Criminal Justice System
The criminal justice system refers to the network of institutions and practices responsible for upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, and administering justice. It encompasses law enforcement, the judiciary, and correctional facilities, aiming to maintain order, protect individual rights, and ensure fair treatment for all involved in the legal process.
6 Key excerpts on "Criminal Justice System"
eBook - ePub- Bradley D. Edwards, Lawrence F. Travis III(Authors)
- 2019(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...The remainder of this book will explore criminal justice practices, agents, and agencies, building on what has been described here. Three themes emerging from this introduction will guide our examination of the U.S. system of criminal justice. The first is the notion of a systems approach to understanding the operations of the justice process. Criminal justice is part of the system of social control in American society, as well as part of the larger society. Changes in the environment (materials, ideas, values, etc.) will influence the justice process. A second theme is that there is a fundamental conflict between individual liberty and collective needs for predictability. The Criminal Justice System, each of its decision points, and all of the decision makers involved in the system must strike a balance between the interests of the individual citizen and the interests of the community. Finally, the existence of discretion in the justice system is the third theme in our approach to studying criminal justice. In most cases, criminal justice agents (police, prosecutors, judges, corrections officials, and others) have some latitude in deciding what to do about offenses and offenders. Much of our attention will be devoted to identifying what sorts of factors help us to understand the kinds of decisions that are made. As we progress in our examination of criminal justice in the United States, we will describe the justice system and its structure, organizations, and agents. We will investigate the range of decisions that are made in cases at each stage of the justice process, and explore the factors that are associated with different decisions...
eBook - ePubSocial Justice, Criminal Justice
The Role of American Law in Effecting and Preventing Social Change
- Cyndy Caravelis, Matthew Robinson(Authors)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...The review of the evidence in Chapter 2 illustrates that these principles are still important to people in the United States; but the priority given to one principle or another often depends on the context or circumstances. In this chapter, our focus is exclusively on the Criminal Justice System. Our focus is on the criminal law, which defines crimes against the state and federal government, as well as each of the agencies of the Criminal Justice System—police, courts, and corrections. The goal of this chapter is simply to reexamine in greater detail what each of the branches of criminal justice does, and also to discuss in the broadest terms ways in which each can help bring about, as well as interfere with, the realization of social justice in American society. Law and Crime Recall in Chapter 1 that we defined criminal justice as the efforts of government agencies at the local, state, and federal levels to reduce crime and achieve justice for crime victims while also protecting the due process rights of criminal defendants. That is, the Criminal Justice System is the tool used to achieve crime reduction (efforts aimed at decreasing crime) and due process (efforts aimed at assuring Constitutional rights are protected). The Criminal Justice System is an enforcement mechanism that includes the police, courts, and corrections. Yet, everything these agencies do depends on the criminal law because it is the criminal law that determines what is illegal and how agencies of criminal justice must operate when processing a person through the system. Criminal Law Recall that the criminal law defines harmful acts as crimes, specifies possible punishments, and sets forth rules of due process that must be followed by police, courts, and corrections...
- Peter Joyce, Wendy Laverick(Authors)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Teach Yourself(Publisher)
...What is the Criminal Justice System? When we refer to the Criminal Justice System, we are considering a range of agencies whose responsibilities include apprehending those who have broken the law, prosecuting persons suspected of having committed a criminal offence, determining the innocence or guilt of those charged with a crime, and punishing those found guilty of a criminal act. This chapter seeks to provide a broad overview of the Criminal Justice System by discussing the role of the diverse range of agencies that operate within it and considering some of the key principles that underpin their work. The Criminal Justice System Key idea The aim of the Criminal Justice System is to uphold the law and to deliver an appropriate response to lawbreaking. It consists of a number of agencies, each of which performs specific functions related to this aim. The Criminal Justice System comprises a number of agencies whose main purpose is to bring offenders to justice. More specifically, the Criminal Justice System exercises the following key responsibilities: ▸ the creation, through the law, of the boundaries between right and wrong behaviour; ▸ the prevention and deterrence of offending behaviour (which may include strategies that seek to divert potential offenders away from lawbreaking); ▸ the investigation and detection of crime; ▸ the gathering of evidence in connection with criminal activities; ▸ the arrest, charging and prosecution of offenders; ▸ the delivery of an appropriate response to those who have committed minor crime which does not require prosecution (which includes restorative justice); ▸ the punishment of those found guilty of a criminal act; ▸ the delivery and administration of the sentence handed out by a court; ▸ the provision of support to prevent offenders from reoffending. Their work entails considerable public expenditure: in England and Wales, the annual expenditure on the Criminal Justice System in 2010 was around £20 billion...
