Criminal Justice Trend Evaluation

When society is changing the criminal justice system has always done a good job to adopt, evolve, and make the necessary adjustment or modification when dealing with society to identify growing trends. In this assignment the writer will evaluate the past, present, and future trends surrounding society. In addition, he will discuss the recent and and future trends and contemporary issues affecting the criminal justice system, and the value of the criminal justice system in a changing society. A good example off a trend the criminal justice system has had to comply with and combat at the same time has been the evolution of technology and how much it has evolve in the last decade. Past Trend In the past the criminal justice system focused on the community they were dealing with. They were more community oriented as well as patrol oriented, law enforcement officials made it an emphasis to get too know their community and vice versa. They relied on the community more than ever because they did not have the technology resources we have today. Law enforcement officers dealt with crime, OC groups, drugs, murders, fights, robberies, etc. but the trust they were able to gain because they were involved with the community the citizens where not fearful off the officers.

There was a trust in both the community, law enforcement officials, and the criminal justice system. Years ago there was no forensic to solve a case like we have today. This made cases much more difficult to solve and put criminals behind bars for their criminal acts. Technology was non-existence back then like we have today. Technology makes a huge diffenrence on Criminal Justice Trends Evaluation3 how law enforcement officials go about a case to capture a criminal. In the early 1900’s to mid 1900’s organize crime groups, prostitution, gambling, prohibition, etc. became a major problem for the criminal justice system. Corruption began to take over and law enforcement officials that included judges, lawyers, officers, etc. began to join the corruption industry and it caused a tsunami of issues with enforcing laws and catching criminals. The public where witnessing what was going on and had no idea who to trust or depend on. This cause society to turn on law enforcement and the criminal justice system as a whole.

The public became fearful and could not trust the criminal justice system or law enforcement officials like they once did. “In the 1960s, for reasons not entirely understood, the generally downward course that crime rates had been marking since the 1930s came to an end. Crimes reported to the police rose, the police made more arrests, lawmakers began passing tougher laws that increased penalties for lawbreaking, the number of cases prosecuted by the courts increased, the number of people in prisons, jails, and under probation and parole supervision increased dramatically, and spending by all levels of government for criminal justice institutions grew. The Federal Government’s role in the Nation’s efforts to fight crime was also transformed.”(Douglas McDonald Peter Finn) Present Trend Today with the evolution of technology the criminal justice system doesn’t just the same crime they have seen for centuries rapes, robberies, murders, drug trafficking, Criminal Justice Trends Evaluation4 OC groups, etc. with the evolution of technology cyber crime has increased rapidly over the past decade.

This crime alone is making the job of law enforcement officers and the criminal justice system much more difficult, dangerous, and time consuming. This crime is taking place all over the world not just in U.S soil. Cyber crime is very frustrating on everyone in the justice system because they don’t have that support from the public the once did. Law enforcement officials have had to evolve and become more creative in capturing criminals over time with the evolution of cyber crime. Law enforcement officers have had to pose as someone their not to catch criminals over the internet, they have to set-up stings, etc. “American laws addressing cybercrime are shaped by the general structure of law in a federal state with common law courts. As cybercrime encompasses both general preexisting crime that is extended onto the Internet, as well as crimes that are specific to a twenty-first century world of networked computers, legal responses include the application of laws of general applicability as well as specific enactments aimed at crime on the Internet.

To date, American efforts at dealing with Internet crime continue to be dominated by reactive legislation and responsive recasting of existing criminal law actions to deal with crimes such as unauthorized access, fraud, obscenity, child pornography, and copyright infringement. Accession to the Convention on Cybercrime has seen the enactment of provisions aimed at meeting commitments thereunder. However, a systematic approach to cybercrime is still at a nascent stage.”(Salil K. Mehra) Future Trend The criminal justice system has to keep evolving the same way technology has Criminal Justice Trends Evaluation5 been evolving through the years. Criminals are becoming more sophisticated and technology is becoming more and more sophisticated. To combat identity theft, fraud, and cyber crime in general law enforcement officials must evolve and become more Sophisticated.

“The globalization of criminal networks and advances in technology have made international criminal organizations a significant threat to the safety and security of our nation,” said Attorney General Holder. “But we are answering that threat by developing a 21st century organized crime program that will be nimble and sophisticated enough to combat the danger posed by these criminals for years to come. IOC-2 gives us the capacity to collect, synthesize and disseminate information and intelligence from multiple sources to enable federal law enforcement to prioritize and target the individuals and organizations that pose the greatest international organized crime threat to the United States.”(Eric Holder Attorney General) Value of the Criminal Justice System there is no question the value of the criminal justice system in a changing society the criminal justice system is needed to keep the peace.

Without the criminal justice system their would be chaos across the country. It would be like a chicken without a head organize criminal groups and terrorist group wpold take over. Society needs structure and that is what the criminal justice system provides the citizen. The criminal justice system gives society their rights and keeps them safe from criminals. Society is changing at a rapid pace with illegal immigrants being at the highest peak than ever before. This leads to different cultures, race, ethnicity, beliefs, etc. without the criminal justice system we won’t Criminal Justice Trends Evaluation6 have any control of who comes in and out of the country. The value of the criminal justice system in a changing society cannot be valued it is much needed. Conclusion There is no doubt that law enforcement officials and the criminal justice system as a whole has evolved since the beginning.

In this paper the writer look at the past trend, present trend, future trend, contemporary issues affecting the criminal justice system, as well as the value of the criminal justice system in a changing society. Criminals will always try and stay ahead of the justice system by changing the way they commit crimes whether they are clever or not is not an issue. The criminal justice system has to be proactive and evolving to stay ahead of the criminals.

References:

January 31, 2000 Prepared by Douglas McDonald Peter Finn. Retrieved Jan 27, 2013 http://www.abtassociates.com/reports/cjtrendsthreedecades.pdf The American Journal of Comparative Law Volume 58, Supplement 1 June 25, 2010 By: Salil K. Mehra . Retrieved Jan 27, 2013 http://comparativelaw.metapress.com/content/u14264381354011u/ Department of Justice. Attorney General Announces Center to Fight International Organized Crime. (2009). Retrieved Jan 27, 2013 By: Eric Holder Attorney General http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2009/May/09-ag-525.html