United States Criminal Justice System
It assumed that criminal justice systems around the world serve all people equally. When
criminal justice is fair to all individuals, the people served by this criminal justice system would
feel they have an egalitarian society. Nevertheless, societies such as the US have blamed for
criminal justice that outlines other communities. African Americans have long accused their
criminal justice system of racial profiling. They have treated unjustly not only by the police
alone but also by the court courts that are supposed to serve them equally. In essence, the
criminal justice system to act as a measure fails to administer justice to all, apparently due to the
social differences that shape other communities, especially based on their race.
Origins in the Development of the US Criminal Justice System
Like any other criminal justice system, America classified as police, courts, and
corrections. These three areas of criminal justice have their developmental history. It is therefore
important to address them separately and focus on how each area has succeeded or has not
administered justice.
However, historically American society had not developed its own criminal justice
system until the end of the colonial period. Immigrant teachers imposed their own rules and
laws, which denied Americans the opportunity to administer criminal justice independently.
However, when the colonial era reached a bitter end in the late 1700s, Americans had to initiate
their criminal justice to guide behavior in society (Schmalleger, et al., 2014).
The most interesting thing about the evolution of US criminal justice is that at some point
religion used to shape social behaviors. Being a Christian-dominated society, any sin committed
attracted severe punishment. Therefore, Americans not allowed committing any sacrileges,
profanities, and blasphemy. Any American who could commit it could punish largely, even by
stoning. It should also note that even during the colonial period, most of the laws or rules that
guide American society drawn from the Bible. Criminals could also whip severely, to be a lesson
to other Americans who might attempt to commit a crime (Schmalleger et al., 2014).
However, when the colonial era ended, the United States began to expand its
geographical location. The expansion brought many people to society, and it became necessary
to shape the behaviors of society, formally. In addition, as the American population grew,
religion became less active, leading to the establishment of some laws to guide society on how to
behave or act.
Unfortunately, the beginning of moral laws, to replace religion largely results in
violations of laws. Most Americans could not withstand moral laws, and they were on the wrong
side of the law. Morality laws received complete resistance at the outset, as Americans claimed
they were accustomed to God's law as opposed to the legislation introduced (Schmalleger et al.,
2014). However, as time progressed, Americans had to be accustomed to moral laws, albeit little
by little.
Ideally, religion, the expansion of society, and the increase of population formed the
American justice system largely. At some point, religion became less active, as the laws of
morality took the mantle. Although considered less efficient, as time progressed they went into
effect, which led to the introduction of formal criminal justice. As a result, the courts,
corrections, and police are introduced into American society.
History of the American Police
US police introduced in the early 1800s and volunteered. Members of the community
took the role of warning other members against breaking certain laws (Neubauer, & Fradella,
2015). Those members of the community in the community who committed a crime informed
about the consequences of their behavior if they did not stop them. The volunteers were not in
uniform, and there was no payment for them.
Nevertheless, over time, New York, Philadelphia and Boston hired guards to protect the
property. In the same way, guards used in England to protect property, but these night watchmen
were not sufficient in themselves. Sometimes they were drunk, or unmotivated because of the
lower payment they received. Besides, these wealthy cities could hire guards to protect their
private property, but even so, their services were not as efficient.
After the American Revolution in 1838, more vigilantes hired to protect the property not
only at night but also during the day. Day watchers supplemented their night counterparts.
Unfortunately, night and day watchers faced conflicts as two factions and to a certain extent
drove the need to create order (Neubauer, & Fradella, 2015). To avoid the conflict between the
two factions in Boston prompted New York to create the New York police department. This unit
built in 1845 and these two factions were united and formally in the performance of their
functions. They were in uniform, and a code of conduct developed for them. Therefore, of
forming this police department, other cities in the United States developed police departments
and later created a full police force. In short, the formation of the American police began after
the American Revolution, where people hired guards. The day and night guards had conflicts,
which provoked the creation of a police department and since then the American police has been
modernized.
History of the US Judicial System
The legal system of the United States developed, even before the colonial era. As
indicated earlier, punishments inflicted on members of society who committed blasphemies,
sacrilege or blasphemy punished, is a confirmation there was a body that played the role of
punishing the offenders (Neubauer & Fradella, 2015). With crime and sin almost related,
criminals fined and sometimes imprisoned.
Later in the 1840s, during the American Revolution, the courts became stronger to rule
on English laws that considered discriminatory. English law found to be unjust and inequitable;
as a result, the courts assessed and eliminated that legislation that was unfair. Later, the
American Revolution the courts became stronger and gave justice to many Americans. Besides,
with the rapid urbanization and population increase, it became necessary to strengthen the
judicial system. In essence, US courts have modernized as US society has urbanized and settled.
