History of Management in Criminal Justice Agencies - Essay Example

History of Management in Criminal Justice Agencies History of Management in Criminal Justice Agencies A collection of public and private criminal justice agencies forms the wider criminal justice system and together they process information on convicted offenders, defendants and suspects. The fundamental structure of the system lies in the executive, judicial and legislative arms of the government (Waldron et al, 2009). Management of criminal justice systems describes the oversight, supervision and running of the agencies.

This paper will look at the history of their management and some of the approaches they use. Great changes have been witnessed in the way the United States criminal justice system has been managed over the past few decades, with former English customs and laws playing a significant role in influencing the contemporary system (Randolph, 2005). The criminal justice system includes parole and probation officers, correction officers, court officers, investigators and line officers. In the early days of the English law enforcement instituted by Alfred the Great, police forces were formed by loyal families who patrolled their regions.

They appointed their own leaders, known as reeves, to oversee and coordinate the wider alliances (Friedman, 1993). The reeves later came to be known as sheriffs. To ensure the loyalty of the sheriffs, the power of appointing them was taken over by William the conqueror when he came into power. In the early 18th century, the system established by William the conqueror was borrowed by Philadelphia, Boston and New York with each having 10 official patrol areas (Randolph, 2005). The 19th century industrialization and population growth brought about the need for police departments in municipals.

Although New York and Philadelphia had 24 hour police force in service by 1830, some counties still operate under the sheriff system today. The difference is that the sheriffs are not appointed through local governments, but rather elected by citizens. Today, managers within the criminal justice system are knowledgeable in security, police and disaster management fields. Within the judiciary, before the revolution, American courts followed laws that Great Britain had handed down to them. However, the settlers and colonists later rejected the English laws because they did not grant them equal rights as Englishmen under The Great Charter of the Liberties of England (Friedman, 1993).

They rejected attempts to be governed by the English Parliament from overseas yet they were not accorded representation. The subsequent rebellion ended in the American Revolution. With the adoption of the United States constitution in 1787, a free and self governing criminal justice system was established by the Sixth and Eighth Amendments. The management put emphasis on the approach of guaranteeing due process to persons in courts of law. The penal system was also transformed from an adoption of the British system to one formulated and managed by the United States.

Formerly, the system relied on execution and punishment to create fear among the colonists (Friedman, 1993). In the 19th century, through enhancing the reforming concept, imprisonment was used more by the criminal system as opposed to execution. Present day criminal justice in the United States places emphasis on offering offenders another chance at leading productive lives. Programs have been designed to give vocational training to inmates and housing assistance towards their release. Contemporary United States correctional facilities lay emphasis on the approach of rehabilitating offenders (Waldron et al, 2009).

ReferencesFriedman, L. (1993). Crime and punishment in American history. New York: Basic Books.Randolph, J. (2005). Criminal justice: Mainstream and crosscurrents. New Jersey: Prentice.Waldron, R., Quarles, C., McElreath, D., & Millstein, D. (2009). The criminal justice system. Washington: CRC Press.