Differentiate between Negligence, Intentional and Constitutional Torts - Essay Example

Three kinds include constitutional, negligence and intentional torts. Criminal justice officials have to fight a negligence tort if they are creating a danger to the wellbeing of citizens (Peak, 2011, p.336). For example, an employee of the criminal justice department conducted his duties without making sure that others are not harmed by his means of conducting duty, due to this others may have been inflicted with harm or injury, thus the official is held responsible for conducting his duties in a negligent manner. Criminal justice officers experience intentional torts when they indulge knowingly and freely indulge in activities due to which citizens or other individuals of a society may be harmed (Vaughn, 1999).

For example, a police officer uses coercive methods to obtain a confession from a suspect, due to his actions the suspect gets badly injured, the police officer is held responsible for using coercion and the confession obtained from the suspect might not be used as evidence in the court of law. A criminal justice employee may be held responsible in a case of constitutional tort if he fails to conduct his duties in accordance with the constitution of the country (Carlson, 1985, p.342). For example: if a police officer makes an arrest and forgets to read the Miranda rights to the suspect, the police officer may be held responsible for acting according to the constitution and the suspect may be free to leave as his Miranda rights were not read to him (Peak, 2011, p.281).

Various activities conducted by the officials of the criminal justice system lead to tort liability, these activities include negligent behaviour, wrongful charges for arrest, breach of the right of privacy, upholding information and evidence, and coercive interrogation. When an official of the criminal justice system is said to have acted in a negligent manner, he is said to have not exercised his duty of due care (Peak, 2011, p.341). This means that while conducting his duties, an official has not ensured to eradicate practices and procedures that may harm an individual and that are foreseen. Therefore a police officer has to exercise his duty of care while conducting his duty and obligations. Any wrong activity conducted by a police officer may be treated as a criminal act along with a tort. This means that if a police officer does not conduct his duty in the appropriate manner and hurts another individual, his act may be considered as a crime and he may be prosecuted for his actions and punished by being assigned with fines and jail time.