Criminal Justice is the system of practices and institutions ofgovernments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigatingcrime, or sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties andrehabilitation efforts. Those accused of crime have protections against abuse of investigatory and prosecution powers.
Contents
3
Law
3.1
Policing
3.2
3.2 Courts
3.3
3.3 Corrections
3.5
5 History
Goals
In the United States, criminal justice policy has been guided by
the 1967 President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of
Justice, which issued a ground-breaking report "The Challenge of Crime in
a Free Society". This report made more than 200 recommendations as part of
a comprehensive approach toward the prevention and fighting of crime. Some of
those recommendations found their way into the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe
Streets Act of 1968. The Commission advocated a "systems"
approach to criminal justice, with improved coordination among law enforcement,
courts, and correctional agencies.[1] The President's Commission defined the criminal
justice system as the means for society to "enforce the standards of
conduct necessary to protect individuals and the community."[2]
The criminal justice system in England and Wales aims to "reduce crime by bringing more
offences to justice, and to raise public confidence that the system is fair and
will deliver for the law-abiding citizen."[3] In Canada, the criminal
justice system aims to balance the goals of crime control and prevention, and
justice (equity, fairness, protection of individual rights).[4] In Sweden, the
overarching goal for the criminal justice system is to reduce crime and
increase the security of the people.[3] Overall, criminal justice plays a huge role
throughout society as a whole in any place.
Law
Law[5] is a system of rules usually enforced through a
set of institutions. The purpose of law is to provide an objective set of rules
for governing conduct and maintaining order in a society.
The oldest known codified law is the Code
of Ur-Nammu, written in the Sumerian language circa 2100 BC-2050 BC.
The preface directly credits the laws to king Ur-Nammu of Ur.
In different parts of the world, law could be established by philosophers or religion. In the
modern world, laws are typically created and enforced by governments. These
codified laws may coexist with or contradict other forms of social control,
such as religious proscriptions, professional rules and ethics, or the cultural
mores and customs of a society.
Within the realm of codified law, there are generally two forms of
law that the courts are concerned with. Civil
laws are rules and
regulations which govern transactions and grievances between individual
citizens. Criminal law is concerned with actions which are dangerous or
harmful to society as a whole, in which prosecution is pursued not by an
individual but rather by the state. The purpose of criminal law is to provide
the specific definition of what constitutes a crime and to prescribe
punishments for committing such a crime. No criminal law can be valid unless it
includes both of these factors. The subject of criminal justice is, of course,
primarily concerned with the enforcement of criminal law.
Criminal justice system
The criminal justice system consists of three main parts: (1) Legislative (create laws); (2) adjudication (courts); and (3) corrections (jails, prisons, probation and parole). In a
criminal justice system, these distinct agencies operate together both under
the rule of law and as the principal means of maintaining the rule of law within society.
Policing
The first contact an offender has with the criminal justice system is usually
with the police (or law enforcement) who investigate a suspected wrong-doing and
make an arrest, but if the suspect is dangerous to the
whole nation, a national level law enforcement agency is called in . When warranted, law enforcement agencies or police
officers are empowered to use force and other forms of legal coercion and means
to effect public and social order. The term is most commonly associated with
police departments of a state that are authorized to exercise thepolice power of that state within a defined legal or
territorial area of responsibility. The word comes from the Latin politia ("civil administration"), which itself derives from the Ancient Greek πόλις, for polis ("city").[6] The first police force comparable to the
present-day police was established in 1667 under King Louis
XIV in France, although
modern police usually trace their origins to the 1800 establishment of the Marine
Police in London,
the Glasgow Police, and the Napoleonic police
of Paris.[7][8][9]
Police are primarily concerned with keeping the peace and
enforcing criminal law based on their particular mission and
jurisdiction. Formed in 1908 the Federal Bureau of Investigation began as an entity which could investigate and
enforce specific federal laws as an investigative and "law enforcement agency" in the United States;[10] this, however, has constituted only a small
portion of overall policing activity.[11] Policing has included an array of activities in
different contexts, but the predominant ones are concerned with order maintenance and the provision of services.[12]
Courts
The courts serve as the venue where disputes are then settled and
justice is administered. With regard to criminal justice, there are a number of
critical people in any court setting. These critical people are referred to as
the courtroom work group and include both professional and non professional
individuals. These include the judge, prosecutor,
and the defense attorney.
