Criminology and criminal justice system - Essay Example

Running head: Criminology Criminology Waqas Ijaz Ahmed Affiliation At first glance the criminal justice system might seem inefficient or redundant or some times unfair and brutal but if you look at the bigger picture this is not the case. Suspects and witnesses and victims are treated differently when their innocence is for the courtrooms to decide so people may argue that why even before a decision is made one group gets better treatment than the other. This article explores why that is so. There is nothing unjust about the criminal justice system, it might sometimes seem that way when viewed from afar but zooming in on the details it becomes clear that there are solid reasons behind every action the system takes to maintain peace and order. Criminology Criminology is a study of crime, its causes, its aftermath and people's reaction to it. There is a lot of difference in how an accused prospective con is treated and a victim is treated in our criminal justice system. To a certain extent it is fair but there are other facets to this story. An accused is not guilty until he is proved guilty by the court so technically that would make him just as innocent as the victim, both the accused and the victim face travel restrictions which is fair by all means as the presence of each party is crucial for the court to reach upon a decision but still it is only the accused who ends up in jail before the trial, of course he can be bailed out but the fact remains that there is stark constant between the kind of treatment each of the groups receive in our criminal justice system even though each group might be just as guilty as the other. The accused has a "right to remain silent" and "any thing that he says can and will be used against him in the court of law and he has the right to an attorney" and the right to use the telephone. Though that might be more than one could ask for, the manner in which all of this is imposed upon him isn't quite what an average human would haggle over but if it were a true con who were getting that treatment, of course it would be perfectly befitting. Perhaps that is what the authorities assume before undertaking any arrest. The criminal justice system perhaps prides itself for efficiency, there are a myriad number of checks the ground police have to go through before they can freely proceed to even search a suspected person's property let alone undertaking an arrest. The authorities take great care that they are not mistaken in their doubts of a person before they go charging up towards him to remind him or rather impose all his rights on him and try to persuade him that now may be the perfect time to start making use of them. Sure they might make a mistake some time and its most unfortunate for the society and of all people the accused when that happens but in order to keep a city clean of crime and cons policemen must be afforded some free movement as well, its up to the court to make the final decision and it is the duty of a policeman to bring a possible crime to light, it is only after a suspect meets all the criteria, and comes up to the bench mark of suspicion that our officers can go ahead and carry out an arrest, it is not an easy job, their prime incentives are to uphold the law and protecting the innocent. Keeping crime orientated people off the streets and keeping the pious ones safe from all types of harm, the two directives overlap, there is no solid separation rather a blurry divide between them so it can get difficult to decide whether or not they should pick some one off the streets, they might not be sure of his guilt as it is not for them to decide but the fact remains that they're the ones who are faced with the ground reality and they're the ones who get fingers pointed at every time a calamity takes over a serene neighborhood or an innocent man or woman is met with a loss or suffering, keeping peace and order is a job they're trusted with so they have to be given some leeway, some space to work with, some decisions have to be left to their discretion as well. Its not just a simple hunch on the basis of which they proceed, being experienced and really in the core of things their hunch might be quite reliable but as it is a matter of not inflicting unnecessary trouble to the wrong guy there is myriad of checks they have to go through and only then they can proceed taking every step making sure no mistakes were made and it is this very fact that criminals use fully to their advantage. The fact that our criminal justice system is leashed with so many checks serves as a loop hole to these people. It affords them leeway too, criminals aren't concerned with leaving behind any subtle evidence behind, they aren't concerned if they draw mere suspicion towards themselves, as long as they hide their tracks well enough that they don't leave behind any solid proof of their con, they are untouchable, even though an officer of the law might be fully aware of a suspects guilt he cannot even trail after him or put him under scrutiny until he stumbles upon some solid evidence, only then does the criminal justice office would allow him the privilege, going up to him for questioning or arresting is a whole new game with a whole new set of extra difficult set of criteria to meet. So its quite safe to say that a con's job is much easier than of those who're in our criminal justice system, they have to be sure of every subtle little detail every step of the way unlike those with criminal intent, they're not bogged in details at all. Hence it is fair for our criminal justice system to treat them the way that it does, because its matter of protecting the innocent and keeping society safe, the system only picks up such people off the street when they feel that their presence might jeopardize the peace or innocent lives. Afterwards the criminals are interrogated and their ways might be questionable to some, but it is the only way the system can get them to confess or make them divulge crucial information. The criminally orientated aren't like other average people so a little violence has to be brought in the equation for the sake of public safety and peace. The witnesses and victims on the other hand get an entirely different treatment, they're offered protection and kind words are offered to keep them calm. On first glance it might seem unfair that since the system is not sure of their innocence, theirs or the suspects but again just like the system has criteria to meet in order to be able to arrest some one, they have their reasons of suspecting these people to be innocent and worthy of protection. Protection is provided so that the criminals might not try to hurt the witnesses or intimidate them into not coming to court, because this is the reality of our system, even if every one knows that a person is guilty of a crime but cannot be proved guilty albeit he contrived in the background for getting the witnesses out of the equation to eradicate proof in the form of intimidation or physical or fatal torture, even though every one knows that for a fact, if it can't be proved the person walks free and it is for these reasons that there are many criminals plaguing the society but they have developed such strength and organization that the law cannot touch them. Our criminal system might not be perfect as regards to efficiency and sometimes even seem brutal especially if a mistake is made and an innocent person is wrongly charged but a certain amount of violence has to be employed to keep the streets safe. It might some times seem unfair to give special treatment to some people but more often than not the law doesn't make the mistake of protecting the wrong person and the risk that their hypothetical guess as regards to one party's innocence and another's guilt far over rides the crucial chain of events that might take place if they don't try to get a lid on the situation fast and they are just compelled to proceed that way and take corrective action. Reference http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witness_protection Read More