History of American Corrections
Anyway, criminal justice mainly originated from England. But American prisons and jails were
American inventions. In the sixteenth century, the criminals taken to workhouses, where they
could serve their punishments by performing some tasks. Unfortunately, the correction system
was inhumane in some cases, where criminals were stoned and sometimes subjected to harsh
conditions. However, later corrections, the courts, and the police developed a synergy that today
has given the United States a modern criminal justice system.
Institutions of the Criminal Justice System
From a broader perspective, the criminal justice system consists of the correctional
system, law enforcement, and judicial courts. The law enforcement is simply the police, whose
history has widely discussed before. Law enforcement officers (including detectives, sheriffs and
their deputies, hunters and rangers, patrol officers, and federal agents) are required to investigate
the crime, uphold the law, and arrest criminals. The US Constitution since the American
Revolution has been stable and has gone through thorough surgery regarding reforms, so the
code required by law to ensure that society obeys those laws (Neubauer and Fradella, 2015). In
addition, when an individual arrested, the police are required to investigate the crime and present
evidence to the judicial system for the administration of justice.
The court system involves several levels of courts, from the master level to the Supreme
Court. Any constitutional offender would bring to justice and given defense counsel. In the
judicial system, one is innocent until proven guilty and, in essence, the final judgment is in the
hands of the judges, who arrive after the analysis of evidence (Neubauer & Fradella, 2015).
The corrections system consists of correctional officers, probation officers, and parole
officers. Correction officers, prisoners in prisons, where they are serving, kept before or during
their trial (Neubauer, & Fradella, 2015). These officers are in city or county prisons, and they
required making sure that no prisoners escaped from jail during or before the deferral of their
trial. Probation officers are required to conduct presence investigations to assist the court in court
making their final judgment on the detention. Finally, probation officers mandated to make visits
to the homes of detainees on parole to determine whether they comply with parole orders.
Overview of the Criminal Justice System
It assumed that these three institutions of the criminal justice system work in synergy. It
is the application of the law to conduct investigations, arrests and teach criminals their rights, for
example, mandarin rights before brought to trial (Bailyn, 2017). Evidence of the alleged offense
would be up for prosecution, and the prosecutor would expose his testimony by incriminating the
alleged offender. The courts would then take a decision depending on the evidence and the
defenses presented, where they can dismiss the case or issue a fine or imprisonment. In the event
of a prison sentence, it is for corrections to take the criminal to the prisons to serve their prisons.
Therefore, these three institutions are interdependent and cannot function without the other, and
there is a clear-cut in their duties and responsibilities.
Impact of Research and Experimentation on Criminal Justice
Researchers, Weisburd et al. (2001), in their research question whether the type of
investigation design employed in the study of fairness and crime influence the conclusions. In
their findings, they conclude that the design has no systematic effect on the results of CJ studies.
In essence, what these authors say is that the experiments performed seem to have no serious
impact on outcomes in criminal justice studies (Weisburd et al., 2001). That implies, as far as
research is concerned, there are no significant results in the way criminal justice administered in
the United States.
According to Wish, & Gropper, (1990), drug testing conducted in the CJ system to
examine people who believed to have ingested drugs. Drug testing establishes criminals using
chronic abuse drugs, supervises them, stops drug use, and develops estimates of drug use trends
among criminals. The drug test for a long time based on urinalysis and today is shifting to a hair
sample radioimmunoassay (Wish, & Gropper, 1990). Experimenting with drug testing is critical
in the pre-trial phase to ensure that the person on the bench is the right mind for the correct
administration of justice.
Also in the research of Sherman et al. (1998), they analyzed statistics to help prevent
crimes. According to them, the research done is useful for the criminal justice system, as they
inform the institutions concerned about the efforts they must invest to prevent crimes. In essence,
their research seeks to obtain statistics from the criminal justice system to help them prevent
crime in some areas (Sherman et al., 1998). Ideally, with statistics on the prevalence of crime in
some areas, law enforcement would significantly respond by increasing its patrols, stopping
criminal elements and deterring illegal activities.
Public policy change influence on organizational policies and strategies of justice agencies
According to Ismaili (2011), the formulation of law and order is a process and must
thoroughly examined to understand the political change that it brings. Therefore, public policy in
the criminal justice system is not only something that can do indecently, but it takes a significant
amount of time. He goes on to say that when a public policy must carry out in the criminal
justice system, it must properly analyze. He says that defining the problem about politics is
central to doing it. Ideally, what Ismaili (2011) is saying is that the effectiveness of public policy
in the CJ system is only possible when its take is procedural.
