Ethical Considerations in Criminal Justice Research: Informed Consent and Confidentiality

By Joshua A. Jones
2012, Vol. 4 No. 08 | pg. 2/2 |

However, no legal protections are described which may benefit researchers in their refusal to breach confidentiality agreements. From a purely ethical standpoint, researchers should only breach confidentiality if the subject specifically consents to the breach, the information is already in the public domain, and/or public interest in disclosure outweighs its interest in maintaining confidence. However, criminal justice researchers may be exposed to three different types of legal conflict concerning research ethics: the obligation to report certain crimes as prescribed in mandatory reporting laws; learning of potential or intended future crimes that may harm third parties; and being subpoenaed to testify in court on issues pertaining to a particular research participant or crime.

Beginning with an attempted third-party subpoena of the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University, the secondary legal literature which has developed since the 1970s, particularly out of the civil litigation discovery process, has severely threatened research confidentiality (Bond, 1992; Lowman & Palys, 2001). Consequently, criminal justice researchers have historically resisted requests for confidential research information on ethical grounds, oftentimes without any legal protection.

Confidentiality concerns are even more complex in studies of juvenile offenders. The American juvenile justice system has focused primarily on accountability, recompense, and public safety concerns to the detriment of rehabilitation and research confidence. In the majority of states, juvenile proceedings are open to the public and media, while records are readily disclosed to other public agencies (Webb, 2008). As minor research subjects are not legally autonomous, family and community interests must be factored into the development of confidentiality contracts.

While communities may be legitimately concerned with the development of responsible citizens, families are afforded privacy protection in decisions to raise their children free from unnecessary intrusion. Accordingly, researchers must acknowledge these potentially conflicting interests when presented with confidentiality issues. Therefore, scholars in this area of study are sometimes forced to reveal confidential information in the event that it threatens a third party, but must always consider the potential harm that disclosure may have on the juvenile (Mulvey & Phelps, 1988).

Conclusion

Societal perceptions of marginalized groups have contributed to historical instances of unethical experimentation on vulnerable participants, prompting significant governmental intervention. Subjects are now afforded protection through informed consent requirements, though the potential for coercion has not been eliminated. Moreover, contemporary laws present ethical dilemmas which may force researchers to violate the trust of those who provide self-deprecating information for the purposes of criminological inquiry.

Nonetheless, the validity of criminal justice research hinges upon the protection of stigmatized individuals and confidential information. Professional societies have since adopted codes of ethics in order to safeguard the civil rights of research subjects. However, researchers remain exposed to legal ramifications regarding the refusal to breach confidentiality agreements for the benefit of third parties.


References

Berry, R. M. (2005). Informed consent law, ethics, and practice: From infancy to reflective adolescence. HEC Forum, 17(1), 64-81.

Bhutta, Z. A. (2004). Beyond informed consent. World Health Organization. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 82(10), 771-777.

Bloomberg, S. A. & Wilkins, L. T. (1977). Ethics of research involving human subjects in criminal justice. Crime & Delinquency, 23(4), 435-444. doi:10.1177/001112877702300408

Bond, T. (1992). Confidentiality: Counseling, ethics and the law. Journal of Workplace Learning, 4(4), 4-9.

Doblin, R. (1998). Dr. Leary’s Concord Prison Experiment: A 34-year follow-up study. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 30(4), 419-426.

Erlen, J. A. (2010). Informed consent: Revisiting the issues. Orthopaedic Nursing, 29(4), 276-80.

Juritzen, T. I., Grimen, H., & Heggen, K. (2011). Protecting vulnerable research participants: A Foucault-inspired analysis of ethics committees. Nursing Ethics, 18(5), 640-650.

Kauzlarich, D. & Kramer, R. C. (1998). Crimes of the American nuclear state: At home and abroad. Boston, MA: Northern University Press.

Lowman, J. & Palys, T. (2001). The ethics and law of confidentiality in criminal justice research: A comparison of Canada and the United States. International Criminal Justice Review, 11(1), 1-33. doi:10.1177/105756770101100101

Mulvey, E. P. & Phelps, P. (1988). Ethical balances in juvenile justice research and practice. American Psychologist, 43(1), 65-69.

O’Neill, O. (2003). Some limits of informed consent. Journal of Medical Ethics, 29(1), 4.