The judge, or magistrate, is a person, elected or appointed, who is
knowledgeable in the law, and whose function is to objectively administer the
legal proceedings and offer a final decision to dispose of a case.
In the U.S. and in a growing number of nations, guilt or innocence (although in the U.S. a jury can
never find a defendant "innocent" but rather "not guilty")
is decided through the adversarial
system. In this system, two parties will both offer their version of
events and argue their case before the court (sometimes before a judge or panel of
judges, sometimes before a jury). The case should be decided in favor of the
party who offers the most sound and compelling arguments based on the law as
applied to the facts of the case.
The prosecutor, or district attorney, is a lawyer who brings charges against a person, persons or
corporate entity. It is the prosecutor's duty to explain to the court what
crime was committed and to detail what evidence has been found which incriminates the accused.
The prosecutor should not be confused with a plaintiff or plaintiff's counsel. Although both serve the
function of bringing a complaint before the court, the prosecutor is a servant
of the state who makes accusations on behalf of the state in criminal proceedings,
while the plaintiff is the complaining party in civil proceedings.
A defense attorney counsels the accused on the legal process,
likely outcomes for the accused and suggests strategies. The accused, not the
lawyer, has the right to make final decisions regarding a number of fundamental
points, including whether to testify, and to accept a plea offer or demand a
jury trial in appropriate cases. It is the defense attorney's duty to represent
the interests of the client, raise procedural and evidentiary issues, and hold
the prosecution to its burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Defense counsel may challenge evidence presented by the prosecution or present
exculpatory evidence and argue on behalf of their client. At trial, the defense
attorney may attempt to offer a rebuttal to the prosecutor's accusations.
In the U.S., an accused person is entitled to a government-paid
defense attorney if he or she is in jeopardy of losing his or her life and/or
liberty. Those who cannot afford a private attorney may be provided one by the
state. Historically, however, the right to a defense attorney has not always
been universal. For example, in Tudor England criminals accused of treason were not permitted to offer arguments in their
defense. In many jurisdictions, there is no right to an appointed attorney, if
the accused is not in jeopardy of losing his or her liberty.
The final determination of guilt or innocence is typically made by
a third party, who is supposed to be disinterested. This function may be
performed by a judge, a panel of judges, or a jury panel composed of unbiased citizens. This
process varies depending on the laws of the specific jurisdiction. In some
places the panel (be it judges or a jury) is required to issue a unanimous
decision, while in others only a majority vote is required. In America, this process depends on
the state, level of court, and even agreements between the prosecuting and
defending parties. Some nations do not use juries at all, or rely on
theological or military authorities to issue verdicts.
Some cases can be disposed of without the need for a trial. In
fact, the vast majority are. If the accused confesses his or her guilt, a
shorter process may be employed and a judgment may be rendered more quickly.
Some nations, such as America, allow plea
bargaining in which the accused
pleads guilty, nolo contendere or not guilty, and may accept a diversion
program or reduced punishment, where the prosecution's case is weak or in
exchange for the cooperation of the accused against other people. This reduced
sentence is sometimes a reward for sparing the state the expense of a formal
trial. Many nations do not permit the use of plea bargaining, believing that it
coerces innocent people to plead guilty in an attempt to avoid a harsh
punishment.
