Criminal Justice Professional Analysis

Criminal justice professionals have many roles and responsibilities when it comes to public safety. In this criminal justice professionals have the job of dealing with various individual and societal needs. In this career field it is not easy to treat each case the same way due to the different individual and societal needs. Today we will be discussing the needs of three different types of individuals that criminal justice professionals have to cater to. I chose to write about people with mental health issues, deaf citizens, and cases of child abuse. Criminal justice professionals may have to work with people with mental illness. “A primary concern for officers often is how to effectively de-escalate mental health incidents involving agitated individuals when appropriate procedures are unknown to them” (Wilcox, 2015 p6). In my opinion this may be one of the most difficult issues to deal with if you have not been trained properly. If the suspect of a crime is mentally challenged, they need to be treated delicately. This can be extremely dangerous because you don’t know the extent of their mental illness or how hostile they can get.
“Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), people who are deaf or hard of hearing are entitled to the same services law enforcement provides to anyone else” (Department of Justice, 2006, p2). This means that an individual with hearing disabilities should be treated the same as hearing people. While sign-language is not a requirement for law enforcement officials, they should be able to recognize when an individual is deaf or hard of hearing and do their best to communicate with them. Examples of non-verbal communication include body gestures and written or typed notes. Criminal justice professionals also should be able to provide interpreters as needed. Communication is the key to taking care of the needs of deaf