Category: Criminal Justice

Court System

One of the most important things that have to be revised in the US court system is the ability to provide compensation for those exonerated. The situations where individuals are tried for the crimes they did not commit are rather common. The problem here consists in the fact that not all of the states have the laws that validate compensations for the individuals who were exposed to wrongful conviction (Neubauer, 2017). Twenty states do not provide any kind of compensation at all and some of the laws in the remaining states only revolve around token support. Therefore, it has to be understood that the government has to be responsible (both ethically and morally) for sending an innocent person to prison. All of the amends connected to financial support, job training, education, or any other necessities have to deal with by the government. Legislators all over the US have to consider this law, especially in the states where such law does not even exist just yet.

Another problem with the US court system is that it commonly supports sentences that may be seen as too harsh by the general public. Therefore, the attitude toward this issue has to be re-evaluated to minimize the number of people who serve life sentences for the crimes that did not involve violence (Roberts, 2015). The overly-punitive nature of the current US court system has to be addressed as soon as possible because the majority of such sentences are completely unnecessary. For the most part, these convictions fall on the backs of the poor segment and racial minorities. The problem here also consists in the fact that such verdicts cost a lot. It is reasonable to support different programs (Smarter Sentencing, for example) that are intended to minimize the influence of the court decisions on the risk groups stated above.

Policing

The very first thing that has to be addressed when it comes to policing in the United States is the process of returning to community policing. For instance, if the law enforcement agents know the individuals they are serving personally, it positively affects the overall outcomes of the law enforcement agency’s activity and provides the latter with the idea of who lives in a particular neighborhood. This may be helpful if they want to find a drug dealer, for example. Trust can only be achieved if there is knowledge. The more knowledge a law enforcement agency possesses, the higher are the chances of informed and instant decisions. As an example, we may take a look at one of the most underprivileged cities in the State of New Jersey – Camden. Here, the community has to deal with serious crime problems. It was really interesting to see that a brand-new community policing program allowed the local law enforcement agency to decrease the occurrence of homicides vividly (Shelden, Brown, Miller, & Fritzler, 2015). It is not going to be easy, but community policing has to be brought back to life in all the states all over the United States.

Another policing problem that has to be addressed is the presence of the death penalty in the list of all possible penalties. This law can be truly considered outdated and discriminatory. More to say, it is rather expensive. As it has been seen through the history of the death penalty, people of color are prone to the death penalty. Another issue with this policy is that millions of dollars are spent on life-ending sentences and that does not make any sense for the reason that the money that is invested in the death penalty could be used for something different rather than merely killing people. Compared to other countries, the United States is still on the previous page of the criminal law books because the government failed to abolish it. It is critical to get rid of capital punishment to achieve a better criminal justice system and eliminate the prejudice that is currently present in it.

Another improvement that can be reasonable within the framework of the US criminal justice system policing is the support of programs that promote alternatives to incarceration. The problem here consists in the fact that too many individuals are involved in the dealings of the criminal justice system. It is a common situation when people are arrested while they are innocent. When the criminal justice process begins, it often blocks out the rights of the people of color and the poor due to the skewness of the current legislation (Neubauer, 2017). We should support programs that offer any kind of alternatives to incarceration – drug treatment centers, school programs, and mental health rehabs. One of the advantages that have to be noticed by the government is the low-cost nature of such initiatives as they do not require intensive funding. Having a healthy community at hand is much better than dealing with an imprisoned one.

Corrections

When it comes to the corrections, the very first thing that has to be addressed is the improvement of the situation in prisons. It is critical to reduce the amount of violence and recover the leadership practices that are applied at these facilities. The problem here can be explained by the fact that for the people that are convicted, going to prison is already a punishment. Nonetheless, even the individuals that committed non-violent crimes recurrently become the victims of fierce attacks and sexual assault while serving their sentence in prison. The way to make these individuals return to society less damaged is to reduce the incidence of events that may traumatize the inmates (Roberts, 2015). At the same time, the level of recidivism among the incarcerated may be diminished using prisons where the administrators will be keen on decreasing the rates of violence that transpire under their watch.

Yet another reasonable incentive relating to corrections revolves around the concepts of equality and public defense. This may be rather important for the process of developing a successful criminal justice system because public defenders are entitled to protecting the poor from the adverse effects of being accused of a crime. Regardless, the Constitution does not support the efforts of public defenders, and the latter may be exposed to a situation where they do not have enough resources to save the accused from being wrongfully convicted (Neubauer, 2017). Additional funding of the public defense system may lead to more positive outcomes within the framework of the US criminal justice system. Financial support is critical because knowledgeable public defenders can significantly impact the current state of affairs in the country.

Investigative Agencies

The first initiative that is expected to update the US investigative agencies is the cultivation of responsibility among the US prosecutors and law enforcement officers because the misconduct is one of the most important problems impacting the functioning of the latter. This issue is critical because the majority of police officers and prosecutors are rarely punished for their illicit actions. Here, we have to address the actions that may put innocent people behind bars in no time using destroying or even fabricating evidence to overturn the case. This kind of deliberate misconduct has to be eradicated so that any given individual’s life would play a bigger part in the criminal justice processes (Neubauer, 2017).

Expanding on the topic, investigative agencies have to put more effort into the gathering of data concerning fatalities that involved law enforcement agency officers. If signed and approved, this legislation would become a serious step forward for the United States (Reichel, 2013). The only problem with this initiative is that for the most benefit, the administration will have to provide governmental policy-makers with a detailed overview of the new regulation that is going to include all the possible scenarios (Roberts, 2015). This has to be done for the law enforcement agency to be able to collect all the crucial data such as the presence of arms at the crime site, disciplinary history of the wrongdoer, and other key details that are blatantly missed out at the moment by the majority of the investigative agents.

The Rationale for the Changes

The rationale for the changes in the criminal justice system of the United States lies in the concept of evidence. Eventually, the latter (being composed of the information available to law enforcement agencies) is the underlying element of the existing system. Today, we are exposed to many more sources of information, and law enforcement agencies sometimes have to fight with the quantity of information which can be both useful and irrelevant depending on the situation. In all possible lawsuits, this information can be used in the form of evidence. Another problem that adds to the existing list of the issues with the existing criminal justice system is the volume of potential evidence. Often, it may be misleading for the prosecutors because a major part of the available evidence is specialized and cannot be evaluated without special knowledge. This aspect of the US criminal justice system imposes several limitations on the verdicts that are reached in courts all over the country.

