The Criminal Justice System - Assignment Example

The Criminal Justice System The Criminal Justice System Question one The criminal justice system can be defined as a system of institutions that are directed by the government to uphold social control and mitigate crime. In regard to the description by Professor Matheson about the Criminal Justice System, I do agree that the justice system is imperfect in more ways than one (Garland, 2002). The system is not always fair when dealing with certain kinds of people. An example is the minority groups that constitute a large part of the state.

Many at times when persecuted, they do not stand a free and fair trial. When we narrow it down to the social classes, there are also different classes which might determine how one gets to be treated in the justice system.Police brutality is an issue of great concern globally. Torture in cells on claimed suspects by law enforcement is a clear sign of a failed criminal justice system. The perpetrators of such inhumanity are never brought to book. The same supposed law that was meant to protect is the same law that seeks to destroy (Garland, 2002).

Question two I believe that if a crime was to be committed but the offender is not brought to book, it still is an offence that is punishable according to the law. This means that one is indeed a criminal despite the fact that they did not get caught in the act of committing the crime. Criminal masterminds that manage to commit crimes and still evade law enforcers do not cease being criminals despite the fact they managed to outsmart the law. It still is a crime and that automatically qualifies them as criminals (Garland, 2002).

Question three The conflict model of the criminal justice system argues that for an organization to be fully effective, it should be willing to work competitively to produce justice rather than cooperatively (John, 2005). On the other hand, consensus model also known as the systems perspective of CJS, argues that to produce justice, organizations should be willing to work cooperatively. The conflict model, also known as the System conflict theory, argues that worries over fame, fame, success cause conflict in the justice system itself.

There are some groups that might argue the consensus model is the reality of criminal justice system while others claim that the conflict model theory is both the reality and the ideal (John, 2005).Question four Some of the main differences between the crime control and the due process model are; in crime control, repression of crime is the most important function while in the due process, providing fairness under the law is seen as the key function (William, 2001). In the crime control, concentration is placed on vindicating the victims’ rights rather than protecting the defendants’ rights while on the other side of the due process, concentration is placed on the defendants’ rights and not on the victims’ (William, 2001).

Also in the crime control model, it opts for the expansion of police powers so that investigations can be made easier, searches and the conviction of suspects. However, in the due process model, the police powers should be limited so as to prevent oppression of an individual (William, 2001).ReferencesGarland, D. (2002). "Of Crimes and Criminals". Oxford: Oxford University Press. John, R. F. (2005). Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.William J. C. (2001).

Power, Politics, and Crime. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press.