Criminal Justice System Paper
Criminal Justice System Paper
Over the last several decades psychologist, sociologist and criminologist have tested the different theories of what causes criminal behavior. Prior to defining criminal behavior, it is important to first define crime in itself. Is crime merely the act of breaking the law or does the depths of crime go beyond what theories have been established? In accordance to S.Gottfredson, & Bersani, B. (2009), “Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority such as the legal system can ultimately prescribe a conviction”. (Criminal Justice System, para. 1-4). Although most people would agree that crime is an act in which a person makes a conscious choice to break the law; not all violations of the law are considered a crime. If we were to break down the word crime, we find that it originates from a Latin root meaning ‘charge’ (in law) and a Greek root meaning ‘judgment’ (Harper, 2007). When we think about the word judgment we consider courts, justice system, and even corrections. This is how the connection between crime and law go hand in hand. When the topic of crime and judgment are placed in the same sentence it is common for people to think of the criminal justice system. A system designed by mankind to alleviate criminal activity by creating a structured guideline in which is intended to be upheld by the people of the community to include higher official authorities’. Within this structure are three levels of government; federal, state, and local. The federal government of the United States of America is the central government body and is intended to create laws and enforce the laws of a society. The state is there to maintain order and the local government is there to provide stability. Among all these levels of government, they all serve the same purpose; to make laws, provide services, and
Over the last several decades psychologist, sociologist and criminologist have tested the different theories of what causes criminal behavior. Prior to defining criminal behavior, it is important to first define crime in itself. Is crime merely the act of breaking the law or does the depths of crime go beyond what theories have been established? In accordance to S.Gottfredson, & Bersani, B. (2009), “Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority such as the legal system can ultimately prescribe a conviction”. (Criminal Justice System, para. 1-4). Although most people would agree that crime is an act in which a person makes a conscious choice to break the law; not all violations of the law are considered a crime. If we were to break down the word crime, we find that it originates from a Latin root meaning ‘charge’ (in law) and a Greek root meaning ‘judgment’ (Harper, 2007). When we think about the word judgment we consider courts, justice system, and even corrections. This is how the connection between crime and law go hand in hand. When the topic of crime and judgment are placed in the same sentence it is common for people to think of the criminal justice system. A system designed by mankind to alleviate criminal activity by creating a structured guideline in which is intended to be upheld by the people of the community to include higher official authorities’. Within this structure are three levels of government; federal, state, and local. The federal government of the United States of America is the central government body and is intended to create laws and enforce the laws of a society. The state is there to maintain order and the local government is there to provide stability. Among all these levels of government, they all serve the same purpose; to make laws, provide services, and
References: • Schmalleger, F. (2009). Criminal Justice Today. An Introductory Text for the 21st Century (10th ed.). Phoenix, AZ: Pearson Education. • Wiley, J. and S., Gottfredson, D., & Bersani, B. (2009). Criminology. Criminology & Penology, 1(4), 1 of 35. • Harper, D (2007). Law and Crime. Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=law .