Future trends in the internatonal criminal justcie - Essay Example

? Unit 9 - Final Paper of Introduction Predictions for the future of the domestic and the international criminaljustice for the 21st century had started as the new millennium approached. Given that we are now more than a decade into the new millennium, it is not only important to take stock of the changes that the criminal justice has undergone but also the future of the system as the millennium progresses. Such assessments would be quite instrumental in establishing the current and future trends and directions for both domestic and international criminal justice (FBI, 2009). For instance, these assessments would help ascertain whether crime is down or up and assess crime-related issues such as economy and community-based approaches to crime and criminal justice in its entirety. The other aspects of criminal justice whose past, current, and future trends should be assessed are the roles of individuals and that of the public, privatization of the criminal justice system, service-oriented ideas, and professionalism. This paper explores the future of international criminal justice, mentioning the past and the current trends that could influence the future of the profession. The Future of Criminal Justice What the criminal justice system will look like in the future can be estimated by certain criminal acts and trends, including terrorism, multicultural populations, large scale immigration, age and composition demographics, technological and scientific advances, and globalization among other factors. Nonetheless, there are certain forces or factors that will have greater effect than others and current and future criminal justice system practitioners have no choice but to be conversant and compliant with these changes. One of these factors is the co-evolution of crime. Crime, like disease-causing microorganisms, will change with time in a manner corresponding to the more effective defense mechanisms put in place by its likely victims (Garland, 2002). For instance, while people may insert wheel locks and alarms to prevent auto theft, car thieves will apply devices that would neutralize such security measures. Notwithstanding the co-evolution of different types of crimes, the future will still see crime fighting being categorized into crime opportunity reduction, de-motivation of would-be criminals, and the changing of society’s and individuals’ basic values. The purpose of the category of crime fighting that will change peoples’ value will be to target the nurturing of the youth so that they pick positive values, hence minimize their chances of becoming criminals and indulging in other disorderly behaviors (Sunga, 1997). All these categories of crime fighting will however be implemented according to the changing demographics, which are expected to be more flexible in the future. For instance, it has been postulated that the population of the most crime-prone group, males of age 15 to 29, will decline to a small extent while the population portion of 30-65 years old is expected to increases substantially. These foreseen demographic changes have the implication that more people will either be criminals or victims in the future. For example, the postulated increase in those aged above 60 years old implies that there could be more victims of crime in the future (Wolfgang, 1990). On the other hand, the increased percentage of this elderly portion in a given population could imply that these elders will use their discretionary time to guide the young on positive values or to report crimes, thus helping in the fight against crime (Wolfgang, 1990). Public Rights versus Individual Rights One of the future aspects of the international criminal justice system that is likely to be influenced by past and current trends is the individual versus public rights issue, often encountered in the system. In the future, the international criminal justice system will be expected to ensure that a steady and delicate balance is maintained between the interests of individuals and those of the public, so that none is infringed upon. What is more, the need to strike a balance between private and public rights in the criminal justice system will be made more urgent by the foreseen ever increasingly multicultural society. The said multiculturalism is expected to be directly proportional to the complexity and enormity of the balancing problems associated with public and private interests in the international criminal justice system. If the current practices in the criminal justice system are anything to go by, citizens will be expected to give up some of their individual rights for the safety and order of the public, as evidenced by the increasing public and political support for changes that promote public order (Savelsberg et al., 2004). On the other hand, there are certain aspects of the criminal justice system in which the interests and rights of individuals have reigned supreme over public interests. For example, statistics shows that in earlier times, people concentrated more on public rights and interests with regards to capital punishment. For example, between 1930s and the 1950s, executions were at their highest ever rate, a trend that changed in the 1960s and 1970s as individual rights took center stage. Consequently, the judicial system established several procedural laws that sought to restrict the actions of criminal justice professionals and sensitized them on individual rights. However, the mood would swing back to favor public rights over individual rights in the 1980s, resulting in more support for the death penalty. For instance, in the US, the Miranda laws were eroded, making searches and seizures rather common procedures by criminal justice officers. As the new millennium approached, there was an apparent focus on individual rights as more civil movements were organized against human rights violations. Among the states to abolish the death penalty