The Criminal Justice System - Term Paper Example

The Criminal Justice System The Criminal Justice System is a complex organization that consists of different institutions and agencies that have different functions and roles. Most of the time, these entities interact or work with each other towards a goal. These entities, including police, prosecutors, courts and corrections, face challenges as they work together. Definition Criminal justice system is defined as encompassing activities and agencies that carry out the prevention, prosecution and defense of offenses. It is further concerned with other activities such as the disposition of offenders and treatment of juveniles found to have committed a criminal act. The criminal justice system also includes public institutions and key players such as the police, prosecutors, courts, corrections, crime victims and so on (“Criminal Justice System”). Purpose According to Frase and Weidner, the criminal justice system has the primary purpose of enforcing laws in line with the defined rules and limitations. The authors furthered that the “system” refers to “something highly rational – carefully planned, coordinated, and regulated” (Frase & Weidner). On the other hand, Drakeford and Friedman reiterated that controlling crime and assuring due process are the two main purposes of the criminal justice system (5). Key Players’ Functions The criminal justice system is composed of four institutions, namely, police, prosecution, courts, and corrections, and these interact with each other towards a balanced action for justice. In simpler terms, the police are responsible for enforcing the law; the courts are responsible for hearing the legality of the crime, and; corrections house the convicted offenders. The following section lists the specific responsibilities of these key players. Police. According to Stevens, the police have intended and unintended functions that include the following: morals enforcement, class control, riot control, order maintenance, safety, service, and crime fighting. Other specific functions include the following: To subdue conduct that is considered threatening. To protect or help a person who is harmed. To uphold security in the community. To help people who are unable to help themselves such as the handicap, the mentally ill, the old and the young, and others. To help in resolving conflict between groups and individuals. To oversee the movement of vehicles and people. To recognize problems that can become serious problems (Stevens). Prosecutor. The main function of the prosecutor in a trial is to convince the jury that the defendant is guilty of the crime. Other functions include, but not limited to, the following: To ensure that the guilty person is convicted. To charge suspect with a crime. To represent the government during a trial. To assist in selecting jurors. To call on witnesses to prove the defendant’s guilt. To cross-examine the witnesses presented by the defense (Read). Court. The court consists of the prosecutors, judges and other stakeholders, each of which has roles to fulfill. The prosecuting office must present evidence to the court regarding the guilt of the offender. The prosecutor is usually involved during the initial investigation, pretrial hearings and during the trial. During the preliminary hearing, several factors such as the severity of the offense, will determine the next step. The lack of probable cause can lead to the dismissal of the case. Otherwise the case may be brought to the grand jury. If there is sufficient evidence, the grand jury then decides to try the offender (Drakeford & Friedman, 8-9). Corrections. Drakeford and Friedman stated that corrections have several purposes, one of which is to punish the offenders. This is based on the belief that punishment deters offenders from criminal behavior. Another purpose of the corrections is to protect the society from these offenders. The third purpose is to rehabilitate the offenders (10). Interaction of Key Players The key players in the criminal justice system, especially the police and the prosecutors, must interact with each other towards a shared goal. The key players need to interact regularly, and they are influenced by one another. Whenever necessary, they must work together in order to achieve the institutions’ goals and the overall goals of justice (14). Palmiotto and Unnithan stated that these key players are not independent of each other, and what one does has an effect to other players (69). Consider the following scenario. A police department decides to raid a drug den on a specific date, but the county jail has no spaces left. Thus, this is a problem for the corrections facility. To add to this, there is very limited number of judges to hear criminal cases at one time. As a result, the volume and flow of cases that the court processes are affected. The numerous arrests that the police conduct and the cases that must be tried by the prosecutor may further lead to backlogs for the court. To avoid these and similar situations, the police, court and corrections need to interact in such a way that it would ensure an efficient flow in the system (69-70). Generally, one would assume that in a criminal justice system, it flows from the police to the court and then to the corrections. While this is true, it is less simple than it looks. The police must carry out investigations to a crime, make arrests and complete reports. In relation to making arrests, the police can present information to the prosecutor, who will then determine if the charges will be filed to the court or if the police can carry out the arrest based on probable cause. If the case does not have a strong basis, the prosecutor has the discretion to drop charges. This may result to the police being subjected to civil suits for making false arrests (Drakeford & Friedman 7-8). The prosecutor then interacts with the court when there is a need to arrest for a delinquent behavior. Should the offender be found guilty, the court then sentences the offender to correctional programs, depending on the severity of the case. There are several types of correctional programs, namely: probation, incarceration, prison, parole, and community detention facilities (Drakeford & Friedman 11). Challenges Interestingly, the interaction between the police and prosecution is a complicated matter. The relationship may be adversarial or it may border on respect. Blair states that the relationship depends on the different views on the roles and both police and prosecutors. For one, there are states that provide investigative jurisdiction to prosecutor and police. These may sometimes be unclear, thus presenting a complication to the relationship between prosecutor and