Criminal Justice

Criminal Justice

Criminal Justice

Criminal justice refers to the system in which law is enforced so as to come up with justice a government. It involves prosecution, defense, sentencing as well as incarceration of the suspects of criminal offences. The system portrays the steps that involve the collection of evidences before an individual is rendered guilty of an offence. Punishment or judgment will only be given to an individual once the evidences are valid.

Primary components of Criminal law.

The principal components of a criminal justice involve normative, functional and jurisdictional components. Law enforcement component is characteridsed by the police. The police are the first contacts that law offenders meet. They carry out investigation and then after which they arrest the victims. They are endowed with power to utilize force incase of resistance by the offender. They do so in order to maintain law and order in the social set up. The second component is Adjudication and this refers to the courts, their responsibility is to provide a venue in which disputes are discussed then justice is administered (Klotter et al.1999). There are personnel who work in these courts and of which without them the courts won't have any meaning, the judges, prosecutors and defense attorney. The third component is corrections, and this component comprises the jails, prisons, and probation. After the judge has given out his or her verdict it is then the responsibility of the third component to ensure that the punishment is given accordingly.

Punishment nowadays is given through prisons. They are used so as to help the criminals be out of touch with the wider society thus preventing spread of crime and also help them change their lifestyles. As compared to what used to happen in the past, law was not as strict as it is nowadays. The kind of punishment that criminals used to get was mild as compared to the present society (Senna, et al.1999). The individuals would not be jailed since by then there were no jails and so the commonly used punishments were whipping or confessions. Public embarrassment was also a way of punishing individuals with minor offences. In addition the position of a defense attorney was not common.

The criminal justice system has faced several changes which act as a draw back to its effective functioning. The commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Stevens, in a recent research argues that there are misguided ideas about criminal trials which have corrupted the system. From the research it was evident that lawyers no longer serve the society to help protect the victims instead they bully and mishandle witnesses. The same was also evident among the judges. Apart from that, wrongful conviction is another factor. This as in the case in Canada has resulted in sending judges on a 3 day course simply because they avoided wrongful convictions. This has occurred due to presence of overconfident witness as well as lies from jailhouse informants. They normally come up with made up confessions. Overzealous prosecutors also play a role in the wrongful convictions since they jeopardize the accuser's right to be tried. Public opinion has also contributed to the ineffectiveness of the criminal justice system. The system is not supposed to have any influence whatsoever but should follow the procedures laid down though yet reports reveal that much of it has been occurring. There is also liberal approach to crime as depicted by one of Mr. Lionel Josephin's government of France. Such treatment to crime results in the reluctance of the police probably from entering certain neighborhood thus failing the system (Risman, 2002).

Terrorism is one of the criminal offences which are so rampant in the current society. It can be defined as the use of violence against a particular group of p[people basically for political reasons. There are various reasons why people engage in terrorism. Envy and jealousy among states is one of the reasons. The Americans for instance believe that the 9/11 terrorist attack came as a result of Islamic jealousy on the democracy and prosperity of the USA (Hayek, 1994). Oppression is another factor that contributes to terrorists attack. For example the French aristocracy oppressed the poor leading to the Great War in France. In the current terrorists attack, the attackers seem to fight against any dominion of foreign power in their land. Iraqi insurgents are a good example of individuals using terror to pursue their own political interests. Al-Qaeda as an example hit USA because he sees America as having dominion over Saudi Arabia. He does not want any Christian or American in his holly territory.

Lack of democracy is another root cause of terrorism. People choose to engage in violence when their rights are deprived. If the current governance is corrupt and in sensual it therefore leads to people rejecting its governance (Lawson, 2001). Socialism was also viewed as a cause in the 20th century. This system had become the only way over communism in the explanation of political as well as economic injustice. Those who were against socialism therefore opted to violence in fighting against the system (About.com, 2009).

In order to stop terrorism the US government through its current president is laying down strategies over the same. The President has been quoted in many of his speeches as he advocates for peace. One of the strategies is the U.S Counter terrorism Canon. It uses a program called domestic preparedness (Falkenrath, 2009).The USA FBI implemented initiatives in helping stop the terrorism threat. The initiative is termed as MACCAPO5. The initiative is used through some strategies such as helping the affected regions carry out investigations, and support in management programs. The FBI works hand in hand with the administration and has therefore managed to fight against terrorism a great deal (FBI, 2001).

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