Define the following terms:
1. Justice - Justice, as defined by the Criminal Justice Today textbook, is "The principle of fairness; the ideal of moral equity" (Schmalleger 10). Ideally, the definition of justice is composed of fairness, moral rightness, and a scheme or system of law in which every person receives his or her due from the system, including all rights, both natural and legal. Justice can also be defined as "The maintenance or administration of what is just especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments" (Merriam-Webster). An example of justice would be someone being set free from prison after DNA evidence shows they are innocent.
2. Multiculturalism - Multiculturalism,
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as defined in the textbook, is "The existence within one society of diverse groups that maintain unique cultural identities while frequently accepting and participating in the larger society's legal and political systems. Multiculturalism is often used in conjunction with the term diversity to identify many distinctions of social significance" (Schmalleger 25). It is a doctrine of state policy which provides active encouragement and support to the co-existence of multiple cultures within a same territory. As define by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it is a term which is "Of, relating to, reflecting, or adapted to diverse cultures" (Merriam-Webster). An example of multiculturalism would be an honors classroom with students from several different countries and who speak different languages. 3. Due Process - Due Process, as defined in the textbook, is "A right guaranteed by the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution and generally understood, in legal contexts, to mean the due course of legal proceedings according to the rules and forms established for the protection of individual rights. In criminal proceedings, due process of law is generally understood to include the following basic elements: a law creating and defining the offense, an impartial tribunal having jurisdictional authority over the case, accusation in proper form, notice and opportunity to defend, trial according to established procedure, and discharge from all restraints or obligations unless convicted" (Schmalleger 20). It is essentially, a fundamental, constitutional guarantee that all legal proceedings will be fair and that one will be given notice of the proceedings and an opportunity to be heard before the government acts to take away one's life, liberty, or property. It is also a constitutional guarantee that a law shall not be unreasonable, arbitrary, or capricious. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines Due Process as "A course of formal proceedings (as legal proceedings) carried out regularly and in accordance with established rules and principles, also called procedural due process" (Merriam-Webster). An example of Due Process would be an officer not being able to use the evidence obtained in a crime scene if it was done through illegal methods, such as not using a search warrant, which is guaranteed by Due Process. 4. Probable Cause - Probable Cause, as defined by the textbook, is "A set of facts and circumstances that would induce a reasonably intelligent and prudent person to believe that a specified person has committed a specified crime. Also, reasonable grounds to make or believe an accusation. Probable cause refers to the necessary level of believe that would allow for police seizures (arrests) of individuals and full searches of dwellings, vehicles, and possessions" (Schmalleger 17). The term can also be defined as, sufficient reason based upon known facts to believe a crime has been committed or that certain property is connected with a crime. Probable cause must exist for a law enforcement officer to make an arrest without a warrant, search without a warrant, or seize property in the belief the items were evidence of a crime. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines Probably Cause as "evidence that gives someone a reason to think that a crime has been or is being committed" (Merriam-Webster). An example of probable cause would be an officer seeing or smelling contraband in plain view or plan smell which allows for an officer to perform a search and make an arrest. 5. Social Order - Social Order, as defined by textbook, is "The condition of a society characterized by social integration, consensus, smooth functioning, and lack of interpersonal and institutional conflict. Also, a lack of social disorganization" (Schmalleger 9). The term can also be defined as the manner in which a society is organized and the rules and standards required to maintain that organization. In the first sense, this term refers to a particular set of system of linked social structures, institutions, relations, customs, values and practices, which conserve, maintain and enforce certain patterns of relating and behaving. In the second sense, this term is contrasted by social chaos or disorder, and refers to a stable state of society in which the existing social order is accepted and maintained by its members. As defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, social order is, "The totality of structured human interrelationships in a society or a part of it" (Merriam-Webster). An example of social order would be driving on one side of the road or following the social construct of time. In a separate paragraph for each answer the following: 1.
