In criminal justice, process and procedure is important. If proper discretion is not used, lives are affected and departments within criminal justice, like the police, are affected as well. If improper discretion is used at any point during the process, there are consequences, and one of those consequences is the use of a federal consent decree to hold those in criminal justice accountable.

It requires departments to reform for the good of the department and the communities they serve. These decrees require all individuals in a given department to examine themselves, particularly their processes, procedures, and, in many cases, ethical standards. Examples provided inEthical Dilemmas and Decisions in Criminal Justiceillustrate the importance you must place on procedural justice as an employee in criminal justice.

Defends your opinion regarding the following questions:

• What are procedural justice and federal consent decrees? Give examples of their use in current policing, such as use of force policies, in major cities like Los Angeles and smaller cities like Ferguson, Missouri.

• Do federal consent decrees impact the principle of procedural justice positively or negatively? Include reasoning and examples to support your opinion in your explanation. cite 2 references