eBook - ePubCriminal Justice Theory
An Introduction
- Roger Hopkins Burke(Author)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...The doctrine of free will is built into many legal codes and has strongly influenced popular conceptions of justice. This chapter commences with a brief examination of the role of the different agencies and processes of what many refer to as the Criminal Justice System. There are of course clear, invariably significant, differences between the systems in different countries and thus while many of the examples cited here refer to England and Wales they are indicative of institutions in other modern societies although readers are advised to consult other sources for the details of criminal justice institutions in other locations. The criminal justice process is the process by which people who have transgressed against the criminal law are dealt with by the state, It is made up of a series of stages which a person charged with a criminal offence must go through in order to be convicted. In this chapter we will examine and analyse some of the issues surrounding the pre-trial process including the investigation of crime, the prosecution process and remand decisions. These issues illustrate the fundamental problem of the criminal justice process which attempts to reconcile the rights of suspects, defendants and offenders with those of wider society and its interests. At first sight, it would appear that the development and establishment of the criminal justice process can be best conceptualised in the context of the social progress model of criminal justice development with its fundamental notions of a progressive humanitarian response to social problems in the interests of all social groups in society. It nevertheless becomes increasingly apparent that the criminal justice process has a control function in society and there are clearly interest groups involved...
eBook - ePub- Dr Mike Stephens, Mike Stephens, Pete Alcock, Professor Peter Alcock (S Ed), Pete Alcock, Professor Peter Alcock (S Ed)(Authors)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Thus, juvenile delinquents are treated differently, but not unfairly, because of their age and because society has long recognized that special care is required when the Criminal Justice System is handling young people. Equally, society and our system of justice acknowledge that not all crimes are the same, nor deserving of the same punishments. The woman who defends herself against a violent attack by her partner and in so doing inflicts serious harm upon her attacker is rightly treated differently from someone who callously and premeditatedly causes harm to another. The agencies of the Criminal Justice System are the major response of the state to crime. Their main tasks are: to detect and prosecute those suspected of criminal acts to provide and administer justice in accordance with the due process of law to protect the public from crime and criminals to provide a range of penalties and sentences for those convicted of crime to attempt to rehabilitate criminals. The detection of crime and its investigation has long been one of the primary responsibilities of the police. This in itself has an important element of public protection, which is again evident when the police are involved in suppressing public disorder, such as rioting and looting. The prosecution of defendants is carried out by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) which, together with the Youth Court and the adult courts, is responsible for the provision and administration of justice in England and Wales. Defence lawyers, often provided through the Legal Aid scheme at public expense, are another vital aspect in the provision of justice. The courts and the CPS also provide an element of public protection when dangerous or persistent offenders are sentenced to imprisonment. The prison and probation services provide many of the penalties available to the courts, but it is the courts themselves that collect any fines which sentencers have awarded...
eBook - ePub- Ryan Murphy, Frances Burton(Authors)
- 2020(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...By taking a holistic view of this part of the legal system, it is possible to gain a greater understanding of the principles that underpin criminal justice. The police have a great number of powers and you should assess whether these aid in the administration of justice. This Criminal Justice System contains a great deal of procedural law and it is important that you have an understanding of the basic processes that govern the gathering and presentation of evidence. Also you should think critically about the people involved in the Criminal Justice System and the roles that they play here and elsewhere in the legal system. As you read the sections on governing the trial process try to think of the benefits and drawbacks of the trial process. Finally, be sure to consider the similarities and differences between criminal justice, civil justice (already considered in Chapter 10) and administrative justice (to be considered in Chapter 13). Where there are, in particular, differences consider whether they are there for principled or merely historic reasons. Figure 11.1 The Criminal Justice System in summary From the outset it is important to dispel certain of the myths and assumptions that have grown up around the Criminal Justice System, which is often portrayed in dramatic, glamourous and exaggerated form in popular culture. First, 98% of criminal cases are dealt with in the Magistrates Court and never reach a Crown Court, let alone the Old Bailey. Secondly, some never even reach a court as they are never ‘tried’ at all, e.g. the more minor Road Traffic offences, where the accused pleads Guilty by post, so the magistrates only decide the penalty; those charged with these offences usually need not even attend, having sent in their driving licences to be endorsed with whatever penalty the court awards...
