What Is Criminal Justice?

Crime In AmericaThe Crime Picture

The Search for Causes

Definition

• Criminal Justice is the system of practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding Social Control, deterring and mitigating crime, and sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts.

The Challenge of Crime

• In 1969, the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice issued a ground-breaking report "The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society," which made more than 200 recommendations as part of a comprehensive approach toward the prevention and fighting of crime.

The Legal System

• “Law” is a system of rules usually enforced through a set of institutions. Law provides a set of rules for maintaining order in a society.

• The oldest known codified law is the Code of Hammurabi, which was established circa 1760 BC in ancient Mesopotamia.

The Code of Hammurabi

Mesopotamia

Modern Day: The Middle East

Two Types of Law

• Civil laws are rules and regulations which govern transactions and grievances between individual citizens.

• Criminal law is concerned with actions which are dangerous or harmful to society as a whole, in which prosecution is pursued not by an individual but rather by the state.

CJ System Part 1: Law Enforcement (Policing)

• The first contact an offender has with the criminal justice system is usually with the police (or law enforcement) who investigate a suspected wrong-doing and make an arrest.

• Police are primarily concerned with keeping the peace and enforcing criminal laws based on their particular mission and jurisdiction.

CJ System Part 2: Adjudication (Courts)

• Courts are where disputes are settled and justice is administered. There are a number of critical people in any court, referred to as the courtroom "work group,” and include individuals such as the judge, prosecutor, and the defense attorney.

CJ System Part 3: Corrections (Jails, Prisons, Probation, & Parole)

• Offenders are then turned over to correctional authorities from the court system when the accused has been found guilty.

• Incarceration removes criminals from society and inhibits their ability to perpetrate further crimes. Many also see prison as a form of revenge. A new goal of prison punishments is to offer criminals a chance to be rehabilitated.

CJ System Flowchart