The entire trial process, whatever the country, is fraught with
problems and subject to criticism. Bias and discrimination form an ever-present threat to an objective
decision. Any prejudice on the part of the lawyers, the judge, or jury
members threatens to destroy the court's credibility. Some people argue that
the often Byzantine rules governing courtroom conduct and processes restrict a
layman's ability to participate, essentially reducing the legal process to a
battle between the lawyers. In this case, the criticism is that the decision is
based less on sound justice and more on the lawyer's eloquence and charisma.
This is a particular problem when the lawyer performs in a substandard manner.
The jury process is another area of frequent criticism, as there are few
mechanisms to guard against poor judgment or incompetence on the part of the
layman jurors. Judges themselves are very subject to bias subject to things as
ordinary as the length of time since their last break[13].
Manipulations of the court system by defense and prosecution
attorneys, law enforcement as well as the defendants have occurred and there
have been cases where justice was denied.[14] [15]
Corrections
Offenders are then turned over to the correctional authorities,
from the court system after the accused has been found guilty. Like all other
aspects of criminal justice, the administration ofpunishment has taken many different forms throughout
history. Early on, when civilizations lacked the resources necessary to
construct and maintain prisons, exile and execution were the primary forms of punishment.
Historically shame punishments and exile have also been used as forms of censure.
The most publicly visible form of punishment in the modern era is
the prison.
Prisons may serve as detention centers for prisoners after trial. For
containment of the accused, jails are used. Early prisons were used primarily
to sequester criminals and little thought was given to living conditions within
their walls. In America, the Quaker movement is commonly credited with establishing the idea that
prisons should be used to reform criminals. This can also be seen as a critical
moment in the debate regarding the purpose of punishment.
Punishment (in the form of prison time) may serve a variety of
purposes. First, and most obviously, the incarceration of criminals removes
them from the general population and inhibits their ability to perpetrate
further crimes. Many societies also view prison terms as a form of revenge or retribution, and any harm or discomfort the
prisoner suffers is "payback" for the harm they caused their victims.
A new goal of prison punishments is to offer criminals a chance to be
rehabilitated. Many modern prisons offer schooling or job training to prisoners
as a chance to learn a vocation and thereby earn a legitimate living when they
are returned to society. Religious institutions also have a presence in many
prisons, with the goal of teaching ethics and instilling a sense of morality in
the prisoners. If a prisoner is released before his time is served, he is
released as a parole. This means that they are released, but the restrictions
are greater than that of someone on probation.
There are numerous other forms of punishment which are commonly
used in conjunction with or in place of prison terms. Monetary fines are one of the oldest forms of punishment still
used today. These fines may be paid to the state or to the victims as a form of
reparation. Probation and house
arrest are also sanctions which
seek to limit a person's mobility and his or her opportunities to commit crimes
without actually placing them in a prison setting. Furthermore, many
jurisdictions may require some form of public or community service as a form of
reparations for lesser offenses. In Corrections, the Department ensures
court-ordered, pre-sentence chemical dependency assessments, related Drug
Offender Sentencing Alternative specific examinations and treatment will occur
for offenders sentenced to Drug Offender Sentencing Alternative in compliance
with RCW 9.94A.660.
Execution or capital
punishment is still used around the
world. Its use is one of the most heavily debated aspects of the criminal
justice system. Some societies are willing to use executions as a form of
political control, or for relatively minor misdeeds. Other societies reserve
execution for only the most sinister and brutal offenses. Others still have
outlawed the practice entirely, believing the use of execution to be
excessively cruel or hypocritical.
