Informed consent

Informed consent is affirmed by the Nuremberg code adopted after world war two. The code prohibits reckless and nonconsensual experimentation of human subjects. Use of human subjects is especially common in criminal justice research and presents a potential danger because of the researchers knowledge and the situational authority. Criminal
justice research place little importance on research ethics, a situation that has exposed many researchers to legal consequences. A code of ethics covers the lack of an adequate guide in criminal justice research. The standards set in the code of ethics aims to eliminate the potential risk to participants through informed consent (Fuller, 2010).
Gained informed consent is necessary in criminal research and can benefit the researcher in several ways. Consent can render permissible what would otherwise be a violation of individual rights. Research methodologies requiring human participation in the very least involving dedicating personal time, which is impinge of personal liberty and thus require consent. Signing a consent form is a widely accepted method of obtaining consent and protects the researcher from subsequent indictment by participants (Fuller, 2010). Informed consent also encourages respondents to participant in the research because the research is obligated to protect the information collected to protect the participants from any legal proceedings. This is especially important in criminal justice research because it involves disclosing of information relevant to criminal and dissident activity.
Respecting an individuals right to choose is at the core of ethical research, however, the ethical requirement of informed consent for research render covert research impermissible. By definition, covert research cannot involve informed consent because informing the participants render the research overt. This kind of research should be conducted where, overt observation would alter the results, and the issue in question is important to the society. Observational studies are another kind of research that involves less intrusion and arguably does not require informed consent (Fuller, 2010). Though not common in criminal research, observational studies impinge less upon the research subjects.
 References
Fuller, J. R. (2010). Theories of Crime. Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents (2nd ed.)