The three main components of the criminal justice system are law enforcement, courts, and corrections. Each of these components is designed to aid federal, state, and military authorities in enforcing the relevant criminal laws against adult and juvenile offenders within their respective jurisdictions (Falk,2010). Therefore, to ensure an efficient and effective criminal justice system, these components are required to interact with each other at individual stages as follows.
First, the law enforcement component of the criminal justice system refers to the relevant police departments of the jurisdictions involved. Law enforcement personnel include all police officers and detectives in these departments. The main function of law enforcement is the tracking, location, and apprehension of individuals or culprits who have broken the state, federal government, or military (Williams, 2014). This responsibility also includes the recording of the relevant charges against the culprits and collection of sufficient evidence to ensure concrete and valid cases in the courts.
Second, the courts system is made up of the defense and prosecution attorneys, judges, and relevant juries. The responsibility of the courts is to ensure that the culprits are subject to fair and impartial trials. The work of the judges is to find all the facts pertaining to a case they are handling and to ensure that all relevant laws are upheld in the process of a trial. In the process of handling a trial, some cases are conducted in front of a judge alone while others require a jury (Kamerman, 2015). A jury is made up of twelve citizens (peers of the perpetrator) who determine the innocence or guilt of a defendant based on the facts presented to the court in the course of the trial. Additionally, the jury might also place a recommendation on the appropriate sentence of a perpetrator once a trial is concluded. However, the ultimate decision in regards to the sentence of the offender rests on the judge. The sentence is however subject to pre-determined to sentencing guidelines that are common in the federal justice system.
Finally, the last component of the criminal justice system is the corrections. The main responsibility of this component is to administer and uphold all the sentences of the courts. This component consists of jails, minimum and maximum security prisons, correctional officers, parole officials, and probation officers (Falk, 2010).The main function of the corrections department is to uphold the sentences imposed on the perpetrators are upheld and all the stipulations are adhered to. As a result, all components require each other to fulfill their respective duties if the criminal justice system is to become efficient and effective in handling all criminal cases that arise within a society.
Models of the Criminal Justice System
The two main models of the criminal justice system are the rational goal and the functionality system models. First, the rational goal model is concerned with ensuring that formal goals and rules of the criminal justice system are fulfilled. Alternatively, it can also be referred to as the crime control model. this model works on the assumption that for the benefit of the whole society, the system has to overlook the rights of an individual(s). Therefore, this system is protective of individual rights in order to uphold public safety. Second, the functional system model is based on upholding the rights of all individuals regardless of their crimes. It is also referred to as the due process model. In this model, individuals maintain their rights to liberty, property, and life despite their crimes (Kamerman, 2015). All rights of a perpetrator are protected by the system in accordance to the procedures that govern the respective criminal justice system.
The main conflict between the two systems arise due to the protection of the individuals rights of the perpetrators. the due process model is concerned with ensuring that all defendants are innocent until proven guilty. On the other hand, the crime control model does not have regard for the rights of the defendants and is concerned with maintaining public safety and order at the cost of individual rights (Williams, 2014). This difference has a direct impact on the success rate of each model. The crime control model is therefore concerned with ensuring maximum convictions for all those involved while the due process model is concerned with ensuring that only defendants who are found guilty of their crimes are sentenced.
The major issues facing the criminal justice system are as follows. First, the courts are handling more cases that the personnel they are assigned with. This situation has resulted in a backlog of cases that affect the conviction rates of perpetrators presented before the courts (Falk,2010). In turn this prevents speedy and effective justice from being provided. Second, the correction facilities are handling more convicted offenders than what they are designed to hold. The overcrowding in cells in a serious concern and if left unchecked can lead to a violation of human right. As a result, some offenders are released before completing their sentences and this affects the effectiveness and efficiency of the criminal justice system. Thirdly, the law enforces are faced with the issue of racial profile. Statistics show that there is a higher chance of convicting a person from a minority race as opposed to a major one.
- Falk, G. (2010). The American criminal justice system: How it works, how it doesn’t, and how to fix it. Santa Barbara, Calif: Praeger.
- Kamerman, J. (2015). Negotiating responsibility in the criminal justice system. Carbondale [u.a.: Southern Illinois Univ. Press.
- Williams, L. V. M. Q. (2014). Women, crime and the criminal justice system. New York, NY: Feminist Press at the City University of New York.
