Individual Criminal Justice Trends
Criminal justice acts as a system of rules and methods which government usually implements. It is used to control and monitor potential crime and affairs. Such trends of criminal justice permanently change its structure and laws. At the same time, according to the social needs and norms government verifies the state practices and principles. In this paper, we will discuss such questions as individual criminal justice trends. We will also evaluate past, present, and future trends in the interface between the components of the criminal justice system and criminal justice connections with the surrounding society. In addition, we will make an accent on the recent and future trends as well as contemporary issues affecting the criminal justice system and the conditions of the criminal justice system in a changing society.
First, it is vital to define the criminal justice as a procedure that protects the society from the abuse. This is a complicated system that provides governmental control and order in a society. The governmental justice system is a set of institutions and agencies that prevent crime because of the individual methods of such establishments. It consists of as the following parts: legislative (creates laws and governmental policies according to those laws), adjudication (courts that judge criminals according to the regulated norms), correction (including jails and prisons, where criminals serve their term). "The criminal justice system includes, in particular, the investigation of offences and treatment of offences" (The Criminal Appeal Act, 1995, section 8; 6). Police institutions conduct investigations, detention, and retention of the criminals who produce any violent actions in the society thatcontradict the law. The main target of the legislative process is to isolate such individuals who can make harm to the law-abiding citizens and to environment which they live.
The criminal justice system usually presents such institutions as:
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- The Police Service;
- The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS);
- The Court Service (Magistrates' and Crown Court);
- The National Probation Institution/Service (NPS);
- The Prison Service.
According to the justice system, criminal policies in the United States have worked on behalf the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration since 1967. It is a ground-breaking report called "The Challenge of Crime and a Free Society," which includes recommendations related to Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (Walker, 1992).
The police have credentials to catch the offender and arrest him if he is dangerous. Moreover, the police try to keep peace and isolate potential hazard in a particular region or area. Policing acts with a set of activities regarding different views and options, but the predominateones concern about the order maintenance and the provision of services.
In the current world, criminal justice system always upgrades its base and methods. During several centuries, it has changed from political and law ideas to its norms and conditions. "Crime experts have identified a variety of social, economic, personal, and demographic factors that influence crime rate trends. Although crime experts are still uncertain about how these factors impact these trends, directional change seems to be associated with changes in crime rates" (Siegel, 2010).
Most of the experts consider that the crime rates differ according to the age of the offender. For example, teenage persons have significantly higher ratings in relation to the law. In addition, when there is normally a big proportion of teenagers, the crime ratings increase. Most of the teenagers who commit crime at the young age usually can make it later. For example, in 1980s, in the USA there was a significant decline in the birth rate. Therefore, it is more than normal that the crime rate has been in decline (Siegel, 2010). In 1990s, on the other hand, the amount of criminals increased. In most cases, when police identifies and reaches the crime source, the crime relates to the teenage persons. This is a problem of a large scale, therefore, most of the policies significantly focuse on the youth and juveniles. One of the most important issues is that the police understand and monitor the different forms of crime committed by the young people. Mostly, governmental institutions have own methods that help to deal with teen offenders. "Systems of youth justice have been based on a balance between the need to punish or control young offenders and to encourage them to take responsibility for their actions and the need for strategies which take account of the many problems" (Davies, Croal, & Tyer, 2010, 241). Those problems can result in criminal involvement and rehabilitation. Strict monitoring of a possible threat posed by the young people can prevent many problems. They include decrease of potential violence, vandalism, and further emergence as well as progressof the illegal violent force by the youth and adolescents.
Nowadays the police, courts, and corrections in different countries implement new and different strategies and methods. For example, in the United States of America there are significantly higher levels of crime cases than in Japan. The same situation exists in other Western countries. This happens because their systems have significant differences, and many countries try to implement Japanese legislative practices.
Concerning governmental policies and criminal justice connect the surrounding society and it is worth noting that the criminal policies deal with human rights, inequality, fear of violence, victims, racial inequality, gender inequality, diverse punishments, globalization, criminalization, and crime in the media. According to the law, the crime issues apply within the borders of one country. Nevertheless, international crime is an issue that requires governmental institutions to be used regarding laws of two or more countries and to regard both sides. Dealing with such problems as smuggling or illegal immigration and emigration, the governments consult with each other and use several methods to solve the certain problems. Moreover, nowadays the trends in criminal justice tightly connect with industrialization and globalization. "This approach supports the view that crime transcends national boundaries; for example, ease of travel by air has enabled criminals to do their work in other countries or easily escape to a safe heaven" (Dammer, Jay, 2011, 7). The increased amount of trades such as air and sea commerce, leads to the new smuggling affairs. International criminal activities are the most important modern problems according to the law.
In addition to the international smuggling, there is an increase of the transnational crime beyond the boundaries due to the technological development. Media affairs are among the most popular criminal difficultly monitored actions. Every social network that legitimates business or other means of goods transportation at the cheap prices is the same networks that criminals use to move easily illicit goods. Moreover, media cannot only be the tool for the possible business affairs but alsoa source of violent information that can influence people's minds. Violent media is available everywhere - in the Internet, on the television, on CDs, and in video games. Aggressive behavior is interrelatedwith the impact of such products that contain violent and non-appropriate content for the society, especially for the youth. "According to Brad Bushman and Craig Anderson, watching violence on TV is correlated to aggressive behaviors, especially for people with a preexisting tendency towards crime and violence" (Siegel, 2010, 143). Therefore, media can be not only a source of new and useful information but alsoa source of inappropriate content that can lead to the criminal actions from the side of some individuals. In addition, hackers and,some institutions use media, especially Internettomake business or other actions outside the law.
In conclusion, it is worth noting that criminal justice is a process that uses laws of certain governmental institutions, aimed at monitoring and,eliminating possible violent and criminal actions. It regulates and controls the laws and principles of the national use. It deals with legal actions, adjudication, and correction. Criminal justice is always changing its methods and procedures. In most cases, according to the police ratings, teenagers are the first social group who commits crime. The increase of young people in the streets leads to the raise of violent actions in the region. Moreover, nowadays the crime develops in such areas as smuggling, namely illegal transition of goods across borders, and media. Therefore, it is important that the governments understand this problem and foresee the corresponding methods and procedures apply necessary measures in the particular areas.
