Ethical Justice Chapter Fourteen: Professional Organizations in the Criminal Justice System

Professional Organizations in the Criminal Justice System A profession is defined by its ability to set a basic standard for competent workmanship and compel its members to conform. This is accomplished by the formation of a professional organization – a group with clear membership guidelines that establish terms of professionalization, and pledges sanction or expulsion for those unable or unwilling to meet those terms.

The Role of the Professional Organization in CJ Professionalization is the process by which any trade or vocation becomes professional, characterized by a high degree of competence with respect to domain specific knowledge, skills, and abilities. The following efforts can be served by membership in a professional organization: Student support; Professional development and advancement; and Informing the CJ system

Regulating the CJ Professions Professional organizations help regulate their respective disciplines by setting basic standards that members are expected to meet or abide. This includes the following: Requirements for membership Practice standards - the fundamental rules that set the limits of evidentiary interpretation, offering a standard for evaluating acceptable work habits and application of methods. General knowledge exams

Regulating the CJ Professions Continued: Professional certification - the process of establishing that a practitioner has achieved a particular level of knowledge, skill, and ability as demonstrated by coursework, instruction, and/or supervised experience. Continuing education A strong code of ethics

Professional Organizations v. Social Clubs A social club is an organization that serves a group of like-minded individuals within a profession, without actual member accountability and without advancing the profession as a whole. Indicators that a criminal justice organization is a social club, and not a legitimate professional association, includes one or more of the following: 1.The organization does not have clearly defined educational requirements for the admission of new members; 2.The organization does not have established practice standards for members; 3.The organization does not have an established code of conduct for members;

Professional Organizations v. Social Clubs 3.The organization does not publish its code of member conduct publicly; 4.The organization does not have a mechanism for submitting complaints against members for misconduct; 5.The organization does not enforce, or selectively enforces, its code of conduct; 6.The organization only allows law enforcement, retired law enforcement, or those aligned with law enforcement, to join; 7.The organization does NOT allow those in law enforcement, or those aligned with law enforcement, to join; 8.The organization allows convicted felons to join or retain membership; 9.The organization allows non-professionals to join.

Credential Mills A credential mill refers to organizations that sell credentials to members for a fee, without a background check or the verified demonstration of knowledge, skills, and ability. In other words, members of such organizations are not required to earn credentials in any meaningful or demonstrable fashion.

Credential Mills Indicators that a criminal justice organization is a credential mill, and not a legitimate professional association, include one or more of the following: 1.An emphasis on organizational marketing over practitioner experience; 2.The promise of receiving professional credentials in a short period of time, or in no time at all; 3.The ability to receive professional credentials based on life experience, without coursework, training, or subsequent examination; 4.Little or no information is available regarding established credentialing curricula;

Credential Mills 5.Little or no information is available regarding instructors; 6.Little or no interaction with instructors or those signing off on credentials; 7.Little or no information regarding other members; 8.No request for applicant resumes or places of employment; 9.Little or no background check into member applications.