Corey – I’m a little hung up on the idea that the IRB and ACJS do not “effectively perform their duties”. Because you haven’t cited any resources in your post, it is hard for me to follow up on your claim objectively. It sounds like something pulled from an opinion article about the entities.
That said, the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) provide ethical standards by which research must be conducted. Pulling directly from ACJS Code of Ethics, it reads, “Members of the Academy respect the rights, dignity and worth of all people. The worth of people gives them the right to demand that information about them remain confidential. In their work, members of the Academy are particularly careful to respect the rights, dignity and worth of criminal justice personnel, crime victims and those accused or convicted of committing crimes, as well as of students and research subjects.” (2017). The instance you bring up about the Simon Fraser University student sounds like a failure on the part of the University. There should have been a legal team assembled, either on the part of the student or the University, to ensure that the student was properly defended in the scrutiny of their work. That isn’t an issue with the ACJS or IRB, in my opinion. Furthermore, it would be improper for a research entity to provide consultation to a researcher concerning legal matters regarding their study. The ACJS and others are merely providing guidelines for the research itself – when it is ethical, it is legal. Unethical things are illegal (generally speaking).
Can you elaborate?