SUNY Community

Ethics in Life and Vocation

Author(s):

Creative Commons  License: Attribution-CC-BY

Publication Date: October 8, 2018

Affiliation: Alfred State College

About the book

photo of the united states supreme court building

The purpose of this text is quite simple. It fits my teaching needs and in doing so, I assert that it too may fit your needs. I offer this script in whole or part for your use and would encourage peer feedback.  I have written this from the lens of a Criminal Justice practitioner for nearly forty years. My career began in the early 1970s until 2010. As one can imagine, the ethical significance of each member of a Criminal Justice system is critical. I further assert that albeit this was written for self-serving interests to teach in the Criminal Justice discipline, I strongly believe that it remains sufficiently generic that it can fit in many other disciplines that accompanies professor imagination splicing your inventive juices.

Often professors, teachers, coaches, or trainers are provided a range of written materials (generally textbooks) that may fit a module or two of the desired material by the instructor.  We often find ourselves researching many articles to supplant the selected text rather than to supplement. A major benefit of writing OER material is that it provides a starting point and peers may add to the submitted material. Herein lies one of my personal interest, I would encourage my peers to provide a counterpoint section for each chapter provided within this material.  Thus, we may collectively add to the critical thinking cycle of our future practitioners

Table of Contents
  • Introduction/Preface
  • Chapter 1  Why Ethics?
  • Chapter 2  Virtue Ethics And Ethical Systems
  • Chapter 3  Laws/Crime/Deviance & Ethics
  • Chapter 4  Corruption in the System
  • Chapter 5  Ethical Leadership
  • Chapter 6  Criminal v. Racial Profiling & Surveillance
  • Chapter 7 Mid-Term Evaluation. A Case Study: Building a Better York Policy:  Project Component
  • Chapter 8  A Case Study: Pennsylvania Department of Corrections Review.
  • Chapter 9  Social Policy in Criminal Justice Systems
  • Chapter 10 Public v. Private Policing: The Ethical Dilemma
  • Chapter 11  Police Programs and Homeland Security/Hometown Security
  • Chapter 12 Finding Ethical People from an Unethical Society
  • Chapter 13 Criminal Profiling: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
  • Chapter 14  An Examination of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution: Has it Aided Crafting Social Policy in America, Specifically Equally?


Mark Whitman

Dr. Mark Whitman has been a life-long trainer and more recently a professor in Criminal Justice in higher education. An experienced professional with over 28 years’ as a Police Chief, or Police Commissioner in a  near 40 year law enforcement career and 20 years (Full-Time and Adjunct) in higher education, he has served fellow law enforcement professionals in leadership roles as the President of the NYS Association of Chiefs of Police and on the Executive Board of the International Association of Chiefs of Police as the Chair of the State Association of Chiefs of Police. Dr. Whitman, then Chief Whitman served as the Chair of the NYS Municipal Police Training Council during the introduction of the Americans with Disability Act. He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam conflict, and was selected as the Field First in his training company. He completed Non-Commissioned Officer training during Basic Training and served his time at the United States Army Retraining Brigade, Ft. Riley, KS, a military work release correctional facility.

Dr. Whitman received numerous training certifications during his long law enforcement career and was a certified police trainer.  His formal education includes:

Capella University, Minneapolis, MN

Ph.D. in Public Safety Leadership (2013) – Graduate with Distinction

Alfred University Alfred, NY

M.P.S. in Community Service Administration (1980)

Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL

B.A.S. in Social Science (1972)

Monroe Community College, Rochester, NY

Associates Degree in Police Science (1971)

Graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy 165th and Law Enforcement Executive Development 43rd Class.