Consequently, we still believe that the US system may function on the same basis even though ultimate changes occurred to the field of information that is available to us. Therefore, the fundamental reason for the change consists in the fact that the current legislation presumes that it will be able to function based on the same rudimentary procedures from the past. Using addressing the issue of revising the existing criminal justice procedures, we will be able to deal with almost any kind of civil case without being afraid to misuse any given piece of information. It should be noted that any citizen that becomes a juror has to be capable of evaluating and comprehending the available evidence appropriately regardless of the complexity of the issue at hand.

Nonetheless, the system does not work this way, and it will never do because the criminal justice system has to function based on the decisions that are made by the judge and jury. In other words, the information became a mere tool in the hands of attorneys that prefer the case never to reach the trial. Consequently, it may also be reasonable to suppose that the current US criminal justice system is in the need of more-specialized courts. In that case, the administration could make the best use of the new technologies that are currently on the rise and change the role that courts play in the decision-making process. This rationale hints at the fact that all judges will have to possess specific knowledge and line up their practice against the new rules that are dictated by the technological revolution.

Global Criminal Activity in the UK and Norway

Criminal activity in the UK mainly revolves around particular types of violence. For instance, there were almost 700 hundred thousand person-involved violence that occurred during the last year (Amatrudo, 2016). Also, criminals in the UK tend to commit robberies and burglaries. One of the most popular crimes in the United Kingdom is vehicle theft (almost 900 hundred thousand during 2015). This criminal activity is supervised by approximately 17000 law enforcement officers. Compared to the preceding decade, the occurrence of crimes experienced a slight decline (approximately 4%) (Wahidin & Carr, 2013). The total number of crimes that were committed on the territory of the UK does not exceed 400000. A great deal of these wrongdoings is represented by shoplifting and housebreaking. UK criminals are also prone to non-sexual violence and vandalism (Codd, 2013). The estimated number of prison population decreased significantly throughout the last decade.

In Norway, one of the most prevalent types of crime is murder (Ebbe, 2013). Nonetheless, if one takes a close look at the overall statistics of crimes committed in the territory of Norway, they will see that less than thirty murders took place in Norway during the last year (the approximate percentage is 0,56% to 100000 population) (Sriram, 2013). What is even more important, the number of other crimes continues to drop incessantly. There are quite a few cases of domestic violence but the majority of these cases revolved around minor, non-violent incidents. Physical assault is rarely met in Norway. The majority of the prison population in Norway are outsiders (Dammer & Albanese, 2014).

Cultural Perspectives on Policing, Courts, and Corrections of the UK and Norway

Both the UK and Norway are rather orthodox in terms of their criminal justice systems. Nonetheless, the cultural perspectives for these two countries seem to be positive because their initiatives allowed them to decrease the occurrence of numerous types of crimes. Unlike the US, Norway, for instance, was able to minimize the level of criminal activity using smart monetary investments which led to a better image of Norwegian prisons. Currently, it is well-known that Norwegian inmates have much more freedom in terms of what they are allowed to do on the territory of a penitentiary facility. In perspective, this is expected to have a significant impact on the number of individuals that commit crimes. It is also important to pay attention to the UK’s policy-making and correctional services. This country is much more similar to the US in terms of its criminal justice system design because of the implicit strictness of the latter. Nonetheless, both (the UK’s and Norway’s) criminal justice systems have passed the test of time, and the US government can follow their example to build a better criminal justice system.

Evaluation of International Policing and Investigative Agencies

Overall, it may be concluded that all of the criminal justice systems that have been analyzed throughout this paper have their advantages and disadvantages. It is also evident that Norway’s and UK’s criminal justice systems differ from the one that is employed by the government of the United States. It is advised to pay close attention to the top European countries to adopt their experience and revise the weakest spots of the US criminal justice system. I believe that international policing is on the rise currently and there is no reason for the United States to give up on its overseas neighbors.

References

Amatrudo, A. (2016). Human rights and the criminal justice system. London, UK: Routledge.

Codd, H. (2013). In the shadow of prison: Families, imprisonment and criminal justice. Cullompton, UK: Willan.

Dammer, H. R., & Albanese, J. S. (2014). Comparative criminal justice systems. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Ebbe, O. (2013). Comparative and international criminal justice systems: Policing, judiciary, and corrections. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

Neubauer, D. (2017). America’s courts and the criminal justice system. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Reichel, P. L. (2013). Comparative criminal justice systems: A topical approach (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Roberts, J. V. (2015). Criminal justice: A very short introduction. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Shelden, R. G., Brown, W. B., Miller, K. S., & Fritzler, R. B. (2015). Crime and criminal justice in American society (2nd ed.). Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.

Sriram, C. (2013). Transitional justice and peacebuilding on the ground: Victims and ex-combatants. Oxon, UK: Routledge.

Wahidin, A., & Carr, N. (2013). Understanding criminal justice: A critical introduction. London, UK: Routledge.

Criminal justice is one of those fields that seem to be the easiest ones to master, yet demand the greatest efforts to handle. On the one hand, there is a set of laws and regulations that technically any problem can be handled with. On the other hand, the analysis of a certain case and the choice of the appropriate regulation to deal with the case in point often becomes a major stumbling block.

Being the field in which the theoretical issues and the practical ones often happen to be on the opposite sides of the argument, criminal justice remains one of the most complex areas to cover; however, by analyzing its challenges and major obstacles, one can possibly pick a strategy that will help approach the given discipline successfully.

The first and the most reasonable step to be made when analyzing the pros and cons of a choice of a particular field of study is considering the publications about the careers in the given field. With that in mind, analyzing such sources as the According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook seems the most appropriate way to start learning about criminal justice studies and the opportunities that they offer.

According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook (n.p.), there are two basic career options to choose from for those who have started studying the basics of criminal justice.

These are criminal justice professors and criminal justice social workers; the former provide students instructions on criminal justice teaching, while the latter offer the crime victims the necessary support and psychological assistance. However, it can be argued that criminal justice field allows for more career opportunities, such as “employment in law enforcement, corrections, and private or criminal investigations” (A Criminal Justice Degree Provides Many Career Opportunities para.3).

However, when deciding on whether I am going to pick one of these or try something more challenging, I will have to evaluate my skills and abilities adequately: “This is self-understanding that will help you decide which occupations in criminal justice are best for you” (Doyle and DeLucia 6).

Another important stage of the investigation of the basic issues in studying criminal justice was the actual observation of the environment in which students learn the given subject (Carpenter and Fulton 179). After being allowed to observe a lesson in criminal justice, the author of the given paper noticed a certain pattern in the interactions between a teacher and the students.

Perhaps, since it was the second time that the students had criminal justice classes, they were rather passive, preferring that the teacher should provide them with the answers to the questions that he posed and being clearly afraid of making a mistake. The latter could probably explain why the students responded to the teacher’s questions rather shyly and preferred to listen rather than speak.

