Officers are also very likely to internalize powerful sub cultural norms, a main one being loyalty to other officers. There is also a lack of procedure for handling excessive force complaints against officers. The need to use force is one of the most demanding and critical decisions that a law enforcement officer must make. They may include other “non-deadly” protective instruments, like expendable batons, OC sprays, and flashlights, or any other means that can be used by an officer. With the media and
The American criminal justice system needs for an effective strategy to company crime has been a debatable issue for many years. The primary goals can be in two different types of categories. The first is that the law needs to be enforced and at the same time social order needs to be maintained. The second is the need to protect the American people from injustice. Both the crime control model and the due process model have a common goal in seeing that these goals are met, but there are differences in the ways that these goals are met, but these models tend to be in conflict of one another.
In line with this, the investigative department requests warrants to search for evidence, but they must be approved by the judicial branch. (Lynch, 1998) Most defenses that invoke the exclusionary rule are based on the lack of or improper application of search warrants. Those that support the continued use of the exclusionary rule argue that there must be this line between the police officers that are often emotionally involved in a case, and an impartial third party that can objectively review the evidence. Without this safeguard, citizens would have little protection from overzealous police officers who could search their homes and persons with almost anything serving as probable cause in their opinion. The fact that officers know that illegally obtained (but true) evidence will quite possibly be thrown out, and therefore dangerous criminals will be freed, will encourage them to follow the proper procedures.
These limitations are shown regularly in the areas of juries and victims’ rights. Our laws may not always be enforceable and at times, victim’s rights may be turned away to promote resource efficiency. Juries and the jury system are one of the most controversial and publicly highlighted issues within the criminal trial process. In the modern era where many pieces of evidence involve technology and forensics, some jurors may have difficulty understanding evidence due to the increasing technical nature of some cases. This is shown in an article written by Justice Kevin Duggan in the Sydney Morning Herald (July 25, 2011) where he states that “criminal cases are becoming too complicated for juries”.
Victims’ rights are shifting rapidly as more advocates are seeing the need for the victims’ voice to be heard. They are pushing the criminal justice professionals and getting laws to change. However, there is still work to be done. While I feel that there have been many changes made, I don’t think that it’s enough just yet. The public needs to get involved more in changing what we all should see are flaws that still remain in the system.
The development of rational policies in criminal justice is complicated by conflicting values—our commitment to due process of law and our determination to fight crime. Public opinion has long held that the court system is overly concerned with the rights of accused criminals. A majority of Americans believe that the Supreme Court has gone too far in protecting the rights of defendants in criminal cases and that the courts are more concerned with protecting these rights than the rights of victims. Yet although society needs the protection of the police, it is equally important to protect society from the police. Arbitrary searches, seizures, and arrests; imprisonment without hearing or trial; forced confessions; beatings and torture; tainted
My personal stance on the current state of victims’ rights in America is that even though many states have changed their legislation for victims’ rights and protecting victims there is still work that needs to be done to protect the victims and their families from harm. In my opinion the 2004 Crime Victims’ Rights Act has been successful with out it there would be many more victims and families that would have to suffer and could have been victimized all over again had they not been granted protection from the accused, rights to notification, right not to be excluded from proceedings, right to speak at criminal justice proceedings, right to consult with the prosecuting attorney, right to restitution, right to a proceeding and free from unreasonable
When misconduct or mistakes are made it can have very damaging effects on individuals and their lives, but also to the credibility of the criminal justice system. This can happen and does on occasion (Meyer & Grant, 2003). How can we improve consistency in how prosecutors accept case work? When assessing possible improvements to the consistency of how prosecutors accept case work, there are no simple answers. Putting strict demands on what a prosecutor
If someone has been in a lot of trouble with the law, they probably aren’t going to have very many good things to say about police officers. Where as if somebody is related to or close to a police officer, they might have a better perception. Police-community relations are very important for the police and for the community. The community needs to be able to trust the police and vice-versa. If an individual has a bad experience with a cop, they are going to tell everybody they know and therefore those people might form negative perceptions based off of that.
Challenging Racial Disparities Sara Plautz Cultural Diversity Issues in Criminal Justice CJA 344 July 25, 2011 Christopher Moreno Challenging Racial Disparities The wide-ranging effects of disparity in the criminal justice system are explored heavily. Race differences in criminal issues and racial patterns have been deep important topics open for discussion. The mystery is finding a better resolution for disparity issues in society. There are many challenges that impact the disproportionate rates of colored people in diverse neighborhoods. In our society it is assumed we are all treated equally, but in fact many times this is not true.