 Quiz 1: According to Kant's view on Deontological Ethics https://PollEv.com/fahadahmad430 6 Week 3 Quiz 2: The ______ imperative states that you ought to help people regardless of whether you care for them or have some other purpose that might be served by helping them https://PollEv.com/fahadahmad430 7 Week 3 Quiz 3: Which of the following is *not* one of the arguments of act consequentialists? https://PollEv.com/fahadahmad430 8 Virtue Ethics 9 Leading a virtuous, good life Inspired by Aristotle Concerned about the sort of people we must become if we are to live a good life or ethical life “imperative” is to be a good person Ethical knowledge involves wisdom and judgement that cannot be expressed in an absolute rule emphasizes social dimension of human life/community over conflict Ethical question: what character traits should I acquire? 10 What are Virtues? Virtues are personal qualities or traits of character, shown through habitual action, that make us persons of excellent character include natural qualities such as intelligence or strength, learned or acquired qualities, qualities relating to temperament, religious qualities, or qualities of character The repetition of virtuous actions causes a person to develop a virtuous character, and once that character is formed, it becomes the source of that person’s virtuous actions One receives guidance on virtues through parents, teachers, and laws 11 Examples of Virtues Benevolence Fairness Loyalty Civility Friendliness Reasonableness Compassion Generosity Self-confidence Conscientiousness Honesty Self-discipline Courage Justice Tolerance Virtues are strengths of character that promote human flourishing and well-being, and vices are weakness of character that hinder that 12 Golden mean Flourishing arises out of virtuous activity In situations of practical decision-making, our aim should be to find the mean or middle/moderate path and this will enable us to act rightly The mean lies between excess and deficiency There are different “correct ways” of living for different people “Correct ways” can be discovered through trial and error Aristotle’s virtue ethics are relativistic, because the right thing to do in any situation may not be the same for different people 13 Practical wisdom People of practical wisdom are able to effectively deliberate about what is good for their life as a whole as opposed to what may just be expedient Wise persons knows how to achieve a particular end and also understands which ends are worth achieving (vs. clever persons who know the best means to a particular end but do not have the wisdom to understand which ends are worth pursuing) Are able to reason correctly about ethical matters and have the vision to see which is the correct course of action - is a kind of insight/perception Persons who practice ethical wisdom deliberate well and reflect ethically, not just about what is good in a particular sense but also about the good life in general Practical wisdom is acquired through good upbringing and associating with people who provide examples of good actions 14 Critiques and limitations Aristotle modeled virtues on the “Athenian gentleman,” a man with privilege and wealth; his is an ethics of the ruling class (excluded women and enslaved people) Determining the mean is not always possible (what is the mean between lying and not lying?) Also, it may not always be true to achieve a flourishing life by sticking to the mean (e.g. being moderate may not always be ‘ethical’) List of virtues are somewhat arbitrary; different virtues can pull in different directions Moreover, virtue ethics fails to tell us how to act Virtues and practical wisdom are (supposedly) acquired through upbringing that fosters the right habits and character; so, per this assumption of VE, it may not be available to everyone 15 Banks Case Study 14.1 Profiling in the Neighborhood Rodney is a rookie police officer assigned to a mainly white, middle-class neighborhood. On the evening shift, Rodney and his partner Max, a more senior officer, are patrolling the neighborhood when Max says, “Hey, look at that kid. He doesn’t belong here. Let’s question him.” Rodney stops the patrol car, and he and Max get out and approach the boy, asking him for his identification. The boy produces his identification and asks the two officers, “Why have you stopped me? Is it because I’m Black?” They do not respond, and Max just searches him and then arrests him. Later that night, Max tells Rodney that the boy “pissed him off” with his attitude. He tells Rodney to write a report of the incident and charge the boy with loitering. 