After the lecture was over, the teacher was kind enough to answer a few questions concerning criminal justice and how it was being taught to students. The results of the interview were rather inspiring, though; according to the lecturer, it was expected that the students should not simply learn the basics of criminal justice by heart, but also to develop skills of critical and, more importantly, analytical thinking.

As Mr. Sanders, the lecturer, explained, students must learn to “think outside the box” (Sanders, para. 2). Sanders made it clear that the key challenge of the criminal justice studies is not to make the students memorize every single paragraph in the penal code, but to prepare them for applying their skills of critical thinking to particular cases and be objective, logical and fast in their decisions.

Learning about the courses that students specializing in criminal justice must undertake in order to become professionals is another major step in defining the future course of my education and training.

According to the existing sources, it will be required to take a basic course that will allow acquiring the necessary background knowledge, such as the principles of successful learning, the introduction to academic writing and research, finite mathematics classes, and the introduction to criminology in general and criminal justice in particular.

Later on, it will be necessary to advance in such subjects as biology and application information technologies; finally, statistics, physical science and other related courses must be taken in order to get the basics for studying criminal justice in depth. The major course, i.e., the issues in criminal justice, should be mentioned among the most essential elements of the course (Major in Criminal Justice para.5–7).

On par with the issues in criminal justice, technology in modern society, ethical behavior in criminal justice, criminal investigation, crime scene investigation, and correctional administration must be named. Therefore, it goes without saying that, to become a professional in criminal justice, one will have to face the challenge of extremely hard studying.

The fact that criminal justice remains one of the most challenging fields to study is undeniable. However, the fact that a number of strategies to approach the complex issues have been developed recently cannot be denied, either. By using one of the techniques specified above, one can master the basics of criminal justice efficiently and get ready for taking care of real-life cases.

Works Cited

A Criminal Justice Degree Provides Many Career Opportunities, 2013. Web.

Carpenter, Michael J. and Roger Fulton. A Practical Guide for Criminal Justice Professionals. Flushing, N: Looseleaf, 2007. Print.

Doyle, Thomas J. and Robert C. DeLucia. Career Planning in Criminal Justice. Cincinnati, OH: Elsevier, 1998. Print.

Major in Criminal Justice, 2013. Web.

Occupational Outlook Handbook. A-Z Index. 2013. Web.

Sanders, John. Criminal Justice. Interview (MP3).

Changing Concepts of Supervision

Supervision is one of the important processes in the criminal justice system. It involves overseeing the performance of criminals on probation. Over the years, the concept of supervision has been used by law enforcement agencies to achieve various goals geared toward improving the quality of delivery systems in the criminal justice system (Alarid, 2016). One of the concepts of supervision that have changed a lot over the years is the manner of its application. Before the turn of the century, supervision was often done through physical visits to correctional centers and having one-on-one talk with the criminals with regard to their progress. However, due to technological advancements, supervision in the contemporary world is done through surveillance cameras (Morgan & Maguire, 2012).

This has increased the efficiency of the process because it helps in saving time and giving the supervisors a chance to observe everyone in their absence. Unlike in the past, when supervision was merely done as a formality, the concept has changed a lot in the recent past in terms of it involving community members and embracing the need to improve security (Morgan & Maguire, 2012). Community policing is a concept that developed from the changes made to the element of supervision, whereby people are involved in monitoring and reporting about the progress of criminals on parole. In addition, the criminals get a chance to show their respective communities that they can be resourceful individuals if given a chance or opportunity to do so. These changes have been influenced by factors such as the increasing demand for higher security, the high cost of operations, technological advancements, and globalization (Alarid, 2016).

The Classification Process and Effectiveness of Probation

The criminal justice system is a network that involves many individuals that play various roles geared towards reducing the rates of crime and the welfare of criminals in various facilities. Classification often happens after criminals have been sentenced to time in prison (Mair, 2013). The main aim of carrying out this activity is for the ease of monitoring and supervision. One of the advantages of classification is that it reduces congestion in prisons because individuals charged with minor offenses are often put on parole where they serve part of their sentence outside the prison. A major disadvantage of classification is the fact that it affects the trust that the public has on the criminal justice system and their officers (Alarid, 2016).

Research has established that many people do not trust the credibility of probation programs because officers could be vulnerable to giving compromised decisions on the conduct of criminals and their suitability to rejoin their respective communities (Mair, 2013). Although classification has played a major role in the growth of community corrections, it is important for the relevant authorities to ensure its integrity is maintained throughout the process (Alarid, 2016). This plays a crucial role in ensuring in streamlining the criminal justice system by ensuring that all the objectives are met in a satisfactory manner. The advantages of probation outweigh the disadvantages because it is cost-effective and solves the challenge of overcrowding in prisons. Research has established that if the option of probation was nonexistent, most of the prisons would be overpopulated and consuming a lot of taxpayers money in terms of operations and management (Mair, 2013).

Recidivism

Recidivism refers to the habitual relapse into crime (Zara & Farrington, 2015). Over the years, probation has applied as one of the strategies for reducing the rate of recidivism. Criminals on probation are often watched closely by officers who often report on their progress and eventually, their ability to stay away from crime. However, studies have established that it is extremely hard for anyone to ascertain that someone has gotten back to criminal ways without any substantial evidence. One of the ways in which probation helps in to address recidivism is by engaging the criminals in focus groups that allow them to talk freely about their crimes (Zara & Farrington, 2015). Legal experts argue that such initiatives help the criminals to reflect on the purpose of their life, past mistakes, and the things they would like to change in order to improve their lives.

Probation also provides criminals with an opportunity to understand the perception of the community about crime and the people involved in it (Alarid, 2016). This period puts them under the scrutiny of both the probation officers and the public, thus making it hard for one to think of relapsing to criminal ways. In addition, criminals also get a chance to learn new skills that they can use to earn a decent living without engaging in unlawful activities. A combination of probation and other criminal justice interventions such as community service plays a major role in addressing the challenge of recidivism because the criminals often learn new skills that they can use to earn a living, as well as receive a lot of goodwill from the public (Zara & Farrington, 2015).

References

Alarid, L.F. (2016). Community based corrections (11^th ed.). New York, NY: Cengage Learning.

Mair, G. (2013). What matters in probation. New York, NY: Routledge.

Morgan, R., & Maguire, M. (2012). The Oxford handbook of criminology (5^th ed.). Los Angels, CA: OUP Oxford.

Zara, G., & Farrington, D.P. (2015). Criminal recidivism: Explanation, prediction and prevention. New York, NY: Routledge.

Introduction

It was always logical that law enforcement, as well as other state-funded organizations, were open systems. In the narrow sense, they receive funding from the government, so they are dependent on it. In the broader sense, they also receive people, structure, culture, material goods, and ideology from society.

