Criminal Justice System: History, Structure, and Modern Perspectives
Introduction
The term “criminal justice system” is often used in criminal law, policy, and punishment discussions. In everyday usage, almost no one would think to question this phrase. This way of describing the thinking system, prisons, and accusations became popular in the 1960s (Mayeux, 2018). The idea of the criminal justice system is further contextualized in this essay within a more general history of systems theory. The main emphasis is on the latest research in the field of intellectual history and the history of science (Atkinson-Sheppard et al., 2023).
Activistic Attitude towards Criminal Justice System
The criminal justice system occurred due to increased crime in the 20th century and involved the punishment of lawbreakers and the healing of victims; however, activists do not entirely share the public opinion that the justice system correlates with courts and prisons. Activists often refer to the justice system as the penal system, implying that “justice” has little to do with American courts and prisons. Lawyers put themselves in the center of the “criminal legal system,” but scientists strive for more concise options – simply “the criminal system.
In recent years, advocates have developed projects for a better criminal justice system, and scholars have been able to divide the criminal justice system into subsystems. They include terms such as the judicial system or the legal system, which correlates with the interaction of this system with other institutions such as the immigration system, the social security system, and the public school system (Mayeux, 2018). Today, the ways these systems are subordinated are widely explored. Therefore, the masses widely discuss the justice system, and its understanding is only sometimes relevant.
The History of Topic
The idea of a criminal justice system in the modern sense first arose in the 1920s and 1930s during the interwar proliferation of crime research. Between 1900 and 1925, murders began to increase in some American cities (Mayeux, 2018). The dry law only contributed to the development of the underground trade, giving rise to the spectacular violence typical of black markets.
Among the people, the general fear of crime has mixed with a more specific set of anxieties about the new phenomenon of the vast metropolis. The fears that haunted people at the time mixed with racial fantasies about the underclass in the cities “to produce a potent mixture of reformist energy focused on the problem of crime” (Mayeux, 2018, p.64). The American legal system was weak and ineffective in responding to the crisis. Hence, the reason for the appearance of the criminal justice system was the increase in crime in the 20th century.
Analysis of Term
The central components of justice are the punishment of lawbreakers and the healing of victims. Today, the statistics are staggering, as “1.8 million violent crimes occur every year” (U.S. Department of Justice, n.d.). The functioning of the criminal justice system is society’s response to crime. This concept includes correctional systems and law enforcement agencies that operate at the local, state, and national levels. The police arrest criminals, collect evidence, protect the community, and respect the rights of the accused (Study Smarter, n.d.). Most movies today involve police duties from the point of view of a cop in a patrol car who receives a report of an armed robbery. Equally appropriate in the justice system is the use of emergency 911, computers, pursuit and arrest of a suspect, procedures at the police station, and prosecution violation.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the criminal justice system includes a system of interconnection between the government’s court and administrative authorities to establish justice in the country and manage the judicial authorities. The justice system is mainly composed of various state bodies at the federal and state levels. With the strength for further investigation, the thought about those who, like a person, were on the territory, like someone else’s power, and brought the right to damage, which transfers compensation in such a state of affairs.
References
Atkinson-Sheppard, S., Dando, C., Ormerod, T., & Robinson, B. (2023). Coercion and crime: Convergences, divergences and “county lines”. Criminology & Criminal Justice. Web.
Mayeux, S. (2018). The idea of “The Criminal Justice System.” Journal of Criminal Law, 55. Web.
Study Smarter. (n.d.). Criminal Justice System: Definition & Changes | StudySmarter. Web.
U.S Department of Justice. (n.d.). Understanding the criminal justice system. Web.