Why is Ethical Reasoning Crucial During Criminal Investigations?

Ethics and Investigations
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Ethics and Investigations
During criminal investigations, ethical reasoning helps address any dilemmas that may arise. The investigators are professionally obliged to observe principles such as justice in their work to yield the expected results. The failure by the investigators to observe ethical principles could result in faulty or inaccurate results. The findings of criminal investigations do not only affect the victim and the perpetrator, but also their families and the entire community. Through the findings, the judge makes informed decisions that in some cases aim at crime deterrence. Therefore, the accuracy of criminal investigations findings is imperative. Like any other job, detectives and other professionals investigating crimes face the challenge of making decisions involving two competing interests. The ethical dilemma that the professionals experience can easily be resolved by the application of ethical principles.
Honesty is one of the major ethical principles that guide investigative work. The professionals working in any case are expected to be honest with each other and also with other authorities including the victim (Pickett, Mancini & Mears, 2013). Integrity is the other principle that governs the investigations; the professionals are expected to uphold a high level of integrity in their work. Justice is the other principle involved in the investigations.
CSI: Miami is one of the most popular TV investigative drama shows that depict the plight of investigators in their work. Each of the episodes describes a criminal investigation story involving events that affect the society such as murder. Season 1 episode 6 is among the most interesting stories that capture the issue of ethical dilemma in criminal investigations. The episode involves the story of Ruthie, a 5-year old girl who is murdered during an indoor amusement center event. Her mother watches her play with the other children, but she does not see a criminal lure her into the bathrooms. When she realizes that her daughter is missing, the authorities close down the building and command everyone to cooperate as investigators question the people. As the standard procedure in similar situations, the police interview the people in attendance and take relevant information such as finger prints. At first the investigators view the case as one of the many kidnapping incidents encountered in their work, but the situations turns from a potential kidnapping story to a murder probe. Ruthie’s body is found lying on the bathroom floor.
During such an investigation, the public ...