The basic positions of the public order advocate involve the belief that, under certain circumstances involving criminal threats to public safety, the interests of society, especially crime control and social order, should take precedence over individual rights. By the textbook's definition a public-order advocate is "One who believes that under certain circumstances involving a criminal threat to public safety, the interests of society should take precedence over individual rights" (Schmalleger 10). To illustrate the point, public order laws would be laws which are created to stop riots, violent behavior and other activities or behaviors that can lead to serious public harm. An example of a public order law can be a law that restricts gun use in a particular area which prohibits guns from entering based on the safety of the public, however, to deny people the right to a weapon would be considered an assault on the people's individual rights. On the other hand, the basic positions of the individual-rights advocate involve the belief that personal freedoms and civil rights within society should be protected at all costs, and especially within the criminal justice process. By the textbook's definition an individual-rights advocate is "One who seeks to protect personal freedoms within the process of criminal justice" (Schmalleger 9). By way of illustration, individual rights involve protecting an individual's right to do something regardless of its potential impact on public harm. An example of an individual rights law would be the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, as well as the right to bear arms, and the freedom of
speech. 2. The main components of the criminal justice system involve the components of agencies of police, courts, and corrections. The police component of criminal justice acts to; enforce the law, investigate crimes, apprehend offenders, reduce and prevent crime, maintain public order, ensure community safety, provide emergency and related community services, protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals. The courts component of criminal justice acts to; conduct fair and impartial trials, decide criminal cases, ensure due process, determine guilt or innocence, impose sentences on the guilty, uphold the law requires fairness throughout the justice process, protect the rights and freedoms of anyone facing processing by the justice system, provide a check on the exercise of power by other justice system agencies. Finally, the correctional agencies components of criminal justice acts to; carry out sentences imposed by the courts, provide safe and humane custody and supervision of offenders, protect the community, rehabilitate, reform, and reintegrate convicted offenders back into the community, and respect the legal and human rights of the convicted. It should also be noted that the systems perspective on criminal justice generally encompasses a point of view called the consensus model, which is defined as a model which "assumes that each of the component parts of the criminal justice system strives toward a common goal and that the movement of cases and people through the system is smooth due to cooperation between the various components of the system" (Schmalleger 13). In separate Essay answer the following: Since a majority of people in the United States receive much of the impressions and knowledge of the criminal justice system through the media, especially through entertainment television viewing, it can clearly seen how the view of the criminal justice system by the people is easily distorted compared to how it functions and operates in reality. It is said that a large portion of people had contact with the criminal justice system in the past two years simply through low levels of intensity, such as routine traffic stops by police. Despite high levels of contact with the system, the majority of people report low levels of knowledge about all aspects of the criminal justice system, thus also leaving them with a distorted view of the criminal justice system. Furthermore, the media serves as the primary public source of crime information which is partly due to the fact that people do not interact to the extent they once did, leading to greater social alienation and the increased reliance upon media for updates and news on a local and regional level. The news media do not act as mirrors to the criminal justice system, but rather reflect events in society and the content revealed by the media is more shaped by economic and marketing considerations that frequently override traditional journalistic criteria for newsworthiness. Because the media is the most consumed source of information, it also acts as an excellent inflammatory agent to public opinion at crucial times when the public opinions can sway political decisions. In addition, the media while reporting a crime or covering a trial tend to focus more on the personal aspects by going into detail about the victims subjective emotional experiences, and ignoring the objective statistical data and most expert commentary. With this approach, the TV and media reinforces common perceptions of crime and punitiveness but diminishes chances to help truly inform the public. To conclude, the media as well as television do not provide the most valid source of information on the criminal justice system, however due to its popularity and ease of accessibility it remains the main source of information for people to gather information from.
In “The Moral Ambivalence of Crime in an Unjust Society” by Jeffrey Reiman he offers a detailed explanation of many different ways to define justice and allows the reader to fully comprehend the meaning of it. Before he even began explaining justice he gave his own experience with crime as way to convey to the reader how his rights had been violated and he had been filled with anger at the criminals instead of the justice that failed him. This first hand encounter with crime allowed Reiman to prove to readers that justice is what is what protects us and it is the criminals who are the problem. To see that even a man who had thought and written about nothing but crime for thirty-five years could still become
By definition justice means the quality of being just or fair. The issue then stands, is justice fair for everyone? Justice is the administration of law, the act of determining rights and assigning rewards or punishments, "justice deferred is justice denied.” The terms of Justice is brought up in Henry David Thoreau’s writing, “Civil Disobedience.”
The criminal justice field is made up of many facets. The court system includes many professions which include lawyers, judges, police officers and polygraph examiners. The federal justice system has numerous professions as well. Two highly recognizable organizations in the government criminal justice system are the CIA and the FBI. Two careers of interest worth future investigation are a polygraph examiner and a special agent in the FBI.