16 Applying Virtue Ethics Individually: Review case study 14.1 in the Banks textbook (previous slide) STEPS Prerequisite: Identify the ethical dilemma Rodney is faced the ethical dilemma of whether or not to write a report about the incident (when he knows that he is being asked to write a false report and to bring a false charge based on a false arrest) 17 Applying Virtue Ethics (2) Step 1: Regardless of the dilemma, ask what kind of person (police officer, prosecutor, correctional officer, etc.) I should become to be the most virtuous person I can be in that role? Rodney might think a virtuous police officer is one who is honest, has integrity, has respect for the individual and for the dignity of the individual, and is fair, civil, courageous, and self-disciplined 18 Applying Virtue Ethics (3) Step 2: Given the situation, list which of the virtues will allow me to become the best person (officer, prosecutor, correctional officer, judge, etc.) I can become Rodney might say that in the given situation, the best person would have the virtues of courage (because as a rookie officer, he needs to be able to say no to his more experienced partner) honesty (because he is being asked to make a false report) fairness (because he is being asked to treat a person unfairly) respect for the dignity of the individual (because racial profiling forms the basis of his dilemma, and this practice is inconsistent with the dignity of the individual) 19 Applying Virtue Ethics (4) Step 3: Ask myself which option in the dilemma allows me to practice the virtues I identified and why the other options would not Option 1 - Writing the report: does not satisfy the virtues of courage, honesty, fairness, or respect for human dignity Option 2 - Tell Max to write his own report: satisfies the virtue of courage only BUT does not satisfy the virtues of honesty, fairness, or respect for human dignity because the report will be false even though Rodney does not write it Option 3 - Report incident to supervisor: satisfies all the described virtues because it will expose the incident as being an act of racial profiling and it will show that the arrest/charge were false and that the officer was merely trying to penalize the African American boy for questioning his authority So, per virtue ethics, Rodney should report the incident to his supervisor 20 ~ Break~ 21 Racial discrimination in Criminal Justice 22 Clarifying concepts What is “race”? “Race in a fundamental organizing principle of social stratification” (Omi and Winant, 2015, p. 107); “Race is about marking human bodies” and is “nebulous, indeterminate, and flexible” (p. 112); Race is a social construction The idea of “race” assigns specific “natural” characteristics derived from physical appearance (including colour of skin) and culture (including ethnicity, language, religion, etc.) or both Race-making is a process of “othering”; historically rooted in state/colonial practices of classification and used as a way to structure oppression (p. 13) Let’s watch and discuss: Stuart Hall on race as a “floating signifier” (2:29–5:01; 13:09–14:08; 22:05–24:56) Class question: What are your main takeaways from Stuart Hall’s lecture? 23 Clarifying concepts (2) What is racism? “Racism is a hierarchy of superiority/inferiority along the line of the human” racism is “...politically, culturally and economically produced and reproduced for centuries by the institutions” of the colonial-capitalist system Those people classified as above the line of human have their humanity recognized and “enjoy access to rights (human rights, civil rights, women rights and/or labor rights), material resources, and social recognition to their subjectivities, identities, epistemologies and spiritualities” The humanity of those “below the line of the human” is questioned and are denied rights, material resources and the recognition of their subjectivities, identities, spiritualities and epistemologies (Grosfoguel 2016, p. 10) Let’s watch Racism and colour blindness Class question: What ideas about race and racism did this video highlight for you? 24 Clarifying concepts (3) Racism encompasses practices (social or institutional) that assign merits and values to members of a groups solely because of an essentialist understanding of “race” In the criminal justice system, we pay special attention to institutional racism (aka petit apartheid): formal and informal interactions between the criminal justice system and racialized people that may lead to them entering the system disproportionately 25 Systemic racism in Canada’s CJ system Let’s watch this short video “The genealogy of modern incarceration and policing starts in the era of slavery and colonization” (Maynard, 2017, p. 84) African-Canadians make up 3% of the population but account for 10% of the federal prison population… African-Canadian inmates are more susceptible to the use of force and segregation while in custody Recall TPS data from week 2 26 https://globalnews.ca/news/10776260/calgary-police-use-of-force-report/ Systemic racism in Canada’s CJ system (2) A House of Commons Committee acknowledges “the pervasive nature of systemic racism in policing in Canada”....a