Essence

The same society and government also receive the output of the law enforcement organizations, meaning that the activity of the criminal justice system is never focused unto itself. This line of thinking was inspired by the material I have read and watched. Giblin (2014) enumerates the open system theories that are relevant to criminal justice and law enforcement agencies. The most interesting theory to me was the resource dependence theory.

It suggests that organizations are often dependent on the outside environment for critical resources. For that reason, they are vulnerable to outside influence and restraints. It seems obvious at first, but people, including me, rarely think about it. The criminal justice system has to operate within the confines of what these companies have and are willing to give, which are two of the resource dependence theory’s core tenets (Kite, 2013). In turn, the system provides the other organizations and society with its labor, knowledge, and sacrifice.

Conclusion

Further reading about the resource dependence theory in the context of commercial business has also deepened my understanding of how open the criminal justice system is as well. Biermann and Harsch (2016) write that some resources that an organization receives and gives are intangible. It is especially true for law enforcement organizations, as they provide the people at large some peace of mind and security if they work well. In return, the criminal justice system, ideally, would receive simple appreciation and gratitude. None of these benefits are material goods, but they are necessary for the psychological wellbeing of people in all the organizations. I think it is an essential dimension of the resource dependence theory, as human and social capital are just as necessary as the other resources.

References

Biermann, R., & Harsch, M. (2016). Resource dependence theory. In R. Biermann & J. A. Koops (Eds.), Palgrave handbook of inter-organizational relations in world politics. (pp. 135–155.) England: Palgrave Macmillan.

Giblin, M.J. (2014). Organization and management in the criminal justice system: A text/reader. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Kite, B. (2013). Resource dependence theory [Video file]. Web.

In terms of organizational behavior studies, a criminal justice agency is seen as a system organization based on legal, social, and moral values, visions, and social environment. A criminal justice agency is a system based on a unique culture and stipulated norms. In the criminal justice agency, organizational behavior can be explained as a set of beliefs, doctrines, and attitudes held by the members of social movements, institutions, or other large groups. Moreover, ideology is based on external authority. It is social and visionary in its base rather than rational and objective. Simple answers that have universal appeal and seem to make sense are the basis for ideological beliefs.

Goals should be judged against ethical standards. Too often, managers turn to the law and their lawyers to obtain legal opinions on ethical standards. Ethical standards are related to those less well-defined and intangible moral values on which managers must rely. It has been postulated that what is ethical is what you feel good after and what is unethical is what you feel bad after. Ethical standards have more to do with emotions, feelings, and values than with rules, regulations, and the law (More et al. 2005).

Organizational behavior in a criminal justice agency involves such concepts as change, organizational development, corporate culture, and effective decision-making and problem-solving. Organizational values also play an important role in integrating personal values into an organization’s overall culture or the collective interpretation of beliefs that are held by organizational members. A criminal justice agency declares its values, norms, and ideals for the overall corporate structure.

These values, norms, and ideals become the moral compass upon which managers rely. They also underlie an organization’s strategy by bringing meaning to the employees’ work. For the compass to be effective, however, both managers and individual employees must act by these values. High-performing organizations, like a criminal justice agency, do rely on high moral values that transcend both the organization and the individual.

The shared values that underlie a high-performing organization’s strategy and bring meaning to the individual employee’s work are reflected in both the decision-making and the goal-setting processes. Shared values provide the basic assumptions that determine how people in high-performing organizations perceive problems, seek alternative solutions, and set ethical goals. Defining sound institutional values is the first step in the process of building an organization’s reputation for honesty and integrity.

The search for organizational ethical values is a process and does not involve a specific set of facts or a list of rules. The process involves a continuing effort to better define what the organization, as a corporate entity, believes, or thinks it believes. Values underlying those beliefs can then be pinpointed (More et al. 2005).

Goal setting works well in the criminal justice agency because it meets certain “cultural” criteria. Its successful application requires that a certain belief system is in place before it is implemented. That belief system revolves around a clear focus on organizational ends and general agreement on the means to attain them. Not all organizations possess the organizational culture that meets these criteria. Goal setting will work well in organizations that meet certain “cultural” criteria. Its successful application requires that a certain belief system is in place before it is implemented. That belief system revolves around a clear focus on organizational ends and general agreement on the means to attain them. Not all organizations possess the organizational culture that meets these criteria (More et al. 2005).

The most important elements of organizational behavior which have an impact on the effectiveness of a criminal justice agency are specialization, departmentalization, a span of control, and chain of command. The span of control and chain of command are used frequently when the necessity to accomplish goals requires employees to rely on those on whom they depend. It is especially important when they have a different point of view and cannot otherwise be relied on to do what we want them to do In criminal justice agencies, power is used to focus on issues and solve problems.

Departmentalization allows to groups activities and separates different functions. Specialization helps a criminal justice agency to attract and use general and professional knowledge of criminal justice professionals. The concepts mentioned above are highly held values and usually serve as extremely effective managerial tools in a unitary organization. An important point in describing the unitary type of organization is that it not only has a clear purpose or goal, but organizational members also subscribe to that goal and are willing to sacrifice for it. In other words, organizational commitment above personal gain is a common value in unitary-type organizations.

There are degrees of organizational commitment even in the most tightly focused organization. At some point on the organizational spectrum, other characteristics more adequately describe an organization (More et al. 2005).

In sum, organizational behavior in a criminal justice agency is a complex process determined by structure, culture, and organizational philosophy (values, attitudes, visions). Thus, the key elements which determine the effectiveness f a criminal justice agency are specialization, departmentalization, the span of control, and chain of command. That is particularly true in those organizations where power is used not so much for the common good, but as a tool to resolve conflicts or enhance personal gain.

References

More, H. M. et al. (2005). Organizational Behavior and Management in Law Enforcement (2nd Edition). Prentice Hall;.

Criminal justice professionals are aimed at maintaining the law in the society. People got used to trust these people. The responsibilities of criminal justice professionals may vary as the field is rather broad. However, it is obvious that no matter which position criminal justice professionals occupy, they are t deal with the law. According to the recent research officials do not know the information they are to know due to their position. Thus, 77% of officials do not know the Bill of Rights (Rider n.p.). The information that only Congress can declare the war is known only by 46% of officials who took part in the questionnaire. Only 15% of officials could say who the author of the phrase “wall of separatism” is and only 57% of officials could name the functions of the Electoral College (Morrissey n.p.). All these facts are rather disappointing as those who have to protect the rules and the laws do not really know them. Considering the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, it is possible to state the information about the adoption history of the documents the criminal justice professionals should know.

