Definition of Crime
Definition of Crime According to the dictionary, crime 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” (Lexico publishing, 2012). It is considered to be a crime when an unlawful act as being committed that society agreed upon punishment for this act that has been committed. Society agreed upon crimes could range from littering, jaywalking, motor vehicle violations, white-collar crimes, or even the more violent crimes.
The crime control model is one of the most common models to show how society determines which acts are considered criminal. The crime control model basically stresses the efficiency of arrest and conviction of criminal offenders. In the late 1960s a law professor by the name Herbert Packer introduced the crime control model to the academic community at Stanford University within his state of criminal justice presentation. The control model is often referred to as the Packer’s crime control model. The due process model is another common use model to show how society determines which acts are considered criminal.
The due process model basically shows the individual rights at all stages of the justice system processing. The due process model helps to ensure that innocent people are not convicted of crimes that they did not commit. In America this is one of the essential parts of the justice system. Government Structure of the Criminal Justice System There are many different agencies that the criminal justice system works with such as: federal, state, and local governments. With the criminal justice system working with so many agencies many times creates problems determining whose jurisdiction the crime was committed in.
All the agencies that are involved in the criminal justice system are by law required to work together to ensure that the criminal justice system is working properly. Choice Theories Choice theories are also known as rational theories. The choice theories are a type of theory to where an individual feels that there is no other choice but to commit a crime. With choice theories the individual cannot see any other way around their predicament without committing a crime. The individual is completely unable to find a solution to the problem at hand on their own.
An example of choice theories might be an individual that has lost their job and can no longer provide food for their family sees no other way to provide food for their family except for committing a crime by stealing the food to feed their family. Components of the Criminal Justice System There are many different components that make up the criminal justice system which are the police, the courts, and corrections. All the agencies that make up the criminal justice system must work together to ensure that the criminal justice system is fire, impartial, professional, and have integrity.
The Police Departments are the individuals that are responsible for enforcing laws, investigating crimes, making arrest, maintaining public order, and at times providing emergency services. The court systems are responsible for ensuring that individual receive fair and impartial trials, determine if the individual is innocent or guilty, upload the written all, determine the type of sentence the guilty will receive, ensuring fairness, and protecting the rights and freedom of the individual.
Corrections are responsible for carrying out the sentences that the court system placed on the individual and provide safety and humane condition for all offenders. Goals of the Criminal Justice System There are five goals of the criminal justice system which are deterrence, incapacitation, retribution, rehabilitation, and restoration. Basically the criminal justice system is trying to put the fear of punishment and people in hopes of persuading the individuals from committing any more crimes.
The second goal of the criminal justice system is incapacitation which is basically the idea that if an individual is incarcerated for their crime then they will not be able to commit another crime. The third goal is retribution which replies that when retribution for a crime is provided justice will prevail. The fourth goal of the criminal justice system is rehabilitation which believes that by correcting the behavior by incarcerating an individual and providing the individual with new skills will help with returning back to society.
The fifth and last goal of the criminal justice system is restoration, which tries to repair the damage that the individual had done and return them back to society. Thoughts on the Criminal Justice System I believe that today’s criminal justice system has way too many flaws in it, but overall is a good system to have. Taking a look back in history to the first criminal justice system that was put into place there has been a great deal of advancements made to improve the criminal justice system to what we have today. So the flaws in the system we are using now can only improve over time.
I do not believe that there is a flawless system might very anywhere, so the system we are using now is better than having no system at all. References Demand media, I. (2012). ehow. Retrieved April 5, 2013 from http://www. ehow. com/about_6292484 _choice-related-criminal-justice-system-. html Lexico Publishing, L. (2012). Dictionary. com. Retrieved April 5, 2013 from http://dictionary. reference. com/browse/crime Schmallager, F. (2011). Criminal justice today: an introductory text for the 21st century (11th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ. Pearson/Prentice Hall