Ever since the start of using courts, the main goal of it was to deliver a fair environment where the accused could defend themselves and show the jurors that he/ she did not commit the crime that they were accused of. Sometimes this system fails us and they sentence an innocent man to jail for something they didn’t commit. The activity that I observed in the field of criminal justice was I went to the boulder court house and watched one of the cases that’s was happening that day. As I sat there watching I saw the defendant’s lawyer trying to convince the jurors that his client was innocent, I thought to myself: how can we improve the court room. Sometimes we see some cases where the criminal can be let go because of not a lot of evidence like Casey Anthony. We also might see that the case might be unfair to person being convicted of a crime that they didn’t do. An example of this is the jurors have some past experience with a person of that race and they don’t like them or they already come with a decision before they even hear the evidence found. We might also see a case where the jurors decide that the accuser is innocent even though there’s evidence that proves otherwise. The main point is how we can make
Justice is defined in many different ways, one referring to a form of judgment that provides order in a situation. Justice offers a fair punishment that fits the offense. The term holds a positive connotation, in contrast to the word injustice.
Justice is described as “a moral concept that is difficult to define, but in essence it means to treat people in ways consistent with
Question two: What is the difference between To begin with, criminal justice is a system that is designed to maintain social control, which means it is a necessary aspect of every society since “Laws are the conditions under which independent and isolated men are united to form a society” (Beccaria, 1764: 16). In other words, crime control deals with the methods that are taken by a society to reduce its crime. As a matter of fact, there are various crime control strategies, from community policing to risk assessments. In addition to the different tactics for controlling crime, there are several theories that not only attempt to explain the causes of crime, but also outline different ways to handle offenders; for example, deterrence, rehabilitation, and even retribution. Now, it is important to realize that there is no perfect model for crime control, since there are advantages and disadvantages to every system.
Criminal profiling, first undertaken within the nineteen-seventies, has been used throughout thousands of police investigations from bureaus all over the globe, currently some question their practicality in police investigations. This essay argues the utility of offender profiling in police investigations. Police Investigations utilize Offender and Criminal Profiling methods because it narrows the field of investigation, needs diminutive physical evidence to begin investigations and uses victimology to predict future actions of the offender.
The outdated nature of the Nigerian criminal justice system has been a topic for deliberation in recent times. Rightly put, there is work to be done by the legislative arm of the Nigerian government as the present procedures for adjudication of laws are old and present a problem to judicial officers as there are loopholes which are frequently exploited, and its archaic nature makes it unfit for use in a modern society. The criminal justice system is defined as the collective institutions through which an offender passes until the accusation has been disposed of or the assessed punishment concluded. The system typically has three components: law enforcement which includes; police, sheriffs, marshals; the judicial process which includes the judges, prosecutors, defense lawyers; and corrections which includes the prison officials, probation officers and parole officers . By the above definition, it can be elicited that the criminal justice system is a necessary organ of a functioning society, and it is necessary that an organ of such invaluable importance be kept in good shape. An effective criminal justice system is fundamental to the maintenance of law and order this is because it addresses behavioral issues, but due to the outdated nature of the Nigerian criminal system, the pivotal functions of the organ which is conviction and acquittal have been hindered drastically and have become exceedingly rare.
The definition of justice and the means by which it must be distributed differ depending on an individual’s background, culture, and own personal morals. As a country of many individualistic citizens, the United States has always tried its best to protect, but not coddle, its people in this area. Therefore, the criminal justice history of the United States is quite extensive and diverse; with each introduction of a new era, more modern technologies and ideals are incorporated into government, all with American citizens’ best interests in mind.
After many discussions involving this topic in the course, I was able to define justice and what it means to me. Although I do not currently work in the field, the classmates who have experience in the field brought great personal experiences to the discussions. University of Phoenix has also contributed to my definition of justice through the facilitators. The facilitators currently work in the field they are teaching and that involves the entire criminal justice field.... ...
According to Pojman (2006), justice is the constant and perpetual will to give every man his due. This would seem to imply that for justice to be carried out, people must get what they deserve. But there is some debate over what being just entails; to be just is to be fair, but is being fair truly to give people what they deserve? In this essay, I will detail why justice requires that people are given what they deserve through the scope of punishment, reward, and need.
Justice defines our society. It is discussed daily on many different mediums, over countless subjects ranging from law to personal matters, or even international relations. Did the wrongdoer receive justice or did they get away with something that they should not have? The Merriam-Webster Dictionary states that justice is “the process or result of using laws to fairly judge and punish crimes and criminals.” Although the definition is quite simple it is the act of deciding whether or not justice has truly been served that is not so black and white. Alternative views on the severity of crimes and personal opinions create a nearly impossible environment for justice to be served to all.
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.
Social harmony has become a powerful and popular indicator to asset a population’s quality of life. So much so, people’s attitude toward crime rates has shifted from a lukewarm state to a profoundly sensitive level. Accordingly, the public’s increasing fears have translated into more and more restrictive policies to punish crimes. Therefore, crime prevention is considered as a strategic approach to lessen the probability of criminal behaviors in a political community, and to maintain social-control following the heated debates on civilians’ safety.