Reading the Declaration of Independence, the criminal justice professionals should perfectly understand the reasons of the creation of the document and the circumstances which may be considered as the main pushes for the document creation. Furthermore, the membership of the Committee of Five should be considered as the ideas and consideration of those people who were in the committee impacted the text of the document. The criminal justice professionals should know by heart the parts of the Declaration of Independence and the information which contains each part. The criminal justice professionals should know the long way of the document from the Committee of Five up to present time as the value of the document cannot be questioned and “$3 million camera and computerized system to monitor the condition of the three documents” (“The Declaration of Independence” n.p.) proves this fact. Considering the history of the Declaration of Independence adoption and the way how the documents are secured should show the criminal justice professionals the importance of the historical documentation and the ways of documents protection. At the same time, the importance of the reasons for such actions should be considered as well.

The history of the creation of the articles of Constitution shows that he compromise is one of the best methods for achieving the results. Reading the presentations, speeches and proposals of different delegates and politicians, it is possible to conclude that each of them pursued personal purposes. However, only the compromise and the ability to reach it should be valued. Thus, the criminal justice professionals should check the techniques which were used while creating the Articles of Constitution and use the convincing strategies applied there. The criminal justice professionals should know how the article of the Constitution ware created as it may help them solve some problems in case of their appearance. Thus, the personal desires are to be ignored and the decisions should be made for the benefit of the social good. For example, the problem devoted to the regulation of commerce in the North and in the South of the county was a combating issue as personal interests of each state could not be regulated by one document (“A More Perfect Union” n.d.).

Those who do not know their past do not deserve for future. Therefore, the criminal justice professionals should learn by heart the text of the Bill of Rights and other important documents which regulate the life of the whole society. At the same time, the importance of the creation of these documents cannot be questioned as in this case the awareness of the process of the creation of the legal documentation in the USA may help understand why specifically these problems are taken as the central. The Questions & Answers Pertaining to the Constitution (n.d.) is the document which answers the most important questions about the process of the creation of the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. The criminal justice professionals should know the membership of those who adopted the Constitution and the ideas each of the disclosed. It is also important to be aware of the age and the social status of those who in fact wrote the constitution as the document which we are able to see now impacts the whole country and the history of its creation shows why specifically these decisions have been made.

In conclusion, it should be stated that making decisions, the criminal justice professionals should often rely not only on the legal documents, but they may need the deeper consideration of the reasons of such decisions to make sure that their judgments are grounded. The criminal justice professionals may have different responsibilities as the field is broad, however, all these responsibilities are connected with the legal documents and only being aware of the history of the documents creation may be useful for the professionals to make the correct and logical decisions based not only ion the rough facts but on the chain of considerations.

Works Cited

“A More Perfect Union: The Creation of the U.S. Constitution.” The US National Archives & Records Administration, n.d. Web. 2011.

Morrissey, Ed. “Great news: Elected officials know less about the Constitution than the public.” Hot Air. Hot Air, 2011. Web.

“Questions & Answers Pertaining to the Constitution.” The US National Archives & Records Administration, n.d. Web. 2011.

Rider, Richard. “Elected office holders knew even less of civics than voters.” Open Salon. Open Salon, 2011. Web.

“The Declaration of Independence: A History.” The US National Archives & Records Administration, n.d. Web. 2011.

Criminal justice system refers to a system of enforcement, which can either be, the bar, the judiciary, the corrections department and institutions, probation, or other government institutions aimed or geared towards sustaining social control through, deterring, prosecuting where necessary, defending the rule of law, sentencing, and alleviating crime and even sanctioning those who violate the law with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts.

The accused have rights that have to be adhered to, by the authorities, the authorities are divided into 3:

• The police,
• The courts,
• The corrections include jails, prisons, paroles and probation.

The police are mostly mandated with investigations and maintaining public law and order, the courts constitute, judges, prosecutors and the defense attorney, the main role are to form avenues in which disputes are settled and justice administered, while the corrections come in mostly when the accused has been found guilty and their main role is to rehabilitate which may include punishments.

There have been fears that the criminal justice system in Australia is not as strong as it should be considering there have been lapses when dealing with gender, social class, and even racial matters.

The criminal justice system is constituted into the following broad categories:

• The federal criminal justice system,
• The state system.

The difference between the two is the judicial coverage where just like the United States of America, the administration of law is carried out by the relevant state and territorial police services who also have legislative powers on matters that don’t infringe on the commonwealth of Australia. “The Commonwealth of Australia is composed of six states, both the state and the commonwealth systems of government are consistent with the liberal democratic tradition supposedly derived from British Westminster system and North America constitution” (Australia Travel Search, 2008).

The Australian constitution describes the government powers and clearly defines the different roles played by the legislative, executive, and judicial arms of the commonwealth government.

The parliament constitutes the legislative arm and its main purpose is to make laws, executive has the power to administer laws and carry out some other governmental functions and activities, while the judicature has judicial powers to ensure justice is upheld in all judicial activities (Wikipedia, 2009).

Just like in the US, each state has powers to implement state legislation on criminal justice but has to remain relevant with the federal government’s enactments which may sometimes override the former.

Just like in the US, racial issues have taken center stage in the past, in past, there has been racist violence, like the December 11th, 2005 in Sydney suburb of Cronulla, where a violent and drunken mob abused and inflicted injuries on everyone who seemed to originate from Middle Eastern, the prime minister even sided with the partakers of the violence, by saying “I think it is important we do not rush to judgment about this events, I think racism is a term that is flung around carelessly and I’m simply not going to do so” (World Socialist Party, 2005), even later he expressed his approval of the thugs who wrapped themselves in the national flag saying “I would never condemn people for being proud of the Australian flag”, (World Socialist Party, 2005).

In the US, there are always allegations about the police being too tough on African Americans, this is a common occurrence in Australia, where New South Wales police are said to have entrenched racism and are notorious in the prosecution of the most oppressed in the society like the Aboriginal and the immigrant youth, this constitutes the discriminatory application of the law by the police a subject which can easily provoke animosity among races in the country.

Racism is a common problem in many countries where many races exist, the USA has had racial tensions which have resulted in rioting, Los Angeles (1965, 1992) and Detroit (1967), Australia is said to have exercised an exclusionary immigration policy which would target all non-Caucasians, this would constitute discriminatory application of the criminal justice system in the country by showing preference to Caucasians.

America has come a long way in breaking away from racial ties to an extend of electing an Africa American for president, this would be a good example to Australia which has been condemned a number of times by human rights activists, the most significant being the stolen Generation, where under official government policy Aboriginal and Torres strait Islander children were subjected to forced removal from their families between 1909 and 1969 (Malinda, 2009).

