A system where victims are referred that will assess their role, treatment and value is the Criminal Justice System. In this system, the treatment of victims by law enforcement continues to raise questions about the rights and freedoms of the victim. Although victims are the main part of the crime that was committed in this system, they tend to continually be overlooked throughout the criminal justice proceedings. This will be illustrated through various explanations by law enforcement officers, criminologists, and research articles and you will read how the criminal justice system fails to acknowledge and give rights to victims that should be given based off the Crime Victims’ Rights Act of 2004. You will find out how victims are treated, …show more content…
(Boateng, 223) However, a problem with this bill of rights is that victims in the criminal justice system are treated differently depending on what type of victim they are. Captain Patrick Maney stated in an interview “I have witnessed an absence of the aforementioned in the treatment of some victims. It is generally easy to treat obvious victims (children, elderly) well, but more difficult for the drug abusing victim, the prostitute victim or the victim with a criminal history.” (Maney, Flannigan Interview) As you can see from this statement, victims are not treated equally by law enforcement due to who they are, their history and personalities, making a difference in how they are viewed. Officials in this system may be biased of these victims because of this and won’t offer the services the particular victim may be needing. It is important to take all victims into account throughout proceedings so the offender can be given the proper …show more content…
(Boateng, 221) An example of an offender receiving a short sentence is the infamous Brock Turner case. Brock turner a former swimmer at Stanford University, was caught sexually assaulting a woman who’d passed out behind a dumpster outside a fraternity house party. Turner was only sentenced to six months in jail. The public, accused the judge Aaron Persky of being biased against women and sentencing Turner a light sentence because he was affluent and white. (Cleve, Washington Post) This is just one of many cases where the victim was not taken into account and the system failed to give her security and assurance. The victim’s friend Dauber made a public statement at the end of the sentencing stating “Judge Persky did not just make a single bad decision, he made a slew of bad decisions involving sex crimes and violence against women.” (Cleve, Dauber, Washington Post) Had the victim been given her rights, taken seriously and treated fairly, justice would be
2. Did you easily find the National Criminal Justice Reference Service when you searched for NCJRS on the search tools?
The criminal justice system is dynamic and has changed rapidly since the works of Cesare Beccaria and Cesare Lombroso during Enlightenment Period and this reflects in the issue of intersectionality with the changing approaches taken towards concepts of gender, race and class. Sexual assault will be a predominate study used throughout the essay to examine the different approaches and issues between traditional and non-traditional justices. This essay will first establish where are these intersectionalities found in terms of sexual assault cases and the challenges victims face in the legal process with traditional approaches then followed by a comparison to the transition towards non-traditional alternative justice system has responded with a deeper insight into restorative justices and its effects on resolving these challenges. The role of alternative justice and the key challenges in disproportionate crimes are also important aspects of intersectionality in Australia as they aim to resolve challenges women and the mentally disabled encounter during processing through court in the criminal justice system.
The criminal justice system has been evolving since the first colonists came to America. At first, the colonists used a criminal justice system that mirrored those in England, France, and Holland. Slowly the French and Dutch influences faded away leaving what was considered the English common law system. The common law system was nothing more than a set of rules used to solve problems within the communities. This system was not based on laws or codes, but simply that of previous decisions handed down by judges. Although rudimentary, this common law system did make the distinction between misdemeanors and the more serious crimes known as felonies.
I take into consideration that instead of authorizing the state or professional to ratify and speak their mind, the most relevance to a case the court should take into consideration of what the victim seems fit as a fair punishment or payment in forms of restitution, whether it is labor or monetary to then go along with the judge 's sentence. “The Charter, apart from other things, sets forth that the victim should enjoy the same rights as the culprit. But it is not enough to put this in writing, the law has to be changed in such a way that the victim is not only not deprived of his say, but has rights at least equal to those enjoyed by the accused”. I agree with the previous quote due to the fact that victims should not be deprived from speech and equality. I believe that by having the original parties engaged rather than being driven to the side, society will be more concerned to make sure that everyone is given fair, equal and consistent resolution to a conflict. This would establish that the neighbourhood and state have a set of shared values and goals that they are working towards to support social order. “At present, the role of a victim of a crime is only at the periphery of the criminal justice delivery system. Once the first information is furnished, the only stage at which the victim comes into the picture is when she is called upon to give evidence in court by the prosecution. The victim virtually
Young, M. (1999) Restorative community justice in the United States: A new paradigm. International Review of Victimology, 6, p265-277.
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
Within the Federal Government there are three main branches; “the Legislative, the Judicial, and Executive” (Phaedra Trethan, 2013). They have the same basic shape and the same basic roles were written in the Constitution in 1787.
The United States has been known world-wide for entertainment surrounding the police, judiciary, and incarceration systems. These shows and movies are filled with violence - and at the end, the “bad guys” (criminals) always lose to the “good guys” (law enforcement). But this poses the question: should criminals be treated badly due to their offenses? It is common sense that when one breaks the law, they should be punished for it. However, do the crimes committed take away the humanity of the convict? Prisoners are still citizens of the United States and therefore have rights. America’s Incarceration System continues to fail to meet the needs and rights of prisoners due to issues such as overcrowding, lack of health care, discrimination, and sexual assault.
This approach has introduced a criminal justice policy agenda. In the past, victims to criminal activities have been outsiders to the criminal conflict. In recent times, many efforts have been made to give the victims a more central role in the criminal justice system. Some of these efforts were introduced a few years back, though even at that time, these efforts were seen as long overdue. Some of these efforts include access to state compensation and forms of practical support. For advocates of restorative justice, crime is perceived primarily as a violation of people and relationships, and the aim is to make amends for all the harm suffered by victims, offenders and communities. The most commonly used forms of restorative justice include direct mediation, indirect mediation, restorative cautioning, sentencing panels or circles and conferencing. In recent...
The criminal justice system is composed of three parts – Police, Courts and Corrections – and all three work together to protect an individual’s rights and the rights of society to live without fear of being a victim of crime. According to merriam-webster.com, crime is defined as “an act that is forbidden or omission of a duty that is commanded by public law and that makes the offender liable to punishment by that law.” When all the three parts work together, it makes the criminal justice system function like a well tuned machine.
Christie, N. (1986) ‘The ideal victim’, in E. Fattah, (Ed.), From Crime Policy to Victim Policy: Reorienting the Justice System New York: St Matins Press
Women and men who live in the communities where wrongful convictions occur are vulnerable to becoming victims of some of the most heinous crimes. And, in the
Many victims suffer from trauma after they have been harmed resulting to their judgment for sentencing will be based on their own personal trauma and emotions and will not show justice for the offender
In recent years the role of victims in the criminal justice system has risen into prominence, inspiring much research into victim experience and possible reform. There are a multitude of factors that influence policy makers in relation to reforming the criminal justice system, one of which is victims. However, victims while they can be catalysts for reforms such as the case of James Ramage among others, they still play a relatively minor role in influencing policy change.
In my opinion the purpose of the legal system involves many things. The legal system provides everyone a fair and equal trail in the eyes of the law without prejudice. You are innocent until proven guilty and judged by a jury of your peers. The legal system helps to derive, enact, and enforce laws to protect society and ensure domestic tranquility. Victims can get the justice they deserve when someone disrupts their daily lives and generates physical, mental, and/or emotional pain. The Legal Studies Academy at First Colonial High School will teach me things I never knew and help me to become the best lawyer I can be.