Academic discipline
The functional study of criminal justice is distinct from criminology, which
involves the study of crime as a social phenomenon, causes of crime, criminal
behavior, and other aspects of crime. It emerged as an academic discipline in
the 1920s, beginning with Berkeley police chiefAugust Vollmer who established a criminal justice program at
the University of California, Berkeley in 1916.[16] Vollmer's work was carried on by his student, O.W. Wilson, who led efforts to professionalize
policing and reduce corruption. Other
programs were established in the United States at Indiana University, Michigan State University, San Jose State University, and the University of Washington.[17] As of 1950, criminal justice students were
estimated to number less than 1,000.[citation needed] Until the 1960s, the primary focus of criminal
justice in the United States was on policing and police science.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, crime rates soared and social
issues took center stage in the public eye. A number of new laws and studies
focused federal resources on researching new approaches to crime control. The Warren Court (the Supreme Court under Chief Justice Earl
Warren), issued a series of rulings which redefined citizen's rights
and substantially altered the powers and responsibilities of police and the
courts. The Civil Rights Era offered significant legal and ethical challenges
to the status quo.
In the late 1960s, with the establishment of the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA) and associated policy changes that
resulted with the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe
Streets Act of 1968. The LEAA provided grants for criminology research, focusing on social
aspects of crime. By the 1970s, there were 729 academic programs in criminology
and criminal justice in the United States.[17]Largely
thanks to the Law Enforcement Education
Program, criminal justice students numbered over 100,000 by 1975.
Over time, scholars of criminal justice began to include criminology, sociology,
and psychology,
among others, to provide a more comprehensive view of the criminal justice
system and the root causes of crime. Criminal justice studies now combine the
practical and technical policing skills with a study of social deviance as a
whole.
Criminal justice degree programs at four-year institutions
typically include coursework in statistics, methods of research, criminal
justice, policing, U.S court systems, criminal courts, corrections, community
corrections, criminal procedure, criminal law, victimology, juvenile justice,
and a variety of special topics. A number of universities offer a Bachelor of Criminal Justice.
History
The modern criminal justice system has evolved since ancient times, with new forms of punishment,
added rights for offenders and victims, and policing reforms. These developments have reflected
changing customs, political
ideals, and economic conditions. In ancient times through the Middle Ages, exile was a common form of punishment. During the Middle Ages, payment
to the victim (or the victim's family), known as wergild, was another
common punishment, including for violent crimes. For those who could not afford
to buy their way out of punishment, harsh penalties included various forms of corporal
punishment. These included mutilation, branding, and flogging,
as well asexecution.
Though a prison, Le Stinche, existed as early as the 14th century in Florence, Italy,[18] incarceration was not widely used until the 19th century.
Correctional reform in the United States was first initiated by William Penn,
towards the end of the 17th century. For a time,Pennsylvania's
criminal code was revised to forbid torture and other forms of cruel punishment, with jails and prisons replacing corporal punishment. These reforms
were reverted, upon Penn's death in 1718. Under pressure from a group of Quakers,
these reforms were revived in Pennsylvania toward the end of the 18th century,
and led to a marked drop in Pennsylvania's crime rate. Patrick Colquhoun, Henry Fieldingand
others led significant reforms during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth
centuries.[19]
Modern police
The first modern police force is commonly said to be the London Metropolitan Police, established in 1829 by Sir Robert Peel, which
promoted the preventive role of police as a deterrent to urban crime and disorder.[20] In the United States, police departments were
first established inBoston in 1838, and New
York City in 1844. Early on,
police were not respected by the community, as corruption was rampant.
In the 1920s, led by Berkeley,
California police chief, August Vollmer and O.W.
Wilson, police began to professionalize, adopt new technologies, and
place emphasis on training and professional qualifications of new hires.
Despite such reforms, police agencies were led by highly autocratic leaders,
and there remained a lack of respect between police and the community.
Following urban unrest in the 1960s, police placed more emphasis on community
relations, enacted reforms such as increased diversity in hiring, and many
police agencies adopted community
policing strategies.
In the 1990s, CompStat was developed by the New York Police Department as an information-based system for tracking and mapping crime patterns and trends, and holding police
accountable for dealing with crime problems. CompStat has since been replicated
in police departments across the United States and around the world, with problem-oriented policing, intelligence-led policing, and other information-led
policing strategies also adopted.
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