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Assignment 1 The Criminal Justice System April 26, 2010 According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the criminal justice system is a “system of law enforcement, the bar, the judiciary, corrections, and probation that is directly involved in the apprehension, prosecution, defense, sentencing, incarceration, and supervision of those suspected of or charged with a criminal offense” (Mifflin, 2007). The criminal justice system aims to reduce crime by bringing more offences to justice and rise public confidence that the system is fair and will deliver for the law of abiding citizens.
The criminal justice system consists of three areas (1) law enforcement (police), (2) adjudication (courts), and (3) correction (jail, prisons, probation, and parole). These agencies operate together in the criminal justice system under the rule of law and as the principal means of maintaining the rule of law within society. However, in the three areas, the police solve crimes and make arrests, the court sentences the offender and the correction system carry out the punishment and rehabilitate the offenders.
The criminal justice system primary goals are justice for individual, personal liberty, dignity of human beings, and the right to due process. Justice for the individual requires that all should have what belongs to them, and so the just man will render to the society, or State, of which he is a member, what is due to it. Personal liberty means freedom from unlawful physical restraint or harm and freedom from arbitrary interference with one’s privacy and lawful belongings. On the other hand, human dignity is an expression of moral concept that human beings should not be treated as objects.
One implication of human dignity is that every human being should be acknowledged as a valuable member of the human community and as a unique expression of life. Last but not least, due process is the principle that the government must normally respect all of a person’s legal rights instead of just some or most of those legal rights when the government deprives a person of life, liberty, or property. The due process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment protects against state of local government abuse of power.
In conclusion, a criminal justice system that is honest, fair and effective is one of America’s most important institutions. All law abiding citizens are govern by due process according to the criminal justice system. Therefore, it is very important for all citizens to follow the law according to the police statues, the court statues, and the correction systems statues because there is always improvement in this field. References American Heritage Dictionary A History of American Criminal Justice, http://www. en. wikipedia. org