U.N. report attributed the overrepresentation of Black Canadians in the criminal justice system to structural racism and racial bias at the core of Canadian institutions, including racial profiling, the exercise of prosecutorial discretion, the imposition of pretrial incarceration, and disparities in sentencing “To be Black is not only to be targeted for questioning or arrest, it is also to be “proximate to death” (Sharpe 2016: 16) — that is, to live with an accentuated vulnerability to being violently beaten by police or by prison guards, to being placed in long-term solitary confinement for months that a time, or to being killed by the police” (Maynard, 2017, p. 84) 27 Explaining racial discrimination in criminal justice Conflict theory Society is composed of groups with competing values and interests The state is organized to represent the interest of powerful ruling classes; groups that threaten the power of rulers are subjects of social control Police represent dominant interests; police interests and that of racialized groups are at odds: police brutality is a symptom and outcome of that relationship e.g. vagrancy laws and police focus on street crime (over white collar crime) target racialized poor Symbolic aspect of social conflict drives racialized crime control Perceptions of threat, not actual threat; moral panics Specific policies that target racialized groups War on Drugs, War on Terror, Crimmigration, the Indian Act, etc. Slavery to Jim Crow laws to ghettoization to prison system uphold white dominance 28 Other considerations re. racial discrimination in policing The police “express the moral ideals not only of their profession, but also of the broader community” (Jones and Mendieta, 2021, p. 6) When police are negligent or abuse power, it undermines the legitimacy of law enforcement institutions and the state as a whole Discontent in policing stems from “deeper, more systemic ills than just a few rogue officers behaving badly” (p. 8) “A historically informed approach to police ethics places a high priority on officers’ being sensitive to how past injustices shape their and others’ perceptions” (p. 13) New tech has promise to remedy some problems, but introduces additional ethical questions 29 Class Exercise 30 Class Exercise Evaluate capital punishment/the death penalty (a law in several U.S. states) using utilitarian ethics In groups of 3-4: Work through the steps of applying utilitarianism 31 Summary: Deontological Ethics v. Utilitarianism v. Virtue Ethics Deontological Ethics Utilitarianism Virtue Ethics Goals of ethical Do moral duty Seek the greatest total A good life achieved by behaviour (Ask: what ought I to happiness/utility pursuing virtuous behaviour do/how should I act?) (Ask: what will be the impact (Ask: what kind of person of what I do) should I be) Means of becoming Using the categorical Maximize pleasure, Practicing virtues ethical imperative as a principle of minimize pain (principle of morality utility) Judging ethical Assess actions against Make ethical decisions by Ask how will I be good in conduct respect for human dignity, weighing benefits and harms this situation? Which ethical not treating people as a of consequences of an option would allow me to means to an end, and action towards yourself and apply and practice virtues to principle of universality towards others equally and become a person of good impartially character? Consequences of actions do not bear on moral Duty and motivation behind worthiness and personal an action are not relevant Person’s character/virtue inclinations have no moral matters over duty and 32 value consequences In-class reflection question Log into the course D2L. Under Week 4, you will find a place to post your response to the following reflection question: Do you feel something remains uncovered in the three theories of ethics you learned: Deontological ethics, Utilitarianism, and Virtue ethics? (2 minutes to complete) 33 Looking Ahead: Week 5 TOPIC: Racial Discrimination (cont) and Policing Indigenous People Required Readings Shaw v. Phipps, 2010 ONSC 3884, Ontario Divisional Court (Read paragraphs: 1 to 26; 69 to 85; 113 to 119) https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onscdc/doc/2010/2010onsc3884/2010onsc3884.html?resultIndex=2 Christie, G. (2006). Police-government relations in the context of state-Aboriginal relations. http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/inquiries/ipperwash/policy_part/meetings/pdf/Christie.pdf Pasternak, S. (2022) Canada is Bad Company. Disarm, Defund, Dismantle: Police Abolition in Canada (e-reserve) Podcast: Anti-Indigenous racism in Canada. This is Why. https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/anti-indigenous-racism-in-canada/id1393063560?i=1000479662052 Suggested Readings Maynard, R. (2017). Chapter 3 in Policing Black Lives: State violence in Canada from slavery to the present 34