The white Australia policy also included a restrictive immigration policy which would limit or rule out non-white immigration into the country especially between 1901 to 1973, this policy would also extend to the Aboriginal and Torres strait Islanders of half-blood by forcing them to assimilate into the white society (Malinda, 2009).

Just like in American prisons, where the indigenous people form the greatest percentage, the highest recorded indigenous prisoners were recorded in Western Australia, with 3, 846 indigenous prisoners in every 100, 000 adult indigenous population compared to 133 non-indigenous for every 100, 000 adult non-indigenous population (Australia Corrective services, 2009).

The International Education sector in Australia has been attracting a lot of foreign students who have made the sector to be the third largest export earner in the country, Indian students enrollment into the system has been increasing annually at a rate of approximately 41 percent, however, the recent attacks on Indian students in Melbourne greatly undermines this trend and proves that Australia is yet to achieve a racial free country and further proves the inability of law enforcers to stop any form of racial attacks.

The criminal justice system in Australia is similar to the USA’s in the following ways:

• Presumption of innocence,
• The neutral role of the trial judge, and
• The use of trial judge, this is attributed to their common English origin (Wayne and Marcus, 2003).

“The approaches between the two countries are different in the sense that USA‘s is rights jurisprudence while Australia’s is centered around preserving the rule of law and the integrity of the courts within the legal system as a whole” (Wayne and Marcus, 2003).

The criminal justice system is sometimes influenced by social classes where as long as one can afford a good lawyer then every case is as good as won, the system should be streamlined to act against injustices based on social classes to ensure fair application of the system to all countrymen irrespective of gender, race and social classes.

For a country or a society to function properly and the people living in any to live harmoniously without acrimonies, then a strong and non-discriminatory criminal and justice system should be in place the system should be able to address criminology and offer rehabilitative services to criminals.

Australia has put up some effort in ensuring that the criminal justice system is strong and non-discriminatory, key among their efforts is the establishment of the racial discrimination act which seeks to prohibit discrimination on the basis of race in areas of public life, like in employment, renting or buying of properties, provision of goods and services, advertising and so on. The act was established in 1975 aimed at making racial discrimination unlawful and it overrides inconsistent state or territorial legislation, it seeks to completely rule out favoritism based on race, color, descent, or even ethnic origin. The act was later amended to make race hatred unlawful in 1995 and there are still concerns on whether the act is still effective and useful in contemporary Australian society.

The racial discrimination act was established 33years ago and very few amendments have been affected, it is necessary to continually review the act against the goals it sought to achieve in order to ensure it remains relevant and also to ensure equal treatment of all people in the country and protection against discrimination.

According to a report from the Attorney General’s office in the Australian government (2006), the country has constantly been appearing before the United Nations to report progress on Human rights-related issues, among them, the 2005 appearance before the United Nations committee on the elimination of racial discrimination.

References

Australia Corrective Services, ABS. (2009). Indigenous incarceration rates. Australia. Melbourne, Australia.

Australia travel search. (1999 – 2008). Australian law and politics. Web.

Malinda, N. (2009). Obama’s America and the Race Challenge, time for a global change of ideologies. Web.

Wayne, V. C. & Marcus P. (2003). Australia and the United States” Two common Criminal justice systems uncommonly at odds, social science research network. Web.

Wikipedia (2009), Government of Australia – Federalism. Web.

World Socialist Party. (2005). The class issues behind Australia’s race riots. Web.

D.A.R.E.

D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education, DARE) is a drug-control educational strategy that was initially meant for elementary school, which made it unique. Despite not being exceptionally effective, it is one of the most widely adopted substance use prevention programs in the US (Kumar, O’Malley, Johnston, & Laetz, 2013, p. 590). Through DARE, Police officers inform children about the dangers of substance abuse, teach them respect the law, help them raise self-esteem and develop the skills that should allow them to resist the pressure of their peers.

From the goals of the policy, it is obvious that its primary theoretical ground includes the strain theory (helping children resist the pressure of society) and social learning theory. Another theory that appears to have influenced DARE is the social control (SC), or, possibly, the low self-control theory that stems from SC (Williams & McShane, 2014). DARE corresponds to SC’s claim that training and socialization are necessary to improve one’s self-control. The attempts at raising the children’s self-esteem appear to be aimed at self-control improvement in a direct way; the rest of the measures help children with socialization as they explain social norms and values. Finally, given the social orientation of the policy, it can be suggested that the differential association theory has also had its influence on DARE (in the same way as the SC). In this respect, it can be added that the police officers involved in the program can be regarded as role models.

DARE was deemed ineffective; evidence was found that the self-esteem of older (20-year-old) drug abusers who had gone through the program was lowered. As a result, DARE is creating a curriculum aimed at older students (Siegel, 2015, p. 454).

Prison Rehabilitation Programs

Modern and future criminological theory and criminal justice policies appear to be influenced by the recognition of the necessity of rehabilitation (Williams & McShane, 2014). Prison rehabilitation programs (PRPs) have had a long history: between the 1950s and 1970s, the “rehabilitative ideal” was born. Through the following years of trial and error, a more pessimistic approach arose, and rehabilitation was deemed “dead,” as the criminological society agreed that “nothing works” in this respect (Phelps, 2011, pp. 36-37). As time passed, though, the literature on “what does work” began to accumulate (Harding, 2014). There is a variety of PRPs, although the most popular ones are educational and vocational programs. Harding (2014), for example, describes therapeutic communities that are based on counseling, support, and role models. Some of the PRPs that had been proposed in the past are now considered inappropriate (for example, prison labor). In general, PRPs are aimed at avoiding recidivism and helping the social reintegration of the inmates.

One of the most important theories that underpin PRPs is the routine activities theory: participants are placed in the environment where they are supposed to pick up the “positive’ behavioral patterns. The prison staff can be regarded as role models and capable guardians who demonstrate the proper behavior and supervise the participants. Apart from that, it can be said that PRPs owe their existence to the positive school and all the theories that determine the social influence on people: through PRPs, the society attempts to alleviate or compensate the consequences of such influence, for example, improper upbringing.

The theories of labeling (LT) and neutralization (NT) can also be mentioned here. NT, proposed by Gresham Sykes and David Matza, demonstrates that the so-called neutralization techniques can “free” a person from the commitment to societal values, and, as a result, no shame or regret is experienced by the offender. In the terms of PRPs, NT has been used to improve the effectiveness of these programs. As for LT, this idea has been mostly developed in the form of diversion programs (DPs).

Diversion Programs

DPs are the “programs of rehabilitation that remove offenders from the normal channels of the criminal justice system, thus avoiding the stigma of a criminal label” (Siegel, 2015, p. 503). As can be seen from the definition, DPs have been affected by the LT to the extent of stemming from it. The primary aspect of the theory that led to the creation of such programs is the intent to avoid labels that will cause future problems.

