Criminal Justice System

The issue of dealing with crime is a complex one and has posed dilemmas for those responsible for both legislating and enforcing the law for centuries. To combat the issue of crime in society, there is the criminal justice system. The criminal justice system is based on the overarching system of how we live our lives and our collective values and morals. Without this justice system, society would follow the rule of the jungle, that is, survival of the fittest. The criminal justice system is not just one system, rather a collective of several branches as they come together to eradicate crime, and bring justice to those who deserve it. These branches include law enforcement, the courts and corrections. There are three generally accepted reasons why society needs a justice system, the first being for rehabilitation of the convicted. Secondly, the justice system exists to punish the offender for the offence committed, and lastly, for the protection of the community from an offence being repeated by a convicted person. However, society cannot rely solely on the criminal justice system to prevent crime.

Before one can understand why society needs a criminal justice system, they need to understand what exactly the criminal justice system is. The criminal justice system is made up of three different branches, including law enforcement, courts and corrections (Neubauer & Fradella, 2011). The law enforcement branch includes police officers and federal agents who are the first contact between offenders and the criminal justice system. They investigate the crimes and decide when to make an arrest based on the evidence and eyewitness accounts. The second branch, the courts, is the place in which disputes and legal affairs are heard before a judge and possibly a jury. The offender remains innocent until proven guilty, and the judge ensures the case is fair and just by using his knowledge of law and previous cases. The courts are where evidence, testimonies and procedures are examined in order to determine whether the offence in question took place as alleged. Finally, the corrections branch of the criminal justice system is in place. This branch deals with protecting society by handing out appropriate punishments for offenders including jail time, parole/probation, as well as rehabilitative options (Neubauer & Fradella, 2011).

As stated above, there are generally three accepted reasons why society needs a criminal justice system. The first is for the rehabilitation of the offenders or, in other words, turning the ‘bad’ ways of the convicted around. During the 1970s and 1980s there was extensive cynicism in the notion of offender rehabilitation. However, recently there has been increased interest in the field of rehabilitation of offenders, leading to the suggestion that rehabilitation programs may be effective in reducing reoffending (Howells & Day, 1999). Consequently, there have been an increased number of rehabilitation programs