Criminal Justice Trends: Breaking Point Between Crime And Law Enforcement

1513 Words7 Pages
Criminal Justice Trends Paper Jamar Jackson CJA/484 July 8, 2012 Shane Evans Abstract When we near to the close of the century in criminal justice, we are beginning a breaking point between crime and law enforcement which has been going on for about three decades. From reason that we do not understand entirely in the 1960s the downward course of the crime rate had been tracking since the 1930s came to a close. Reported crimes to the police begin to increase, police started arresting more lawbreakers, tougher laws were being created by lawmakers resulting in tougher penalties for those who decided to break the law, there was an increased number of cases being prosecuted by our court system, an increased number in the population in…show more content…
In the late 1960s the illegal use of drugs began to be more widespread and the government acted very aggressively with a broad program of arresting drug law violator, having a large number of the drug law violators incarcerated, patrol the borders in an attempt to stop drug smuggling, forming an alliance with other countries to assist in shutting down criminal organizations that manufacture and distribute drugs, and mounting efforts to reduce demand for drugs. The increase of violent crimes committed by juveniles rose at a fast rate. Violent crimes committed by juveniles had reached its epidemic proportions by the late 1980s. The growing market for cocaine and its derivative crack was tied in the 1980s and the easy access to guns. Young people started to get involved in street gangs by working as street soldiers in drug distribution networks, arming themselves, and began to kill each other at a high rate. Fortunately, this event began to slow down in the mid-1990s. Violent crimes have been implicated with alcohol abuse in a substantial proportion of violent crimes. Although not given the concentrated public attention that abuse of illegal drugs has received, it continues to threaten public…show more content…
The National Organization for Victims Assistance (NOVA) was formed to promote a victim-oriented perspective in the administration of criminal justice because several special interest groups were trouble by the psychological and financial burdens that crime inflicted on its victims. The needs of victims and the most effective way of addressing them were investigates by a Presidential Task force on Victims of Crime that was formed in 1982. The Department of Justice created the Office of Victims of Crime to promote victim’s rights. The Crime Victims Fund to help for victim’s compensation and service program was established by the Federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) in 1984, awarding over $500 million in 1996 alone. Victim-Witness assistance program were by jurisdiction throughout the 1970s and 1980s, within prosecutor offices to advocate for victims in the criminal justice system. Parents of murdered children, elderly victims, and victims of drunk drivers, rapists, and batterers were special victims groups that were assisted by new national organization and thousands of community-based groups. Victims notification of the status of court proceedings, victim impact statements during sentencing hearings, and victim

More about Criminal Justice Trends: Breaking Point Between Crime And Law Enforcement

Open Document