Cja 204 Criminal Justice System Research Paper
Criminal Justice System
Aubrey E Harbert
CJA/204
August 25, 2014
Royce Decker
Criminal Justice System
Crime is a very fragile word that could be portrayed into many different understandings. The definition of a crime; According to "Dictionary.com" (2014), " is an action or an instance of negligence that is deemed injurious to the public welfare or morals or to the interests of the state, and that is legally prohibited" (Noun 1.) Law means having a set of rules and regulations in which communities and society as a whole abide by. Crime can be understood as acting against those laws (rules) that have a punishment in return for those actions. There are two models that are most commonly used by society to determine whether certain acts …show more content…
are considered to be criminal or not:
1. Due Process Model meaning us as citizens have rights, and we cannot be deprived of them. Law enforcement must recognize and respect these rights during their encounters with suspects.
2. Crime-Control Model supports the need of enforcing laws and maintaining public order.
Choice theories are commonly known as rational choice or decision choice theory.
When you see the words choice, rational and decision you can put together a definition in itself. Criminals choose to make a decision to act in a certain way, which they see, more benefit than harm. When criminals decided to act out and commit a crime they believe that that is the only rational thing to do, there are no other ways to benefit from a given situation. For example, when criminals steal things to turn around and make money by selling the items on the black market; surely the thought of getting caught has to cross their mind at some point. Maybe whether a security camera might catch their faces, they may leave DNA behind that can be traced back to them or even witness that can place them as the thief. Although they may consider these events, they carry out the crime anyways. Thefts see dollar signs instead of jail time. They see that the chance of getting away with the crime and making all of this money is greater than the chance of getting caught and being punished by law …show more content…
enforcement.
Our government is made up of three important branches: legislature, the judiciary and the executive.
Each of these works together to manage crime and ultimately try and prevent it just as police, courts and corrections work together in our criminal justice system to do the same. Our police departments and officers are put in place to enforce laws and provide services to any citizens that may be in need all while maintaining order in our society. Our courts main responsibility is to surface the truth and provide justice for our victims of crimes. Our final component of the criminal justice system is corrections, correctional institutions vary from prison, jail and halfway houses to house arrest where tracking devices may be implemented. The criminal justice system, I believe, is a system that works on a purpose. System; According to "Dictionary.com" (2014), an assemblage or combination of things or parts forming a complex or unitary whole. (Noun 1.) As a whole the criminal justice system does, in fact, try to act as a system, as noted above our police enforce the laws, our courts decide upon the laws, and our corrections carry out the punishment. As also stated in an Internet video, Pearson Custom Publishing (2011). If you were looking into specific parts of the criminal justice system, it would be a process. Process; According to "Dictionary.com" (2014), continuous action, operation, or series of changes taking place in a definite manner. (Noun 2.) The criminal justice
system would overall be classified as a process because of the contradiction and the competitiveness that takes place. In an Internet video, Pearson Custom Publishing (2011) states that there is competition for resources; competition creates lack of communication, and different types of people who, in fact, have their own personal goals. When you think of those specifics, and really dig into the "system" it proves itself to be more along the lines of a process.
References
Dictionary.com. (2014). Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/crime
Dictionary.com. (2014). Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/system
Dictionary.com. (2014). Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Process
Pearson Custom Publishing (2011). Issue 1: Is the Criminal Justice System Really a System [Video file]. Retrieved from Pearson CMG website: http://media.pearsoncmg.com/pcp/pcp_94869_mutchnick_cj_uop/chapter1/ch1_issue1/index.html
Aubrey E Harbert
CJA/204
August 25, 2014
Royce Decker
Criminal Justice System
Crime is a very fragile word that could be portrayed into many different understandings. The definition of a crime; According to "Dictionary.com" (2014), " is an action or an instance of negligence that is deemed injurious to the public welfare or morals or to the interests of the state, and that is legally prohibited" (Noun 1.) Law means having a set of rules and regulations in which communities and society as a whole abide by. Crime can be understood as acting against those laws (rules) that have a punishment in return for those actions. There are two models that are most commonly used by society to determine whether certain acts …show more content…
are considered to be criminal or not:
1. Due Process Model meaning us as citizens have rights, and we cannot be deprived of them. Law enforcement must recognize and respect these rights during their encounters with suspects.
2. Crime-Control Model supports the need of enforcing laws and maintaining public order.
Choice theories are commonly known as rational choice or decision choice theory.
When you see the words choice, rational and decision you can put together a definition in itself. Criminals choose to make a decision to act in a certain way, which they see, more benefit than harm. When criminals decided to act out and commit a crime they believe that that is the only rational thing to do, there are no other ways to benefit from a given situation. For example, when criminals steal things to turn around and make money by selling the items on the black market; surely the thought of getting caught has to cross their mind at some point. Maybe whether a security camera might catch their faces, they may leave DNA behind that can be traced back to them or even witness that can place them as the thief. Although they may consider these events, they carry out the crime anyways. Thefts see dollar signs instead of jail time. They see that the chance of getting away with the crime and making all of this money is greater than the chance of getting caught and being punished by law …show more content…
enforcement.
Our government is made up of three important branches: legislature, the judiciary and the executive.
Each of these works together to manage crime and ultimately try and prevent it just as police, courts and corrections work together in our criminal justice system to do the same. Our police departments and officers are put in place to enforce laws and provide services to any citizens that may be in need all while maintaining order in our society. Our courts main responsibility is to surface the truth and provide justice for our victims of crimes. Our final component of the criminal justice system is corrections, correctional institutions vary from prison, jail and halfway houses to house arrest where tracking devices may be implemented. The criminal justice system, I believe, is a system that works on a purpose. System; According to "Dictionary.com" (2014), an assemblage or combination of things or parts forming a complex or unitary whole. (Noun 1.) As a whole the criminal justice system does, in fact, try to act as a system, as noted above our police enforce the laws, our courts decide upon the laws, and our corrections carry out the punishment. As also stated in an Internet video, Pearson Custom Publishing (2011). If you were looking into specific parts of the criminal justice system, it would be a process. Process; According to "Dictionary.com" (2014), continuous action, operation, or series of changes taking place in a definite manner. (Noun 2.) The criminal justice
system would overall be classified as a process because of the contradiction and the competitiveness that takes place. In an Internet video, Pearson Custom Publishing (2011) states that there is competition for resources; competition creates lack of communication, and different types of people who, in fact, have their own personal goals. When you think of those specifics, and really dig into the "system" it proves itself to be more along the lines of a process.
References
Dictionary.com. (2014). Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/crime
Dictionary.com. (2014). Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/system
Dictionary.com. (2014). Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Process
Pearson Custom Publishing (2011). Issue 1: Is the Criminal Justice System Really a System [Video file]. Retrieved from Pearson CMG website: http://media.pearsoncmg.com/pcp/pcp_94869_mutchnick_cj_uop/chapter1/ch1_issue1/index.html