Historical Policy Comparison

Posted: November 27th, 2013

Historical Policy Comparison

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Historical Policy Comparison

Introduction

Development and evolution of the criminal justice systems has been influenced by various factors, such as the contemporary technology that criminals make use of in their activities, which the system has to combat. About five decades ago, the criminal justice system had an easier time compared to what it is today due to the complexity of crimes. For instance, the criminal justice only had to deal with simpler crimes such as fights, robberies, murder and rape unlike today’s complex crimes such as terrorism and cyber crimes. Evolution of each of the three elements of criminal justice has been influenced by different factors with the principal issue being the changing nature of crimes.

Policing

            Over the last 50 years, policing has changed from a movement that involved police officers arresting criminals to one that includes the whole community as part of law enforcement (Naubauer & Fradella, 2010). In addition, the jurisdiction of policing has significantly increased from just fighting crime to providing services and solving more issues. It also included the provision of services and other activities to communities. As crimes changed, new strategies for combating them had to change. For instance, terrorism requires involvement of the while society and technology to fight.

Courts

            This area is responsible for settling and administering justice. Being a crucial part of the criminal justice system, it has continued to develop over the last five decades, contributing to the criminal justice policy evolution. Currently, courts have evolved to include the use of forensic evidence in courts for determining whether a suspect is guilty or   not. Its evolution has been characterized by an increased need for administering justice because of various incidents such as manipulation, requiring changes to be made. It also provides an avenue for law enforcement agencies to appeal as they police the communities. As a result, it has largely contributed to the use of rule of law in policing (Naubauer & Fradella, 2010).

Corrections

            Today, correctional programs have exceeded previous levels in terms of effectiveness. This has been a result of using research-based programs for educating, training, and motivating the offenders to change their behavior. Over the last 50 years, corrections have changed from ones designed to incapacitate offenders physically through incarcerations to ones designed for changing criminal behavior (Naubauer & Fradella, 2010). This change came about 30 years ago with the publicized notion that nothing worked in correction regarding rehabilitation. The previous correction programs were recognized as separating the problem from the community and never solving it.

Correction areas and cooperation between the elements

            Correction areas within the criminal justice system include probation, parole, community corrections, prevention, treatment and control of offenders and adult institutions. It is involved in rehabilitating the offender unlike the policing that is involved with enforcing the law while courts are involved with settling cases and administering justice. The three elements have an opportunity of working together, where the court is involved in making policies using rule of law. The policing, on the other hand, should ensure enforcement of these rules and use technology to provide effective evidence to courts upon which judgment can be made (Naubauer & Fradella, 2010). The corrections, on the other hand, should aim at using information about offenders from policing and courts to help them in changing behavior. It is clear that evolution of all the three areas has been largely influenced by changing crime trends, which require newer measures and strategies to address.

References

Naubauer, D.W. & Fradella, H. F..HHhh (2010). America’s Courts and the Criminal Justice System. New York, N.Y: Cengage Learning.