Comparison of Criminal Justice Systems - Assignment Example

Comparison of Criminal Justice Systems Criminal justice systems can be put in four basic groups depending on the type of justice they practice. The communal system is hinged upon primitive dictates; it has few laws and an undefined punishment system. In this system, punishment is too brutal when someone goes too far. With urban-commercial societies, the basic law structure commonly applies. This usually comes from a center of power such as a king or religious leader. The manner in which the law is enforced depends upon that authority. The systems that fall under the urban-industrial group are more organized, have a criminal code that is well developed, specialized police department, and foundational social guidance such as laws that are known to reward good deeds and punish bad ones. The last group is the bureaucratic system, such as those that were in existence during the 21st century in Europe and North America. These have well established criminal codes, over criminalized laws, strange types of crime, and an established police force working as a special sub unit (Vaux 2014). With respect to comparative criminal justice, all criminal justice systems in the world fall under four major groups. Common law systems are majorly found in English speaking countries where law interpretation by lawyers and decision by judges is based on earlier precedents. Countries in Europe, Japan, and Latin America practice civil law. These emphasize on the written law more than common law and give the accused few rights.Social law is common in communist or former communist regimes. With respect to social law, individual rights are subdued by the government and enforcement is focused toward the correction of non social mentality. The final type is Islam Law, this has its base on the Koran and the belief that all laws come from divine dictates. It focuses on ways of eating and dressing and judges specific crimes based on commandments (Deflem & Swygart, 2014). Court types around the world fall under two categories which are: the ones that assume the accused is innocent until proven guilty (adversarial courts) and those that assume the accused is guilty and the court forces them to prove otherwise (inquisitorial courts). Correction facilities are grouped based on whether or not they support corporal punishment. Countries that do not have the death penalty claim to be better than their counterparts that apply it. Such countries apply corporal punishment such as whipping and beating. Countries that practice corporal punishment tend to have less over crowded prisons (O’Connor 2014). The future is set to see changes in the judicial systems across the globe; this is based on emerging trends that are having major impacts on such systems. The strongest crime rate determinants are demographic variables, making them play a central role in regards to the future of crime (Reichel, 2005). The most influential demographic variable is the number of males between the ages of 15-25, which is considered to be the most crime prone age. The age structure of a society is considered to be having the most influence on the level of crime. A society that is aging tends to experience a reduction in crime rate while that which has more young people than old ones, especially between the ages of 15 to 25 tends to have a high crime rate (Ritter, 2014). Another influential factor that impacts crime rate is macro-economics. Research shows that the rate of crime and mostly those related to property are closely related to a society’s economic strength. During recessions, crime rates on property shoot up, while they tend to go down when the economy is favorable. During times that the economy is favorable, there are more employment opportunities and better wages. On the contrary, during recession there tends to be less employment opportunities and low wages that lead people to commit crimes (Reichel, 2005). Another argument is that when the economy booms there is an increase in wealth that consequently leads to more spending on consumer goods. This increases the opportunities for theft hence escalating property crimes. Either way, macro-economics is a major factor that influences crime. Besides the two, another variable that is considered to have a hand on not just the nature but also the scope of crime is technology. As technology advances, criminals also get new tools to commit traditional crimes such as fraud, theft, counterfeiting, and money laundering in a better way. Small criminals will be able to commit crimes that were previously beyond their reach with minimal risks. Technology increases accessibility of information, systems, goods, and premises and yet removes geographical obstacles as it enhances anonymity. Besides, technology itself will become the subject target of crime for instance spread of viruses, and telecommunication theft among others. This gets complicated due to the fact that when technology is introduced, crime is not considered. On the other hand, with new technology in place, there will be an ability to prevent criminal attacks. Criminal justice responses are also seen as influencers of the level of crime in a place. In this respect, factors such as expenditure of criminal justice, embracement of technology by law enforcers, state of policing, and correctional facilities, and the involvement of public and private sectors in prevention of crime play a part in encouraging or discouraging crime (Ritter, 2014). A major challenge that law enforcers in the future will have to deal with is international crimes. Law enforcement agencies will not be in a position to keep up with the speed at which international crimes are growing. Besides it is hard for an agency to operate in areas outside their jurisdiction. In regard to crime, globalization has seen the irrelevance of borders. This is due to technological advances, immigration, trade and travel. The Internet allows international criminals to group together easily without geographical barriers. The growing levels of international trade will increase the chances of illicit smuggling of goods as it reduces the risks involved (Department of Justice, 2013). In conclusion, criminal systems differ from country to country, these differences lead them to fall under four major groups; communal, urban commercial, urban industrial and bureaucratic systems. Under criminal justice, laws have also been put into four groups which are common law, civil law, social law and Islamic Law. Courts are distinguished in two ways; those that assume the innocence of the accused (adversarial courts) and those that assume the guilt of the accused (inquisitorial courts). Currently correctional facilities are grouped based on their support of corporal punishment. A number of factors are related to the future of criminal justice. Factors such as demographic variables determine the rate of crime by the dominant age group. Macro-economics also play a major role depending on the state of economy. Other factors of influence include technology, globalization and future justice response. References Deflem M. &Swygart A. J (2014). Comparative criminal justice. Retrieved April 29, 2014 from http://deflem.blogspot.com/2001/03/comparative-criminal-justice-2001.html Department of Justice (2014). Predicting Crime: The review research. Retrieved April 29, 2014 from http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/csj-sjc/jsp-sjp/rr02_7/p6.html O’Connor T (Jan 17 2014). Introduction to comparative criminal Justice. Retrieved April 29, 2014 from: http://www.drtomoconnor.com/3040/3040lect01a.htm Reichel, P. (2005). Comparative Criminal Justice Systems (4th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson. Ritter, N. (2014). Preparing for the Future: Criminal Justice in 2040. NIJ Journal Issue NO 255 Vaux R. (2014). Definition of comparative criminal justice. Retrieved April 29, 2014 from http://www.ehow.com/about_6331624_definition-comparative-criminal-justice.html Read More