police. Local history and custom is also seen as affecting the relationship. For instance, a prosecutor “can meet with stiff resistance” and this can have a serious effect to the prosecutor’s relationship with the local police (2). Another factor that shapes the relationship between the prosecutor and the police is the attitude and tenure of the prosecutor, and how he perceives his roles in the criminal justice system as a whole. If his perception aligns with the state law and local practice, then the prosecutor can have a cooperative relationship with the police (Blair 2). The attitude of the police can also have an effect. There are police officers who think that the prosecutors are their “enemies.” This attitude may be borne out of the relationship of the police officer with the chief prosecutor, biases, and years of experience, among others (3). Harris supported these facts by stating that the relationship between police and the prosecutor is usually characterized by tension, suspicion and mistrust. As stated in the previous paragraphs, the differences in the roles and functions, along with differences in educational levels, social class and so on, contribute to the complicated relationship between the police and the prosecutors. In some cases, police believe that the prosecutors do not understand how tough their job is, and are usually dismayed when prosecutors accept guilty pleas which the police think is not enough to punish the offenders. In the same way, the prosecutors think that the police do not understand them and their jobs (3). The Greatest Problem in the Criminal Justice System I think that the greatest problem facing the criminal justice system is the lack of budget resulting to overflowing correctional facilities. According to an article written by Elias and Glover, prosecutors are actually ignoring misdemeanor crimes to concentrate to more serious crimes. Moreover, judges delay trials due to layoffs, and offenders who were charged with violent crimes are released due to heavy caseloads. The main reason behind all these is the budget cuts to the institutions of the criminal justice system. The authors further reported that in most states, the budget was cut by 10 to 15 percent for the past three years. In addition, there were reports of delayed appointing of judges and laying off of court staff. The amount of money cut and the vacant positions have a serious effect to the ability of law enforcement agencies to carry investigations and prosecution of cases. The budget cut also affected the mundane court tasks. The processing of minor cases may take double the time because the budget cuts have led to layoffs and closing of courtrooms (Elias & Glover). Budget cuts are indeed a big problem for the criminal justice system. Without sufficient funding, the whole system cannot work efficiently. Thus, the alternative solutions to budget cuts must be cost-effective. One solution is the use of monitoring technologies. It may sound expensive, but this actually is the answer to problems such as overcrowding in correctional facilities. The monitoring technologies will help cut costs. In addition to these technologies, there are alternatives to incarceration (ATI) programs for offenders who committed less serious crimes. These programs actually enable the displacement of incarceration time and attendant costs. Additionally, ATI programs can help reduce recidivism compared to jail sentences. A Criminal Case An example of a criminal case where the criminal justice system apparently failed is the Jaycee Dugard case. Dugard was 11 years old when she was kidnapped by Phillip Garrido and was held captive for about 18 years. The El Dorado district attorney claimed that the criminal justice system failed in that it allowed Garrido freedom despite the obvious warnings, which led to the kidnapping of Dugard. Within the years that he held Dugard captive, Garrido raped her and had two children with her. The district attorney further highlighted the failures of counselors and psychiatrists, including one event when Garrido fooled the urine tests (Weintraub). Another failure of the criminal justice system was that Garrido was freed from prison in 1988. During this time, he was serving a federal sentence and state sentence for kidnapping and rape. The district attorney stated that the parole system relied too much on psychiatric advice to decide whether Garrido should be given parole. In addition, parole agents did not investigate Garrido’s past which would have led to the discovery of his sexual crimes. Furthermore, a parole agent who visited the Garrido residence did not thoroughly search the house and property where Garrido had kept Dugard. It was also reported that the agent visited the Garrido home only once between 1991 and 1995. The system also failed because there were incidents where Garrido’s parole should have been revoked (Weibtraub). Works Cited Blair, Jerry M. “Police-Prosecutor Relations.” Ohioattorneygeneral.gov, n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2011. . “Criminal Justice System.” OregonLaws.org. WebLaws.org, n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2011. . Drakeford, William & Friedman, Kristin. “History of the Criminal Justice System.” University of Maryland, n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2011. . Elias, Paul, & Glover, Mike. “State Budget Cuts Clog Criminal Justice System.” The Wall Street Journal, 2011. Web. 24 Nov. 2011. . Frase, Richard S. & Weidner, Robert R. “Criminal Justice System – Structural and Theoretical Components of Criminal Justice Systems, the Systems in Operation, the Importance of Viewing Criminal Justice as a System.” 2011. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. . Harris, David A. “The Interaction and Relationship between Prosecutors and Police Officers in the U.S., and How this Affects Police Reform Efforts.” National Police Accountability Project, University of Pittsburgh. 2011. Web. 24 Nov. 2011. . Linder, Douglas. “The Witchcraft Trials in Salem: A Commentary.” University of Missour-Kansas City Law School, n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2011. Palmiotto, Michael J., & Unnithan, N. Prabha. Policing and Society: A Global Approach. New York: Cengage Learning, 2011. Print. Read, Shane. “A Prosecutor’s Role.” America.gov, 2009. Web. 24 Nov. 2011. . Roth, Mitchel P. Crime and Punishment: A History of the Criminal Justice System. California: Cengage Learning, 2010. Print. Stevens, Mark. “The Role of Police in Society.” North Carolina Wesleyan College, 2005. Web. 24 Nov. 2011. . Weintraub, Adam. “Jaycee Dugard Case: Report Says Criminal Justice System Failed Kidnap Victim, Allowed Phillip Garrido to Roam Free.” 2 Aug. 2011. Web. 24 Nov. 2011. . Read More