Dear class, the exam will be due Thursday evening on, March 6, by 11:59PM. Please make certain that the answers are in your own words. Please do not use AI technology. And of course, it is important to reference your comments, when necessary. I try not to tell students how many paragraphs to write; it is important that you fully answer each question.
CRCJ ETHICS MID TERM EXAM March 3, 2025
Please question 1
1.How would you answer the proverbial question: “so what?” based upon what you have been reading and or viewing this semester? This would include the announcements that you have received as well. This answer should be too closely aligned with anyone question on this exam
Select 2a or 2b or 2c
2a. Borrowing from the scholarship of McWhorter, Judge Gray and anyone else, what ethical issues emerge about the so-called war on drugs? In other words, please discuss and or describe how these scholars or other individuals have contextualized the war on drugs? What has been the affect? [HINT: I think that the best way to answer this question is to incorporate the scholarship of at least two or these scholars, in your answer. It is not a complicated question, just requires familiarity with the scholarship, to lay the foundation for your response. You can also include the work of scholars from other sources. Please make certain that your answer is well organized.]
2b. What would a formal ethicist say about police use of deception or police use of discretion in general? Please incorporate examples from the textbook. Similarly, how would a utilitarian respond to police use of discretion?
2c. How does the thinking of the philosophers that you have read about affect or influence your thinking about ethics and or morality? It is critically important that you flesh out this response to this question. [HINT: Read this question carefully.]
Select 3a or 3b
3a. Please provide a discussion about distributive and corrective justice. Include in your response, observations about ethics and/or morality. In addition, please categorize the four typologies described: normative, applied, meta and professional ethics. What points are made about ethical relativism? [HINT: This is a fairly straightforward question]
3b. What points are made about how our values affect the things that we do? What might be the potential role of capitalism and criminality in American society? And what does Pollock suggest about the values of criminal justice personnel? In other words, what questions must aspiring criminal justice personnel ask themselves before pursuing a career in criminal justice? Please explain.
Select 4a or 4b or 4c
4a. From chapter five, what points are made about the police culture and noble cause corruption? What can be done and/or how does Pollock view police corruption and noble cause corruption?
4b. From chapter five, what points are made about the blue curtain of secrecy? What can be done and/or how does Pollock weigh in on this matter? In addition, please explain why some individuals believe that the police subculture is breaking down
4c. What is moral panic? What is the point about moral panic? Be specific and detailed here. [HINT: Assume a level of complete ignorance by the reader, so be as detailed, as possible.]
Select 5a or 5b or 5c
5a. What would the philosopher John Rawls say about the war on drugs or police discretion? What would Jeremy Bentham say about police discretion? [HINT: Try to have some fun with answer. It is a two-prong question: Rawls and then Bentham?]
5b. Please describe at least three of the ethical systems in the Pollock book. Which of the three that you have identified has implications for criminal justice decision making? Please explain. [HINT: In other words, how do any of these systems inform decision making? This requires some abstract thinking. In other words, what are the implications for decisions made by criminal justice and social service professionals?]
5c. Discuss the ethical systems that should have informed the police officers who watched George Floyd die at the hands of another police officer? And how might this have been avoided?
6. You have read about the categorical imperative; you have read about populism and racism and the money economy. What ethical issues emerge?
