You are a parole officer working on one of your cases. The parolee is waiting for you in the reception area. You read her file and see that the woman is a single mother with three hyperactive, attention deficit-disorder young children and receives no support from her ex-husband. Her mother wants nothing to do with her or the children, as the mother believes "God is punishing her." She works as a topless dancer but hates it. She continues dancing because it pays the bills so well. To deal with stress, you know she smokes marijuana fairly regularly. Obviously, this is a violation of probation. However, aside from this, she is meeting all other conditions of her probation.

If you file a violation report on her, she will go back to prison. You know she is doing the best she can with her kids, is very involved with their school, and they are strongly bonded to her. You worry about what will happen to the kids.

After reading the scenario above, answer the following questions

1. In this situation, duty, legality, honesty, integrity, loyalty, self-preservation, and trust are all at play. Select two values you feel are most important to this scenario and explain why.
2. Is there any benefit from filing a violation report? Explain.
3. Do you have the discretion to choose not to file a violation report, or are you ethically bound as an officer to strictly apply the conditions of her probation? Explain.

Next, answer the following questions in at least two paragraphs.

• After reviewing the different aspects of the criminal justice field and the ethical dilemmas present, what are the themes from each ethical dilemma?
• What are your personal ethical responsibilities and vulnerabilities as a criminal justice professional, regardless of your position?