An example of a DP is the Baltimore Specialized Prostitution Diversion Program (SPD). For this program, the eligible offenders (a person charged with prostitution, not a habitual, not on probation) who agree (or choose) to take up SPD are screened for addiction or mental diseases and other problems and receive an individual assessment of goals and needs. These goals are going to be achieved through a customized program, the fulfillment of which is monitored by a social worker through meetings and phone calls. The article by Shdaimah and Bailey-Kloch (2014) that is devoted to this program emphasizes the individual results of the participants: the treatment of substance and money problems, the improvement of mental and emotional condition. The authors state that the participants were grateful for being helped, not just put in jail. It seems that DPs take into account the theories of SC and low self-control, as their primary method is the increase of the person’s self-control. Similarly, the routine activities theory may have influenced DPs: the participants (the people who are susceptible to crime) are provided with capable guardians (the social workers). Finally, just like PRPs, DPs are aimed at alleviating negative environmental influences. Given the fact that PRPs and DPs are the variants of rehabilitation programs, their correlation is understandable, but their targets (those who have to be placed in jail and those who can avoid it depending on the gravity of the offense and other aspects) determine their differences.

References

Harding, R. (2014). Rehabilitation and prison social climate: Do ‘What Works’ rehabilitation programs work better in prisons that have a positive social climate?. Australian & New Zealand Journal Of Criminology, 47(2), 163-175. Web.

Kumar, R., O’Malley, P., Johnston, L., & Laetz, V. (2013). Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug Use Prevention Programs in U.S. Schools: A Descriptive Summary.Prevention Science, 14(6), 581-592. Web.

Phelps, M. S. (2011). Rehabilitation in the punitive era: The gap between rhetoric and reality in U.S. prison programs. Law & Society Review, 45(1), 33-68. Web.

Shdaimah, C., & Bailey-Kloch, M. (2014). “Can you help with that instead of putting me in jail?”: Participant insights on Baltimore city’s specialized prostitution diversion program. Justice System Journal, 35(3), 287-300. Web.

Siegel, L. (2015). Criminology: Theories, Patterns, and Typologies (12th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.

Williams, F., & McShane, M. (2014). Criminological theory (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

The opening part of the book is devoted to the general introduction into the criminal justice field. Stohr and Collins put a particular emphasis on the problem of the social perception of criminal justice organizations. Thus, the authors assume that investigating agencies have an ambiguous reputation regardless of the positive character of the activity they perform. They believe that the negative implications of the criminal world, on the whole, are transmitted to the activity of criminal justice workers that creates an unfavorable association of the latter in the mind of the society. Meanwhile, the authors presume that due to the vast employment of the criminal justice workers’ image in the media, social attitude to them is better than to the justice organizations (Stohr & Collins, 2009). One might suppose that the relevant phenomenon is determined by the common relative ignorance in the social justice field. Due to the lack of knowledge, particular facts are, consequently, replaced by some prejudices and faulty assumptions. Therefore, it is crucial that the society is aware of the character of the work that criminal justice organizations carry out.

A significant part of the material focuses on the description of the key characteristics of the criminal justice organizations. Stohr and Collins touch upon such vital aspects as law enforcement, courts, and corrections in the framework of the criminal justice environment. One of the principal ideas of the authors is to make the readers understand that the law enforcement activity of any criminal justice organization is to be analyzed at the local level. Hence, the performance of the relevant agencies is interconnected with the demands of the local society and the current circumstances of the regional environment (Stohr & Collins, 2009). The following insight, as well as the idea that the criminal justice workers depend on the formal and informal expectations, is critical for understanding the mechanism of the organizations’ performance.

The authors, likewise, point out that another factor that is determining the criminal justice institutions’ activity is the bureaucratic structure that is typical of the major part of these agencies (Stohr & Collins, 2009). One might assume that despite the generally negative attitude towards bureaucratic structures, such organizations still perform a considerable contribution to maintaining the safety and security of the citizens; thus, their importance should not be underestimated.

According to the authors, all the criminal justice agencies are united by the common targeting that comprises their base. Therefore, the principle aim of such organizations is both protecting the local environment from the criminal activity and carrying out the necessary preventative measures (Stohr & Collins, 2009).

Moreover, it is critical to distinguish the formal and informal types of criminal justice organizations. The following terms are normally applied in order to indicate the particular goals of an agency, whereas the principal aims are basically similar. Thus, Stohr and Collins note that the peculiar structure of informal organizations allows them to perform decision-making more freely. The relevant organizations have the privilege to choose their clientele, take up some tasks and turn down the others. Meanwhile, the authors suggest that the estimation of formal organizations’ performance is less problematic than that of informal agencies. They explain this phenomenon by the fact that formal aims are usually clearly put, and thus, it is easier to monitor their accomplishment. In the meantime, the authors add that formal goals are often unrealistic which means that criminal justice works are incapable of reaching them no matter how hard they try (Stohr & Collins, 2009).

Furthermore, the authors provide a brief description of the open and the closed types of criminal justice organizations. According to their point of view, the following descriptions are highly relative, and the majority of organizations should be referred to the mixed type. Thus, although prisons are commonly supposed to be closed organizations, in fact, their activity still implies some interconnections with the outside world. Stohr and Collins state that the closed character of criminal justice organization can be explained by their incapacity of revealing the details of their activity. Thus, in comparison to other socially useful organizations, these ones are unable to give interviews to the mass media that creates an implication of particular discretion (Stohr & Collins, 2009).

Another critical aspect that the relevant material elucidates is the question of ethics in the framework of the criminal justice field. Stohr and Collins point out the fact that this problem is often underestimated or completely overlooked, whereas, in fact, the question of ethics is of high importance to a criminal justice organization as long as they deal with human rights.

The authors draw a parallel between the level of the ethical competence of a criminal justice organization and that of the public trust. According to the authors, unethical behavior of particular criminal justice representatives is likely to contribute to a negative image of all the organizations in the relevant sphere (Stohr & Collins, 2009).

One might assume that the problem mentioned above is particularly important due to the fact that the criminal justice field is the one that focuses on the initially immoral behavior of criminal parties; therefore, potential unethical actions might not be in vivid contrast with the general environment. Hence, the potential corruption and the employment of excessive force might seem to be determined by the character of the context within which this type of organizations has to operate. The relevant problem is of high significance as unethical practices in criminal justice field lead to the lack of loyalty in clients so that the latter do not want to entrust their problems to the criminal justice workers. As a consequence, the representatives of the criminal environment receive an impression of a total absence of authority, and the new illegal acts are encouraged.

