Crime Philosophy On Criminal Justice

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Crime Philosophy Paper Collin Davis CRJ 451 Professor Griffin May 2014 Crime Philosophy Crime control, consisting of many elements of prevention and punishment, is a widely debated and often contentious topic. Myriad agendas occur in government and society, depending upon the kind of organizational or philosophical objective trying to be met. Political differences are present within the criminal justice system that draw upon certain models, techniques, and methods associated with crime prevention. Society functions as another element in crime control, as often an underlying fear creates a pressure to enact programs and laws. The media enters in as a forum to present conservative and liberal opinions to enact and enforce criminal laws and punishment. A debate over crime often strives to define prevention and punishment, in models that make these terms mutually exclusive, versus a view that crime prevention is a result, and punishment only one possible tool for achieving that result. Different forms of punishment will be discussed in relationship to the criminal justice system as well as the purpose the punishment serves, problems relating to the punishment, and an opinion on improvements and solutions. False beliefs regarding crime and the criminal justice system are often created by media coverage. Statistics on crime rates, violent crimes, racial involvement, and juvenile crime are often misrepresented, allowing a fear of crime by society. These crime myths tend to cause public fear to turn to more punitive solutions and harsh penalties for criminals. However, many Americans also desire to rehabilitate and examine the underlying causes of crime. To understand the possible forms of punishment, one may look at the ... ... middle of paper ... ... the past several decades as a tough on crime approach has been adopted in the United States. According to Barkan and Bryjak, this approach has not served as a deterrent to crime. What has occurred are over-populated prisons and prisoners that are released back into society with little or no rehabilitation, causing a vicious cycle of re-offenders. The focus of the criminal justice system needs to shift from punishment to prevention. Prevention can be manifested in many programs: focusing on urban at-risk populations, targeting younger children to provide mentors to help them avoid falling into criminal behavior patterns, creation of jobs to help low-income families, and better rehabilitation programs for those that do end up in the prison system. Shift the billions of dollars spent on incarceration to a structure that will succeed: prevention.

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