Criminal Justice Perspectives

Is there a right way of dealing with crime and recidivism rates in the United States? How do we know what is the most effective way? What one may feel is correct is the other may feel is inappropriate. Because of such inconsistencies, the Criminal Justice System has identified six perspectives on justice. I am going to explore each perspective and discuss how each one would relate to domestic violence.

The first perspective, Crime Control, has a ?no tolerance? approach to Criminal Justice and is victim focused. Supporters of this perspective believe that Law Enforcement should be increased and sentences should be swift with serious consequences, and deterrence is the key to controlling crime. Deterrence can be general, in which offenders are afraid to commit the offense because they are afraid of the punishment, or specific, in which the punishment is sever enough that they will never want to commit another offense. Under this perspective Domestic violence issues will be handled with immediate, hard punishment; more then likely incarceration along with possible No Contact Orders to protect the victim.

Unlike the Crime Control Perspective, the Rehabilitation Perspective focuses the attention on the offender and not the victims. Supporters of this perspective believe that society is the reason offenders commit crimes such as exposure to racism, poverty, alienation, poor education, poor health care, and little to no civil service. Because society placed them in situations such as these listed it becomes society?s responsibility to help them with their social problems. They believe that the offender should be educated through counseling services and programs that address cognitive thinking disorders, chemical dependency, mental health, and other programs to teach new skills and how to become a productive member of society.

The rehabilitation perspective would address domestic violence by identify the offenders risk to re-offend through maybe a comprehensive risk