Understanding the Criminal Justice System

¶ … criminal justice system and the historical foundations of the system. The study has discussed the current criminal justice system and how it has evolved during the years. The various functions of the criminal justice system are also discussed briefly to get clear understanding on the topic. Criminal Justice System is a system of institutions and practices employed to uphold crime, deterring and social control or to put sanctions on those who are violating the laws by imposing criminal penalties and through rehabilitation efforts.

The accused criminals also have some protections against the misconduct or abuse of prosecution and investigatory powers. The criminal justice policy in the United States is guided by a ground breaking report that was presented to the President's Commission in 1967 on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice. This commission had advised a systematic approach in dealing with criminal justice through a coordinated effort among courts, correctional agencies and law enforcement agencies.

The criminal justice was defined as a means to the society for enforcing the necessary standards of conduct in order to protect the community and its individuals. The modern form of the criminal justice system in the United States has evolved with some policy reforms, different kinds of punishments and much needed rights for the offenders. The journal of National Institute of Justice has highlighted these changes in the criminal justice system mentioning that they have been influenced by the changing economic conditions, practices, customs and political ideologies.

History tells us that exile was the most common form of punishment given to the criminals for their acts later on it was replaced by a sort of penalty which asked the criminals to pay certain amount of gold or money to victim or the victim's family. For people who could not pay the victim's family; they were awarded with harsh penalties and corporal punishments including execution, flogging, branding and mutilation.

(Evolving Strategy of Policing: Case Studies of Strategic Change, 2002) Katherine Mayo found out that William Penn was the first one in the United States to introduce the Correctional reforms in the latter stage of the 17th century. Pennsylvania introduced a criminal code which prevented the torture and some other cruel forms of punishment awarded to the criminals, by replacing the corporal punishments with prisons and jails. However these reforms could not last for long as right after the death of William Penn they were reverted back in 1718.

The lawmakers however had to face heavy pressure from Quaker group and these reforms were then reinstated in 1880s. The changes in the policies in Pennsylvania had led to a drop in the crime rate. Henry Fielding and Patrick Colquhuom were among the most prominent figures that made significant reforms in the criminal justice system. (Justice to All: The Story of the Pennsylvania State Police, 1920) The criminal justice system is comprised of three main functions.

The first function is legislative, the main duty of this function is to create laws according to the needs and demands of the community. The second function is adjudication; the duty of this function is to provide fair and accessible justice to the community. The third and the last function of a criminal justice system is the Correction. Offenders are handed over to the correctional authorities after the criminal is accused.