Criminal Justice System

An individual formally enters the criminal justice system with the commission of a crime.  Once in this system, there is a progression of steps which ideally end in the conviction and punishment of the individual(s) for the crime that they committed.  I will examine each of these steps in the order in which they occur.  Bear in mind that each step could be the end of the process resulting in prosecution or acquittal of the individual(s) who allegedly committed the crime.  (Champion, 2008, p. 5)

             I will begin by listing the four main components of the criminal justice system they are; law enforcement, prosecutorial decision making, courts and judges, and corrections. (Champion, 2008, p. 13)

            The first component of the criminal justice system we will examine is law enforcement.  As mentioned earlier, the way in which an individual enters the system is in the commission of a crime.  This is where law enforcement comes in, when a person or persons are identified as the possible perpetrators of a crime that has been committed; a law enforcement officer will apprehend or arrest the individual.  If the individual is a juvenile, they may be diverted to the juvenile court system, depending on the severity of the crime.  Assuming the individual is not a juvenile, they are then booked.  This process involves the documenting of personal information such as identity, contact information, and family members or friends with whom the individual associates.  The information that is obtained during this process depends largely on the jurisdiction, as they vary considerably. (Champion, 2008, pp. 13-15)

            The second component of the criminal justice system is prosecutorial decision making.  This step in the process involves numerous decisions by a number of individuals as the process advances within the criminal justice system.  Shortly after being arrested, an individual is taken in front of a judge in what is called an arraignment hearing.  During this process, charges against the individual are read.  Usually at this point, a decision is made concerning bail.  This decision takes into consideration the severity of the crime and the flight risk of the individual to arrive at whether the individual will be afforded bail and what the amount of the bail will be.  Sometimes if an individual is a minimal flight risk and the offense is not too severe, the individual will be released from custody on their own recognizance.  This is more or less a promise to appear for their court date. (Champion, 2008, pp. 18-20)

            Now we come to the third step in the criminal justice system process which is courts and judges This step is where the prosecution decides if there is enough evidence against the accused to proceed with a criminal trial.  If there is not enough evidence to proceed then the defendant is usually released.  If enough evidence exists then the case will proceed.  Sometimes there will be a plea bargain on behalf of the defendant.  This is a guilty plea either to a lesser charge or in exchange for a lesser sentence.  This saves the court valuable time in processing the case even further in the criminal justice system.  With this step completed a sentence is handed down.  The next process is then corrections. (Champion, 2008, pp. 21-22)

            The fourth and hopefully the final step in the criminal justice system process is corrections.  I say hopefully because if this is the last step there is no recidivism.  Once the sentence is handed down the defendant is remitted to corrections to carry out the sentence.  Again, depending on the severity of the crime, the judge may suspend the sentence.  If the sentence is probation, then the defendant is referred to a probation officer.  Depending on what restrictions were imposed by the sentence, there is a variety of freedom for the individual.  If the sentence involves the individual doing time in prison, then the individual is moved to the appropriate facility.  The individual may be released from custody before the entire sentence is served.  This has to be approved by a parole board.  If approved, the the individual is placed on parole, which is very similar to probation in that it involves restriction of freedom of the individual.  This also saves time and money.  (Champion, 2008, pp. 22-25)

References

Champion, D. J. (2008). Probation, Parole, and Community Corrections in the United States, Sisth Edition

. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Dennis Bowman 20 June 2012