Criminal Justice Policy Process Amber Pickett AJS/582 February 4, 2013 Joseph Gutheinz Abstract This manuscript will describe the criminal justice policy process. The manuscript will also include the key actors in the criminal justice policy process, the steps involved in the criminal justice policy process, and suggestions to improve the criminal justice policy process. Criminal Justice Policy Process Crime control policies, protocols, standards, and guidelines are the efforts of the government to protect society from criminals by reducing crime through initiating policies to control criminal justice issues. The actors of the criminal justice policy process unite to determine what laws and policies can make society a safe place for everyone (Marion & Oliver, 2012). The criminal justice policy process reflects what is best for society as a whole and not what is best for individuals.
Punishing and following up with rehabilitation through community supervision can help prevent crime. Punishment and community supervision should be based on the type of crime. If the appropriate sentence is issued upon a minor, it can help prevent them from future criminal activity. Each act of violent crime is different and every minor has a different back story. Once the crime is committed, the next step should be having a social worker and therapist speak with the minor.
The officers and management team should be held accountable for the actions that they did not take to help the victim. However, commanders wanted the numbers to decrease to show that implementing this system could reduce crimes. The crime should have reported properly and actions should have been taken. The commanders in the situation should make sure that officers understand the importance of protecting and serving their districts and helping citizens feel safe in their neighborhoods. Instead of staying in a darkened room, the commanders should be training their officers on how to combat this action and help actual reduce the crimes not cover them up.
This is a pivotal part in terms of maintain the functioning of society and to ensure that people don’t go around breaking laws wherever and whenever they want. The criminal justice system is therefore a central part of society and without is society would quickly deteriorate into chaos. There are however a number of issues in the criminal justice system. Some of these issues include false convictions and bias within the courtroom. The tutorial discussion this week was essentially discussing how the system operates and some of the flaws within the system such as false convictions which come about through human error or in extreme cases racial bias (Alberto F. Alesina, Eliana La Ferrara, 2011).
In this essay we will assess the usefulness of these functionalist theories, and look at how it helps us explain crime. One functionalist who tried to explain crime is Merton and his strain theory, the strain theory argues that people engage in the deviant behaviour when they are unable to achieve socially approved goals by legitimate means. Merton explanation combines 2 elements; structural factors- society’s unequal opportunity structure, cultural factors- strong emphasis to achieve goals and weak emphasis on using legit means. Merton uses the strain theory to explain some patterns of crime in society, he argues a person’s positioning in society affects the way they adapt or respond to the strain to anomie. Merton gives 5 different types of adaption; Conformity- the individual accepts socially acceptable goal and achieves it through legitimate means, Innovation- Individual accepts the role of success and wealth but uses illegitimate means to achieve them, Ritualism- Individual give up on legitimate goals but still follow strictly to the rules, Retreatism- Individuals reject legitimate goals and means of achieving them e.g drug addicts, the final type is Rebellion- Individuals reject existing goals and means but replace them with new one in desire to bring about revolutionary change.
Criminal law consists of bodies of regulations and rules that will specify and define the punishments for the wrong committed against society or the state. Criminal laws are enforced on state, federal, and local levels. Criminal laws are in place to maintain some type of standard of conduct more acceptable in society, and to safeguard society from criminals. The purpose of criminal laws is to set a no tolerance standard for criminal behavior, also meaning no crime committed will go unpunished thus an attempt to keep the community crime free and safe. When
He began shifting the Department’s strategy from a reactive, efforts-based approach to a proactive, results-based approach. He focused on preventing crime before it began by sending more officers out on patrol rather than having officers sit in offices waiting to respond to 911 calls. He followed the “broken windows” theory and his police force went after “quality of life” misdemeanors with the belief that enforcing such misdemeanors would lead to a reduction in more serious crimes as well. In addition to pushing officers to be more proactive in the fight against crime, he introduced new performance measures that monitored managers’ plans for action and such action’s results. Prior to these measures, and in other police organizations across the country, work had been gauged in terms of effort (e.g., how many 911 calls were answered).
If police want to gain the respect of their community, they must respect all of the different cultures in the neighborhoods they are working in. If officers refuse to respect these people, this can end up leading to distrust in any police force, the loss of credibility, and the inability to be able to work together effectively. In order to learn from past mistakes in community policing, they must examine their past mistakes and correct
Criminal Procedure Policy Paper CJA/ 364 Criminal Procedure May 29, 2012 Criminal Procedure Policy Paper The role the criminal justice system plays in society is expansive. Criminal justice is designed to keep the public safe, to stop wrongdoing, to punish wrongdoers, and to provide order to society. Given this broad role there will be times when criminal justice will not perform all roles well. This means, of course, that criminal justice will often fail to meet public expectations. Ultimately, the needs people have for criminal justice mean that they believe the criminal justice system should be designed to pursue goals that fulfill
400). Victimization affects each individual in a distinctive way throughout the criminal justice process. The prosecutor must be compassionate to the scale of victimization that transpires in a given case. A victim demands justice be served and is counting on the prosecutor to guarantee vindication. The prosecutor must maintain his or her case with holding the defendant accountable, decreasing the time span and funds spent in a trial, and making certain the victim is reimbursed financially, and helped to be made whole again.