The Goals of Criminal Justice

Criminal justice is the branch of law that deals with disputes or actions involving criminal penalties. It regulates the conduct of individuals, defines crimes, and provides punishment for criminal acts. More so, it means activities relating to the detection, apprehension, detention, pretrial release, post trial release, prosecution, adjudication, correctional supervision or rehabilitation of accused persons or criminal offenders. Also, the administration of criminal justice includes criminal identification activities and the collection, storage and dissemination of criminal history records.

“The criminal justice system is purposive of delivering justice for all, by convicting and punishing the guilty and helping them to stop offending, while protecting the innocent. It is responsible for detecting crime and bringing it to justice; and carrying out the orders of court, such as collecting fines, and supervising community and custodial punishment” (Garland, 2002). The key goals for the criminal justice system are to help reduce crime by bringing more offences to justice, and to raise public confidence that the system is fair and will deliver for the law-abiding citizen. That includes increasing the satisfaction of victims and witnesses with the treatment they receive. Together with other partners, the criminal justice system works to prevent crime from happening in the first place, to meet the wider needs of victims, and to help turn offenders away from crime.

The National Criminal Justice Board has agreed a vision for the criminal justice system, which describes what the system will look like in the following years. Firstly, this system envisions that the public develop confidence on its being effective in serving all communities fairly. Also, it envisions for the victims and witnesses to receive a consistent high standard of service from all criminal justice agencies. It also wants to bring more offences to justice through a more modern and efficient justice process with a rigorous enforcement that has revolutionized compliance with sentences and orders of the court. Lastly, it sees itself as a joined up, modern and well run service, and an excellent place to work for people from all backgrounds.

In light with these goals, it is equally important to consider how the people view the criminal justice system. According to the results of a new national research commissioned by the Open Society Institute, part of the Soros Foundations Network, most Americans believe that the country’s criminal justice system comprises an ineffective, purely punitive approach to crime.

Three major findings are: Americans want to attack the underlying causes of crime rather than the symptoms; prevention is the nation’s premiere criminal justice goal; harsh prison sentences are being reconsidered as a primary crime-fighting tool, especially for non-violent offenders (Hanes, 2005).

Perhaps the most surprising finding regarding criminal justice policies is the degree to which the public has now turned against previously popular mandatory sentences, such as “three strikes” provisions. This is an area that links together the public’s changing perceptions of rehabilitation and drug policies, and reflects growing doubts about the “lock ’em up” approach to crime (Savelsberg, 2004).

In summary, the criminal justice system consists of law enforcement (police), courts, and corrections. Criminal justice agencies operate within rule of law. It aims to “reduce crime by bringing more offences to justice, and to raise public confidence that the system is fair and will deliver for the law-abiding citizen. It also aims to “balance the goals of crime control, prevention, and justice (equity, fairness, protection of individual rights), and to reduce crime and increase the security of the people” (Wolfgand, 1990). The view of the people towards criminal justice may vary from time to time due to different circumstances that transpire as time pass by. Nonetheless, what matters here is that the pursuit of its beneficiating goals are practiced all throughout since it is the people who will benefit the most.

REFERENCES:

Garland, D. (2002). Of Crimes and Criminals: _The Oxford Handbook of Criminology, 3rd edition_. Oxford University Press.

Hanes, R. (2005) Crime and Punishment in America. Volume 1. Thomas Gale. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomas Gale

Savelsberg, J. (2004). Institutional Environments and Scholarly Work: American Criminology, 1951-1993″. _Social Forces_ 82(4): p1275-1302.

Wolfgang, M. (1990). Crime and Punishment in Renaissance Florence. _Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology_ 81: 567-84.