Criminal and civil liability in justice system scenarios

Crimes and Civil Action

Court cases may occur in their criminal or civil nature attracting different kinds of penalties for the offenders. In the criminal justice practice, civil action often comes in the form of a lawsuit that has been advanced to enforce, protect, or redress the rights of the plaintiffs and defendants. The focus of a civil action undertaken against a party is to protect the civil rights of the parties involved in a lawsuit. The courts have the jurisdiction to listen to the litigants and the witness, conduct forensic study of the events that took place, and combine all these to establish a ruling in favor of either party involved in a case. This is done systematically within the laws and structures governing the criminal justice system where justice is delivered to the party found guilty.

Review of the Scenario

From the scenario provided, at least four alleged crimes and one possible civil action in the department and the city took place. It is evident from the scenario that the attacked woman approached Officer Jones in a high crime area, and explained that an attacker had beaten and robbed her. The fact that the victim's shirt was blood-soaked from a severe laceration in her head and lip meant that the attack was a real one and the damage was intense. Based on this, her claims about the attacker could have been believable, but the challenge was the inability to identify the architect of the crime. It is during the process that the police officer noticed the other person who had an almost similar description with the one given by the first victim. The officer asked the identified person to stop and surrender; it was dark in the city. The officer could not notice the person much clearly; the assailant refused to keep hands where Officer Jones could see them.

On this account, one of the legal actions that could be taken against the city was that of providing sufficient light in the city, especially in an area that was known to be a high crime area. The officer had difficulties in dealing with the situation and identifying the persons he met because of the insufficient lighting in the city's crime-prone. It may also be argued out in court that the absence of provision of sufficient lighting by the city amounts to gross neglect. This argument may be used in support of the civil action against the city, by virtue that the city's leaders knew the area was a high-crime area, but failed to provide sufficient lighting for the civilians using the roads at night. This neglect risks the lives of the police officers on duty, and civilians who take on a number of activities during the night hours (Marenin and Worrall, 1998).

The police department may also face civil action on two accounts involving the case. It is evident from the case that when the police saw that the first victim was bleeding, he called for medical assistance and backup. However, it appears to have taken longer than necessary. In fact, after asking for backup and medical assistance, the police officer noted the individual that partially fitted into the description that the officer had heard. The officer took time and walked to the individual to a point that the individual pulled his hand from his pocket leading the officer to shoot. When all this was taking place, the police department had not facilitated the backup and medical assistance personnel to come and rescue the first victim. The department may face a legal suit of neglect or not acting on time in a dangerous case reported within the crime-prone area (Dzur, 2012).

Similarly, the police department may also face civil action for allowing the police officer to take on the midnight shift alone. I believe there must be a rule that police officers must move in a patrol or more than two during dangerous missions. This incident seems to have found the police alone making the police to handle many issues at the same time. It may be argued that the department breached the police codes if proved that the officer was sent out on a midnight shift in a high-crime area unaccompanied. The police officer was alone when the series of events took place, and this may have led to poor judgment by the office leading to the mess captured in this case. The department failed to honor the police codes that disallowed police officers from conducting patrol/shift unaccompanied.