Stohr and Collins note that ethical standards are equally essential in both public and private criminal justice organizations. In order to state the necessary norms and monitor the employees’ performance, criminal justice agencies, as well as all the other organizations, have to employ a Code of Ethics. The relevant code is supposed to include all the criteria of the required ethical operation. The authors put a particular emphasis on the fact that the implementation of such a Code is mutually beneficial for criminal justice workers and their clients. Whereas the employees receive a precise guideline for the expected conduct, the former have a formal guarantee of proper treatment (Stohr & Collins, 2009).

Finally, the material at hand provides a series of insights on the management issue in the context of criminal justice. The relevant aspect is particularly curious as one can hardly associate management with the criminal justice performance. Meanwhile, the efficiency of the activity of such organizations is to a great extent determined by the appropriateness of the management theory employed.

Thus, Stohr and Collins explain that motivation is the principle driving force of the criminal justice representatives as well as of any other employees. The authors point out that the most successful managers in the relevant field tend to focus on the desirable results that imply general public safety and security. Such leaders manage to transform the targeted goals into a common concern and inspire their subordinates to unite their efforts. The authors perform a concise overview of those managerial practices that used to be employed in the past and those that are typically used in the modern time. The background analysis makes them come to a conclusion that as well as in any other field, efficient management in criminal justice sphere bases on precise targeting, high-qualified leadership and skillful motivating (Stohr & Collins, 2009).

In conclusion, one should necessarily note that the material at hand provides a profound analysis of the principal mechanisms of the activity of criminal justice organizations. The authors’ detailed descriptions get the readers acquainted with the basic principles of the criminal agencies’ structure, the main management techniques, and the ethical issues that refer to the relevant field. The provided insights offer a new outlook on the problem of the criminal justice field by pointing out its complexity and significance. The authors manage to explain the most complicated aspects of the discussed concepts such as the difference between various types of criminal justice agencies and the sense of the basic terms that are applied to describe them.

Reference List

Stohr, M.K., & Collins, P.A. (2009). Criminal Justice Management. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

The Discussion of Facts

The epidemics of ethical violations, which arise in the system of criminal justice, spread through the variety of judicial cases. The timely identification of law abuses serves as a critical measure that assists in keeping the system of criminal prosecution legal and just. In this assignment, the case of bribery violation, which was committed by a public official, is overviewed.

According to ethical observations, which were recorded in the discussion of the matrimonial litigant criminal case, it was deduced that one of the principal New York attorneys, Mr. Siminovsky, can be indicted of indirect bribery and facts’ manipulation during the trial. Specifically, the attorney of the client, Mrs. Hanimov, who was eager to return the custody of her two sons, speculated the decision of the judge by leading unethical conversations about the case and treating the latter to free meals and drinks, which might be considered as an indirect bribery. Allegedly, the attorney might have been bribed by the husband, Mr. Hanimov, who expected the court to decline his ex-wife’s plea. Despite the instance of bribery was not directly fixated, the cameras in the judge’s office proved that the parties used to lead unethical conversations about the case.

Ethical Factors in Bribery Violation

In the overviewed case, the abuse of criminal justice is evident since it is prohibited for the public officials, who are engaged in the investigation, to peer in the confidential affairs of the clients as well as manipulate specific hidden facts as the means of making a decision on the case. Thus, the recorded data revealed that the Mr. Siminovsky made visits to judge’s office, during the investigation, and recounted several stories about his client’s private life, which were meant to discourage the judge from granting custody to the woman. Moreover, it was noted, that the attorney used to bring numerous meals and drinks into the room for the judge, refusing to take any money for his treats. According to the American State Ethics Law, the behavior of Mr. Siminovsky, as well as the conduct of the judge, is proved to be unethical, because offering, soliciting, and taking any matter of value from subordinate or principal belongs to the violations of criminal justice (Penalties for violations of state ethics and public corruption laws, 2015).

The Reasoning behind the Parties’ Choices

The commitment of the illegal criminal act was provoked by unethical conduct of three parties. First, justice violation stemmed from the attorneys’ attempts to influence the decision of the judge. Apparently, this choice was previously motivated by some material reward, which was received from the interested party (Mr. Hanimov). Therefore, the attorney may be allegedly indicted of bribery and indecent protection of the rights of his client, which are harsh law violations (Abramovsky & Edelstein, 2005). Secondly, the investigation on bribery might prove Mr. Hanimov guilty of making the choice to prove his fatherly reliance in an illegal way. Finally, the judge made a decision to accept benefits from the attorney and formed his judicial decision under the subsidiary influence, which is considered to be unprofessional and unethical. Each of the three choices was motivated by material influence, except for Mr. Gampfrey’s personal interests, which pertained to the custody of his children.

The Major Effects of Criminal Justice Violation

The abuse of ethical law norms, which may be traced in the overviewed case, revealed a number of critical implications on three levels: individual, company, and social. Primarily, the manipulation of the judge’s power affected three four parties. Since the final decision was biased and followed the interests of a briber, the revelation of the investigation facts spoiled the reputation of both the judge and Mrs. Hanimov’s attorney. Secondly, the judicial choice hindered the constitutional rights of Mrs. Hanimov, who did not receive legal protection in the court and, as the outcome, lost her matrimony rights. Finally, the revelation of the bribery facts might evoke criminal responsibility for Mr. Hanimov if the factual bribery is proved in court. The procedural law abuse affected the micro-society of the court as well. Mainly, the incident questioned professional conduct of the judge and the attorney among the colleagues. Lastly, the discovery of the facts, which stimulated the investigation of ethics violations, the attitude of the society towards the concept of legal rights’ conception might be transformed since bribery evokes mistrust to public officials.

Making Ethical Choices in Criminal Procedures

The complex system of the lawful, ethical relations requires a professional attitude and work discipline. Therefore, it is possible to model a type of the case outcomes, which would be appropriate for Hanimov custody case. Primarily, in the case of receiving the things of value from any of the clients, the experienced attorney is supposed not only to turn down the offer but also to inform the briber of the criminal responsibility, which follows such acts. Concerning the behavior of the judge, in the situation, he had to explain to the attorney that facts’ speculation in court, as well as flattery and indirect bribery, may serve as the reasons for attorney’s suspension. Consequently, the observations reveal that dutiful and ethical completion of one’s duties during criminal procedures is a guarantee of public safety.

References

Abramovsky, A., & Edelstein, J. (2005). Prosecuting judges for ethical violations: Are criminal sanctions constitutional and prudent, or do they constitute a threat to judicial independence? Fordham Urban Law Journal, 33(3), 101-149.

Penalties for violations of state ethics and public corruption laws (2015). Web.