The Aspects of Criminal Justice - Term Paper Example

The Aspects of Criminal Justice As a child, I was a firm believer in the power of justice, of the continuing struggle between good and evil, and the need to uphold what is right, just, and true. In all forms of entertainment, goodness always triumphs over evil. Those who are in the wrong get punished. The righteous gets rewarded in some way or another. It was clearly shown and depicted what was correct and upright, as well as what is considered improper. But now, times have changed. Now are the times that there is cloudiness over the boundaries of right and wrong, which makes the wrong seems right, and the right seems terribly wrong. The delineation between the right side and the left side becomes blurred, and people seem to swerve between “what must be done for the common good” and “what feels good for me”. These are the times that “being right” consist of what most of the people “think” are right, which may or may not be truly right in the eyes of the law, and of justice. But I still believe that there is more to this than what is seemingly present all around us: the media, the communities we live in, the schools we attend to, what our parents or elders taught us. I believe that justice is not just an abstract idea, but is consisted of several steps that need to be undertaken. In a perfect world, there would be no need for people to maintain order and peace, for all people would understand what must be done in order to keep things smoothly sailing. But alas, the truth is that there is always the need to keep people in line. Crime is the act of doing something or not doing something by which the law dictates (Cole & Smith 7) Committing a crime entails the perpetrator to undergo a process that is under the concept called Criminal justice. Criminal justice is defined as a system with different components that deal with violations against the law (Tischler 175). It is composed of personnel and procedures for arrest, trial and punishment. Criminal justice can also be categorized into three main categories: the police (consists of the personnel and the procedures for making the arrest), the courts (which conduct the trials) and the prisons (provide punishment and rehabilitation/correctional programs for the charged criminals) (Siegel 5). Different academic disciplines contribute to the criminal justice system for it to be successful way of keeping order and peace in a community, in a state, and in a country. It is also a multidisciplinary area that is built on the knowledge and expertise of different kinds of people (Cole & Smith 8). In the United States, the criminal justice system uses a set of methods that objectively assess an alleged perpetrator of crime, or a suspect on whether he or she is guilty of committing a crime or not. The arrest of the suspected criminal by the police comes first. Since the police have the authority of enforcing specific laws, investigate crimes, and search people, vicinities or buildings, they also have the authority of arresting people that they caught doing of have done committing a crime (Tischler 176). But aside from having authority, police are also tasked with the responsibility of enforcing written laws to the locality that they have jurisdiction on (Siegel 10). They must also respond to any forms of disturbances as well as to testify in court should a suspect must be tried and/or sentenced. They have a stressful life, having to encounter hostile or violent people and putting them under submission in order to keep everyone else safe. Also, their lives are always at stake since danger is not always eminent and that one swift move such a gunshot or a stab in the chest could end their life. In order to preserve safety and order in a given place, the police force must watch the places of their jurisdiction, not discounting holidays or weekends. Also, the public trust is held by the police, so whatever they do would be held against them, or would be appreciated by the people they protect, which would give them the pride and honor of being able to protect the people (Tischler 175). Upon the arrest of a suspected criminal after the investigations of the police yield results, if there is substantial evidence they are brought into court, charged with the alleged crime they committed, and would have to prove their innocence or guilt in committing a crime (Cole & Smith 94). Prosecutors would first produce defendants upon finding out that the suspected criminal indeed committed a crime (Samaha 9). After charges are pressed, and the defendants are tried in court, the results would dictate if the defendant would become offenders (guilty) or not. In the United States, the court consists of a separate judicial system for each state in addition to a national system (Cole & Smith 91). The lower courts, or the state or federal courts are where state or federal crimes committed are tried (Tischler 176). Supreme Court is the highest court, where all appeals are sent, and which corrects all errors committed in the state or federal courts, should there be any doubt to the validity of the decision-making process done in the state or federal courts (Samaha 9, & Tischler 176). Although the state court and the federal court belong to the lower court systems, they are separate entities. Cases are not appealed from a state court to a lower federal court, and the former is