Policy Process Paper On The Criminal Justice System

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Policy Process Paper The public counts on the criminal justice system to keep them safe from harm and to maintain order in our society. The criminal justice system is expected to separate the guilty from the innocent and to meet the basic aims of our laws. It must meet the need to put the truly dangerous individuals out of action. The criminal justice system is expected to promote retribution and deterrence for criminals. The public “expect the criminal justice system and criminal law to be fair” (American Bar Association, n.d., para.1) in their punishment and judgment of those accused of crimes. They are also expected to rehabilitate those convicted of crimes. The public expects the criminal justice system to help those who have completed…show more content…
Judges in some cases are required to hand down mandatory minimum sentences by the laws set forth by Legislature. Reducing the use of these sentences will allow the judges to adjudicate cases according to the facts of each individual case. These mandatory sentences impede a judge from handing down penalties that are not fair or severe enough. The criminal justice system has been proven ineffective using this mandatory minimum sentencing. Judicial prudence should be returned and is necessary. Fairness in the process should be promoted (Richardson, 2011). The United States criminal justice system is over-reliant on imprisonment. Sentencing reform must be considered by legislation to repeal some of the mandatory minimum sentencing laws (American Bar Association, n.d.). Putting some of the sentencing at the discretion to the judges may keep our prisons from becoming overcrowded. Overcrowded prisons not only cost more to maintain but they also force states to release the truly bad criminals out into society before they…show more content…
There are always studies being conducted with different criminal justice systems. Comparing them to one another, taking suggestions for each of them, and comparing them to the Federal criminal justice system and Federal policies will help with the improvement. State and local agencies are committed to conducting more of these studies with Bureau of Justice Assistance. These studies will include law enforcement agencies as well as non-law enforcement agencies. Future evaluations will cover communitywide problems. The goal “improved quantitative and qualitative measures of performance” (Bureau of Justice Assistance, 2000, p. 87). The continuation of these studies will help to fine-tune law enforcement agencies and gather facts for the changing of Legislation that will help to improve the criminal justice system instead of hindering it (Bureau of Justice Assistance,
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