Reeder, G. D., Monroe, A. E., & Pryor, J. B. (2008). Impressions of Milgram’s obedient teachers: Situational cues inform inferences about motives and traits. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(1), 1-17.

Reverby, S. M. (2011). “Normal exposure” and inoculation syphilis: A PHS “Tuskegee” doctor in Guatemala, 1946-1948. Journal of Policy History, 23(1), 6-28.

Rhineberger, G. M. (2006). Research methods and research ethics coverage in criminal justice and criminology textbooks. Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 17(2), 279-296, 398.

Richardson, L. S. (2009). When human experimentation is criminal. Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology, 99(1), 89-133.

Salgo v. Leland Stanford Jr. University Board of Trustees, 317 P.2d 170 (Cal. Ct. App. 1957).

Semeniuk, I. (2010). A shocking discovery. Nature, 467(7316), 645.

Waltz, E. (2006). US ponders unlocking the gates to prisoner research. Nature Medicine, 12(1), 3.

Webb, P. (2008). Privacy or publicity: Media coverage and juvenile justice proceedings in the United States. International Journal of Criminal Justice Sciences, 3(1), 1-14.  

Suggested Reading from Inquiries Journal

Suicide is legal in almost every country, but places where euthanasia is permitted remain in the minority (Mishara and Weisstub 2016). In many legislatures, suicide is not a criminal act. It is, however, a criminal act for... MORE»
Advertisement
The American Psychological Association (APA) Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct (2002) have multiple standards on competence. These standards are particularly relevant to clinical psychologists in Illinois given the fact that under The Clinical Psychologist Licensing Act, those licensed in this state are not required to continue... MORE»
The Society of Professional Journalists publishes a code of ethics for journalists; among the rules listed is the journalist’s responsibility to seek the truth and report it and his responsibility to minimize harm (www.spj.org). These two ethical standards frequently come into conflict. When covering a story that will negatively impact the public it is often important for a news organization to break the story as quickly as possible. But they... MORE»
This study aimed to determine if anxiety and depression in individuals are related to deontological ethical decisions, with particular emphasis on the role of reward responsiveness as an underlying principle mediating any... MORE»
Submit to Inquiries Journal, Get a Decision in 10-Days

Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines.

Representing the work of students from hundreds of institutions around the globe, Inquiries Journal's large database of academic articles is completely free. Learn more | Blog | Submit

Follow IJ

Latest in Criminology & Criminal Justice

2019, Vol. 11 No. 01
While media coverage and politicians constantly acknowledge the inadequacies of the criminal justice system in managing victims and offenders of color and low socioeconomic status, the discussion about the failure of the criminal justice system... Read Article »
2018, Vol. 10 No. 01
This paper analyzes the ongoing drug war being waged between Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs), their rivals, and the U.S./Mexican governments. This analysis is conducted through the lens of drug control; namely, through an examination... Read Article »
2011, Vol. 3 No. 01
The search for the criminal personality or super trait has captured both the minds and imaginations of academics and the wider community (Caspi et al., 1994). Partly, this is due to a stubborn aversion to the notion that normal, regular people rape... Read Article »
2015, Vol. 5 No. 1
Published by Clocks and Clouds
Organized crime and terrorist organizations cannot be battled by force alone; anti-money laundering (AML) techniques have become key tools to trace these individuals through their finances. Every country has an interest in implementing internationally... Read Article »
2016, Vol. 6 No. 2
Published by Clocks and Clouds
This paper explores the role of public institutions in reducing or fostering neighborhood violence and crime. Understanding institutional density as a neighborhood effect, this paper examines how ten public institutions and structures influence... Read Article »
2016, Vol. 8 No. 07
Heroin use and the consequences that come from it are skyrocketing around the United States. From major metropolitan areas to rural towns, millions of people are in the throes of opiate addiction. The traditional response to the illegal use and... Read Article »
2016, Vol. 3 No. 1
It is generally accepted among researchers that incidence of crime is on average higher around vacant and abandoned properties because they can serve as safe havens for criminal activity. However, there has been little research investigating the... Read Article »

What are you looking for?

FROM OUR BLOG

7 Big Differences Between College and Graduate School
How to Manage a Group Project (Video)
Presentation Tips 101 (Video)