criimial justice

¶ … criminal justice and how they impact the United States. In addition the writer explores the three styles of policing by James Q. Wilson and explains how they apply to the criminal justice system in America. There were five sources used to complete this paper.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEMS:

The models used today for enforcement as well as a discussion about policing policies throughout the nation

The constitution of the United States provides many protections for the citizens with regard to the criminal justice system. It does not allow unreasonable search and seizure, it provides for the right to face one's accuser and it mandates the right to be represented by legal counsel when being questioned or tried for a crime. Even given these protections there are issues surrounding the current criminal justice system and the way it is run. America uses two main models of criminal justice with each one having good and bad points. When they are used in conjunction with each other and combined with the decision by law enforcement officials to choose one of three policing policies, the public can be sure that victims and suspects are receiving the best possible criminal justice system possible.

The Models

The Due Process model of the criminal justice system uses the basic principle that the government and those who represent the government must respect all of each individual's legal rights (Due process http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Due_process).In addition, the attempt to prosecute someone for a crime must be met with every legal ability to protect the suspect so that if that person is convicted there is little doubt that it is the right person who has been convicted.

The Fifth Amendment contains a guarantee of due process applicable only to actions of the federal government. The Fourteenth Amendment contains virtually the same phrase, but expressly applied to the states (Due process http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Due_process)."

Part of the Due Process criminal justice model includes text from the fifth and 14th amendments to the United States Constitution.

No person shall be... deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.... " No State shall... deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.... (Due process http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Due_process)"

In basic terms Due Process means "fundamental fairness." Each person under the United States criminal justice system must be treated with the same rights and protections, regardless of their race, religion, gender or financial status.

Crime Control Model

While the Due process model of the United States tries to insure that the suspect and defendant has all of his or her constitutional rights protected the Crime Control Model works to get the criminals off of the street and keep them off.

The model works to help maintain social order through the design and implementation of laws that will allow law enforcement officials to take criminals off the street (CRIME-CONTROL MODEL (http://bitbucket.icaap.org/dict.pl?term=CRIME-CONTROL%20MODEL).It is a model that provides a foundation for using sting operations, drug sweeps and other methods for the purpose of locating, identifying, and removing those people who do society harm through their criminal activities.

Each of the systems work in tandem to provide the optimum protection of American society by way of the models.

History

In addition to the two criminal justice models, the patrol officers who are in the street each day are instrumental in the criminal justice system.

The history of policing can be traced back to the roots of this country, at which time the Wild West had sheriffs who were charged with maintaining order in the towns or camp areas they resided in. In addition the court system policed populations through much of the same methods used today.

There are many different styles of policing utilized today. In many instances the decision about which style to use depends on a combination of factors, including politics, population density, funding and law enforcement manpower.

According to James Q. Wilson's theory, policing can involve one of three styles. The first style is the legalistic style. In this style, laws and bills are passed that are used to insure the public's safety through their use in the criminal justice system. Whether it is a misdemeanor defendant going to court or a felon facing prison for the third time, the legalistic system provides methods to remand suspects to incarceration and keep them there for periods of time (Wilson, pp).

The legalistic method of policing also provides laws and mandates that provide not only officers but citizens the ability to enforce social order. A citizen's arrest allows a citizen who has witnessed a crime to arrest the suspect even if an officer was not present at the time the crime was committed.

The watchman style, according to Wilson, is implemented by law enforcement officials that believe the most effective law enforcement comes from observation. This style of law enforcement provides observations through patrol beats, in patrol cars, on bikes and on foot. Most people have observed the style when they see patrol vehicles driving through their neighborhoods they are witnessing the watchman style of policing. If they see officers standing on a beach or in a crowded fair and observing everyone there it is the practice of watchman policing. When they see a suspicious activity or a crime being committed they take action on it (Wilson, pp).

This style of policing is used throughout the nation and provides the ability to maintain social order in large populations, whether those populations are entire cities, zones of cities or well attended functions such as fairs and concerts. The ability to observe the large populations with driving and bike riding allows the law enforcement agencies to assign one or two officers to populations of several thousand residents at a time. It is a cost effective way in which to maintain social order and safety.

The third method of policing addressed by Wilson is called the service style. The service style includes components of the other two styles and is primarily focused on providing services to the people they are charged with protecting. These services can be in the way of citizen police academies, neighborhood watch seminars or other methods of providing valuable and proactive service to the communities.

I think the style most often used in American society today is the watchman style. Because of the large number of residents that are now in this country and the need for more law enforcement to maintain the crime rate, the use of a watchman style allows the most coverage for the least amount of spending.