Predictions are used in many aspects of life. For instance, weathermen predict the forecast. Sporting experts try to predict the outcome of sports events. Doctors try to predict the survival time for the terminally ill. The criminal justice system uses this concept as well. In each stage of the criminal justice system discretionary decisions are made. Criminal justice actors make these decisions by involving predictions about the future behavior of the individual (Lecture Notes, Module 4, Topic A). Judges use predictions to determine the bail, probation and sentencing of a defendant. The methods used to predict criminal behavior are: actuarial approach, prior history and clinical evaluation. An actuarial approach calculates the patterns of …show more content…
Though this is the case not everyone agrees it is the best solution in determining policy and outcomes of offenders. Opponents of prediction use in the criminal justice system are concerned about the methods utilized to make the predictions. Also, some have made ethical arguments against the use. Basically, opponents argue that errors are inevitable. Essentially, if a false positive occurs this can impair an individual’s freedom. For instance, if a judge determines an offender is likely to inflict future offenses based on false predictions and sentences this person to incarceration versus probation. On the other hand, if a judge determines an offender is not a public safety concern to society and actually is, this is a false negative. An example would be a sex offender released into society who then ultimately reoffends. (Lecture Notes, Module 4, Topic A) Opponents feel that using predictions in criminal justice are trusting experts too …show more content…
Police Departments and officers use prediction. Based on these predictions, department officials will determine where to allocate officers or make additional assignments. This saves precious resources and time. It has already been discussed that judges use predictions to determine an offender’s future. Whether it will be probation or incarceration. It is also used to determine length of probation and incarceration. Prediction will help determine the level of supervision one will endure while on probation. From low-risk offenders to high-risk, prediction determines
Wright, J. (2012). Introduction to criminal justice. (p. 9.1). San Diego: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUCRJ201.12.1/sections/sec9.1
- gives an idea of what future offenders look like and how they might think.
Crimes are deliberate acts, with the intent of benefiting the offender. 2. Benefiting unsuccessfully in choosing the best decisions because of the risks and uncertainty involved. 3. Decision making significantly varies with the nature of the crime. 4. Involvement decisions are quite different from the commission (event decision) of a specific act. 5. Involvement decisions are divided into three stages: first time involvement (initiation), continued involvement (habituation) and ceasing to offend (desistance), 6. Event decisions include a sequence of choices made at each stage of the criminal act, involvement model, background factors and situational life styles, initiation (of becoming involved in a crime), habituation (deciding to continue with crime), distance (deciding to stop criminal behavior) and event model – criminal even
If given this prompt at the beginning of this semester I would have answered with a resounding yes, the criminal justice system is racist. The classes I have previously taken at LSU forced me to view the criminal justice system as a failed institution and Eric Holder’s interview in VICE - Fixing The System solidified that ideology. The system is man-made, created by people in power, and imposed on society, so of course there will be implicit biases. The issue is that these internally held implicit biases shaped the system, leading the racial and class disparities. VICE – Fixing The System addressed heavily the outcomes that we see in today’s society based on these implicit biases. Additionally, this documentary focuses on the ways that mainly
Over the next 10 years the criminal Justice system could entirely change with the passing of a major law, epidemic, or failed service. Consequently, every since 9-11 our justice system has become much more open minded. Therefore, resulting in the strict enforcement of laws to protect its citizens. Nothing ever stays the same for too long. New developments related to science, technology, DNA analysis, and countless other tools and other factors are changing for the better in solving cases, prevention of crimes, and aiding in investigations. Where there is change there will be changes in the way we handle everyday processing. For example, booking a criminal, acquiring evidence, and interrogation. This also results in the field of criminal justice having no choice but to adapt to the slowly changing times or else be left behind.
Description of offender’s psychological history and functioning at the time of the offence is based on statistical approach which involves the analysis of behavioural and other relevant information found at the scene of crime in order to infer ...