due to the focus on individual rights include Illinois and New Hampshire. The significance of the growing opposition to the death penalty is that it shows a trend in which the international criminal justice system and its practitioners will be increasingly restricted in their operations. The individual versus public rights is just among the many trends that the international criminal justice system should brace for in the future. Generally, the international criminal justice system should prepare for the future by exploiting the past and current trends. Technology The other aspect of crime that will affect the future of the international criminal justice is technology. That is, as technologies advance, they will have quite an influence on crime fighting, more so in areas such as DNA analysis, surveillance, biometrics, and radio frequency identification microchips, all of which will be quite effective in crime prevention, detection, and solution. Additionally, various sophisticated and reliable means of storing data in databases will be available for international criminal justice system and the public (Garland, 2002). In addition, the influence of electronic systems on the future international criminal systems cannot be ignored. In this regard, international criminal justice practitioners will enjoy the improved interoperability that will accompany the expanded use of electronic gadgets and system, more so to relay information on international criminals and crimes and to manage and report emergencies. It is this improved connectivity among criminal justice systems that will make crime less interesting and attractive to would-be criminals (Garland, 2002). That is, vulnerable crime targets will cease to be attractive to criminals who will eventually shun crime. International Trends Global nature and trends in crime will also greatly affect the future international criminal justice system. Specifically, these global trends will influence how each nation delivers justice. One aspect of global crime trends that will affect international criminal justice is immigration, both legal and illegal, which results in increased diversity and multiculturalism (Morenoff et al., 2001). One possible outcome of this immigration and the resultant diversity is disharmony. First, the criminal justice system of a state may have to deal with quite many languages, creating a lot of misunderstandings and unfairness in criminal justice procedures. In a situation where a number of languages are used in a case so that the judges, lawyers, complainants, and the respondents speak different languages, it would become rather difficult for these parties to understand one another well. Though interpreters may be used, their translations may not be as clear as would be the case had a common language been used. Language is not the only aspect of diversity or lack of homogeneity that will affect the criminal justice system in the future; societal norms and expectations are the other features of multiculturalism that will have gross implications for the international criminal justice system (Morenoff et al., 2001). That is, foreign citizens in a country of employment or adoption may have different expectations of the new criminal justice system, based on their encounters and experiences in their native criminal justice system. For instance, the role of practitioners such as prosecutors, lawyers, and judges could slightly vary from one culture or state to another or just in the view of an immigrant community. The future international criminal justice will thus have to be prepared to exhaustively address these issues long before they occur to avert any problems. There should therefore be established policies and practices that ensure the future criminal justice system become professional enough to manage the expected changes (Dammer & Fairchild, 2005). This professionalism may be categorized in five major classes: transfer of information among states, global innovativeness, and global delivery of justice, practical evidence, and criminal justice oversight by the civilian population. Conclusion The past and current trends in the international criminal justice are clear pointers to the future of the system. Technology and global trends such as immigration and multiculturalism are some of the aspects of criminal justice that the system’s professionals should be on the look out for if they have to be competent enough in the future. For instance, criminals will also adopt as crime prevention, detection, and solving methods become technologically advanced. Additionally, the predicted increase in migration and multiculturalism will imply different perceptions and expectations of the criminal justice system b people of different cultures and origins. Subsequently, mechanisms to address such issues should be put in place in advance to ensure the free flowing and fairness of the criminal justice systems and products. References Dammer, H. R., Fairchild, E. (2005). Comparative criminal justice systems, third edition. Wadsworth Publishing. FBI (2009). The FBI: A centennial history, 1908-2008. Washington, D.C.: FBI. Garland, D. (2002). Of crimes and criminals. In Maguire, Mike, Rod Morgan, Robert Reiner. The Oxford handbook of criminology, third edition. Oxford University Press. Morenoff, J., Sampson, R., and Raudenbush, S. (2001). Neighborhood Inequality, Collective Efficacy and the Spatial Dynamics of Urban Violence. Criminology, 39 (3): 560. Savelsberg, J. J., Cleveland, L. L., and King, R. D. (2004). Institutional Environments and Scholarly Work: American Criminology, 1951-1993". Social Forces, 82 (4): 1275. Sunga, L. S. (1997). The emerging system of international criminal law: developments in codification and implementation.The Hague, The Netherlands: Kluwer Law International. Wolfgang, M. (1990). Crime and Punishment in Renaissance Florence. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (Northwestern University) 81 (3): 567. Read More