not bound by the decisions of the lower federal court, but all appeals may be sent to the Supreme Court should contests be made (Tischler 176). For the court to be able to sentence a suspected criminal there is a process called formal decision-making which consists of the application of the written rules of formal criminal justice (Samaha 12). Decision-making can either be legitimate, which produces legal, fair and smart decisions, with criteria such as seriousness of the offense, dangerousness of the offender, amount and quality of the facts in the case, or relationship of the victim to the offender. Decision-making can also be discriminatory, which creates illegal, discriminatory or unfair decisions based on the race, sex, age and class of the defendant (14). Records regarding the case such as biometric data, photographic images, documents, citations and other material in relation to the crime committed are kept either in paper files or via electronic database by the police (Moriarty 7). These would prove to be useful in case objections to decisions are made, or if new information would come up that would prove the court wrong. Also, if the offender has other pending cases or if he or she escaped, or committed another crime in the future, personal details that are saved on an online database would be much more accessible. Upon the decision being made by the court, the defendant can either go free, given probation or a sanction or be sent into prison. In case of punishments that are not enough to put an offender in prison, probation or sanctions can replace imprisonment. These cost less than being sent in prison, and would just entail the offenders to do activities while reporting to a probation officer. Probations are less restrictive than sanctions, but both need not be in prison to be undertaken (Cole & Smith 439). Probation indicates that the offender must obey certain rules and regulations in order to remain in the society (Siegel 533). The offenders may have a variety of restrictions such as house arrest, community service, boot camp, home confinement, among others (Cole & Smith 439). Sanctions are much like probations, but are given to offenders by the public (Tischler 157). They can be negative (frowns, ridicule) but can be also rewards for good behavior (smiles, pat on the back). Both offenders under probation and sanctioned still live within the society (Siegel 547). Prison is a place where an offender is placed in order not to commit any more crimes in the society. It is a state or a correctional facility that houses convicted criminals sentenced to confinement which is typically a year (Siegel 12). Depending on the severity of the crime, the offender may stay inside prison longer than a year. This is mainly to teach offenders that crime does not pay, and to lower down crime rates by reducing criminal activity (24). Prisoners have not much freedom whatsoever, and must conform to the rules being implemented by the jail or prison managers (Cole & Smith 537). While being behind bars, prisoners are given the chances to learn and correct their behavior so that once they get back into society; they would be able to live normal lives (Cole & Smith 537). After the prisoner has served the sentence, he or she may be released and reintegrated back into the society. Although this is a source of stigma for the newly released prisoner in the beginning, they can eventually be reoriented to a more productive life with other citizens while avoiding the commitment of new crimes (Siegel 552). For everything that I have mentioned, I still am a believer in the pursuit of justice and of upholding the law. But I also believe that everyone can have second chance in life, and the justice system can give offenders a new chance in living a productive life, after serving their sentences. I wish to become part of the criminal justice system, in order to serve the people and keep peace and order in my own way. In line with this is my intent of studying criminal justice not just as my chosen profession, but as my lifetime commitment to this country. The law consists of what is right, of what moral and social obligations must be done for the benefit of most of the citizens, if not all citizens of our state, for without the law and the order that accompanies it, we would be all under endless chaos which would be our ruin. I may not be prepared with enough knowledge to become a patriot of true justice right now, but with this in mind, I am still determined to become fully armed with the capacity of understanding fully the aspects of criminal justice, of knowing what is right, what needs to be done and what steps are needed to set things in their right places. For I believe that justice should be served, not just to one person but to all who deserves it. Works Cited Cole, George F. & Smith, Christopher E. “The American System of Criminal Justice, International Edition”. Belmont, California: Cengage Learning, 2010. Print. Moriarty, Laura J. “Criminal justice technology in the 21st century”. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas Publisher, 2005. Print. Samaha, Joel. “Criminal Justice.” Belmont, CA: Thomson Higher Education, 2006. Print Siegel, Larry J. “Introduction to Criminal Justice”. Belmont, California: Cengage Learning, 2010, Print Tischler, Henry L. “Introduction to Sociology”. Belmont, CA: Thomson Higher Education, 2007. Print Read More