Besides, any change in government policy in a working society influences the strategies
of justice agencies and in organizational policies. When public policy changed, the policies and
corporate strategies of justice agencies will have to align with public policy (Ismaili, 2011). The
point is that government policy is superior and represents the public interest. The public interest
is higher in the functioning of society and, therefore, free change obliges law enforcement
agencies and organizational policies to change rapidly by the demands of public policy.
In addition, any change in government policy determines how justice agencies engage the
public in certain issues about the law. In addition, the change would influence the decisions
about the policies of the organization. It is important to emphasize in this case that when the
public policy changed, justice agencies or systems would be obliged to improve their
commitment to the public so that justice not served, but served equally (Ismaili, 2011).
Organizing policies would also have to change so that they do not conflict with public policy.
The argument is that when changes in public policies are affected, organizational systems and
justice agencies would have to readjust their strategies to avoid clashing with public policies.
For example, on the issue of racial discrimination, policies and laws have adopted to treat
anyone convicted of racial discrimination. With this open policy of promoting racial equality, to
achieve social equity organizations forced to change their plans so that they can serve people of
all races. In addition, justice agencies, well aware that public policy seeks to end racial
discrimination, have forced to change their strategies in dealing with people of different races, so
that they not considered discriminatory.
Psychological Perspective of Human and Organizational Behavior about the Criminal Justice
System
From a psychological viewpoint, according to Turvey, (2011), the criminal profile affects
the mental well-being of people. In addition, they affirm that human behavior depends on the
criminal justice system, and if it is fair and adequate, criminal activities can significantly reduce
in a country. However, in a society such as the United States, where some members feel they
criminally profiled, it believed that the justice system fails because of its inability to apply the
law equally when dealing with a criminal aspect of society (Turvey, 2011). Because of the
criminal characterization, the protests and criticisms of the US criminal justice system have
recently increased. African Americans have continuously complained that the criminal justice
system has not been fair when it comes to them. Psychologically, this type of racial profile
affects the behaviors of African Americans who, to some degree, forced to violate the law in
protest of the social justice system that has continued to perpetuate racial discrimination for
centuries, rather than serving all.
Besides, in an environment where the criminal justice system functioned and protects
social equity, organizational behavior would conform to the law (Comer, 2015). In the United
States today, racial discrimination is a serious crime, and under different treatment policies,
organizations are required to protect the minority in the community.
Appreciation for human rights in the Constitution of the United States
In short, there is much to celebrated or appreciated about the United States Constitution
in rationalizing the criminal justice system. Today, the First Amendment protects the rights and
freedoms of all Americans, regardless of race, gender, and sex. There is freedom of expression,
speech, movement, among others, that the justice system must protect. Also, due to the change in
public policy, racial or sexual discrimination can result in severe punishment in the justice
system (Mason, & Stephenson, 2015). Today, movements like Black Lives Matter have
strengthened and protected by the Constitution of the United States to protect the rights and
freedoms of African Americans as provided in the Constitution, regardless of race. However,
police brutality and injustice in the social justice system are some of the challenges facing
America, but there are even reforms in law enforcement that hold officials accountable for their
actions.
References
Ismaili, K. (2011). Criminal Justice Policy: A Contemporary Reader. Ontario, Canada: Jones & Bartlett
Learning
Turvey, B. E. (2011). Criminal profiling: An introduction to behavioral evidence analysis (4thed.).
Burlington, MA: Academic Press (Elsevier).
Comer, R (2015). Abnormal Psychology, Ninth Edition. Worth Publishers; New York, New York.
Weisburd, D., Lum, C. M., & Petrosino, A. (2001). Does research design affect study outcomes in criminal
justice?. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 578(1), 50-70.
Wish, E. D., & Gropper, B. A. (1990). Drug testing by the criminal justice system: methods, research, and
applications. Crime and justice, 13, 321-391.
Sherman, L. W., Gottfredson, D. C., MacKenzie, D. L., Eck, J., Reuter, P., & Bushway, S. D. (1998).
Preventing Crime: What Works, What Doesn't, What's Promising. Research in Brief. National Institute of
Justice.
Bailyn, B. (2017). The ideological origins of the American Revolution. Harvard University Press.
Neubauer, D. W., & Fradella, H. F. (2015). America's courts and the criminal justice system. Cengage
Learning.
Schmalleger, F., Donaldson, S., Kashiwahara, K., Koppal, T., Chase, S., Brown, A., ... & Marash, D. (2014).
Criminal justice today. Prentice Hall.
Mason, A. T., & Stephenson, G. (2015). American constitutional law: introductory essays and selected
cases. Routledge.
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