My first exposure to the criminal justice system was while in high school when I was fortunate to be chosen for an internship with a District Judge John Vance in Dallas, Texas. Judge Vance made certain I had a rich and varied experience. He had me to sit in on several high profile cases in his court and to participate in preparing cases for trial with a prosecutor and defense attorney. In addition, he encouraged me to visit other courtrooms and courthouses to observe the proceedings. This along with him coordinating visits at local jails and law enforcement agencies gave me a broad and well-rounded perspective of the criminal justice system. I recall fondly, sitting in on closing arguments at the federal courthouse; the prosecutors practiced
The status of the criminal justice system in Europe during the 1700s was the product of long tradition of aristocracy. An aristocracy government is one in which land is owned by particular families and is passed down through the generations of a family line. The monarch of the region grants titles and powers to the privileged classes, who in return keep order within their land and swear loyalty to the monarch. Property and power in an aristocracy were the privileges of birth alone and being merit was simply irrelevant. Their lives circled around maintaining, while attempting to expand, their wealth and power. Historically, as a higher class among others, aristocrats were known to be negligent towards the poor. To where they were prone to appoint
From the beginning of the Criminal Justice System, the obsession was with prison and punishment. In the last few years, this focus forced the jail and prison populations to skyrocket higher than any other place in the world. There is never a class we are not reminded there are currently 2.3 million people in United States prisons and jails. The criminal justice system or the correctional system has not changed yet remained its focus on deterrence and isolation not on the proactive ways of dealing with crime.
The criminal justice system has come under fire over the last couple years over the handling of many incidents involving police officers use of force and the lack of punishments being handed down to them. Police officers play a vital role in ensuring law and order is maintained in the communities they are protecting and serving against any crimes and to help during natural disasters. This paper will explore how the criminal justice system is viewed in the eyes of a police officers and the thoughts on everything that has been ongoing.
The writer further contends Young’s noting the mathematical models was intentional, and designed to effectively illustrate his point of their ineffectiveness because they are difficult to absorb. Despite such difficulty, the writer contends Young did immediately create some useful insights. Foremost was the ideal of what Young metaphorically termed, the “datasauer also known as Empiricus Abstractus” (Young, 2011). What the writer noted was Young’s critique of modern criminology’s ineffective and improper overuse of empiricism to predict criminal behavior is a flawed concept due to variation fluctuations and data manipulation. The writer noted that Young (2011) used as evidence to demonstrate deficiencies the very thing he argues against in noting the level of explanatory power in multivariate models over-estimates prediction levels (p.
A judge has the ability to choose to alter their decision for sentencing based on their respective state’s truth in sentencing program. Depending on the crime and the offender, a judge may decide to mandate the offender to a longer than average sentence. The judge may change the offender’s base sentence. It may be reduced to match a sentence that is similar to a non-truth in sentencing punishment. He or she knows the offender will only serve about eighty-five percent of the sentence before they are eligible for parole or released. By minimizing the sentence, the eighty-five percent served would resemble a sentence that allowed for early release (Chen, 2001, page ii). However, the judge may form a bias of the individual and use this power to order them to a greater amount of time in order to punish the person. An individual who commits a crime, especially a violent crime, would serve almost double the average sentence served (Ditton and Wilson, 1999, pages 7-8). It would also force individuals, who commit less severe crimes to serve longer sentences since they are serving the majority of their sentence. A bias of the offender, which can be based on any extralegal factor, may lead to an injustice sentence and truth in sentencing would not allow them to be released early. There are also innocent people within the criminal justice system that may be falsely convicted.
The foundation of our legal system rest upon the single philosophy that humans hold their own fate. Even though, we perceive in our daily lives the persistence of causation and effect. Even children understand the simplistic principle that every action will have a reaction. Despite this obvious knowledge, we as a society still implanted the belief that our actions are purely our own. Yet, with the comprehension of force that environmental factors impact our development, we continue to sentence people for crimes committed. Moreover, uncontrollable environmental influences are not the only deterministic factors we ignore in our societal view of crime. One’s biological composition can work against any moral motives that they
...ifferent crime patterns and thought processes of criminals. The reasons can only come from these theories and will help the justice systems become more prepared to react towards different crimes. However, with adding some enhancements, projects and experiments these two theories have the potential to change the criminology realm forever.
In Intro to Criminal Justice class, I had the opportunity to learn about the Criminal Justice System more thoroughly. I learned that there are three components that make up the Criminal Justice System such as the courts, law enforcement, and corrections. Each component has its own role in making sure the the Criminal Justice System is functioning properly. If one of these components are not efficient the Criminal Justice system will not be as strong as it could be.