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While making an analysis of the societies of the globe at large, it appears evident that all human societies undergo the situation of breaking of prevailing law, perversion, deviancy and other criminal activities on the part of offenders and criminals. Hence, crime is rightly taken as a universal phenomenon, which exists in all cultures and civilizations since ever from the most primitive clans and tribes of Palaeolithic and Neolithic eras to the most modern civilized societies of contemporary times. “Durkheim views crime”, Coser observes, “as normal in terms of its occurrence, and even as having positive social functions in terms of its consequences. Where crime exists, collective sentiments are sufficiently flexible to take on a new form, and crime sometimes helps to determine the form they will take. How many times, indeed, it is only an anticipation of future morality–a step toward what will be.” (1977: 141) Tribes, clans and communities established political set ups for the smooth administration of the affairs of their social arrangement, and the political authorities made laws to observe peace and solidarity. Criminal justice system is also one of the most formidable steps taken in this direction, which consists of practices, procedures and institutions involved in maintaining law and order in the perfect decorum. Abnormal attitude creating public nuisance was declared as crime against the state and its individuals, and the institutions of criminal justice system appeared to deal with the precarious situation as a result of perversion, deviation and the breaking of law. “In case a serious deviation or violation of law occurs”, Macionis observes, “a formal response of the social justice system, including police, courts and prisons gets involved to address the violation of law.” (2007: 222) Hence, police, courts and prisons make the whole of criminal justice system. The contemporary US criminal justice system witnesses three levels of law enforcement in the country, including FBI, Local and State. Before embarking upon the topic, it would be advisable to elaborate the three.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the highest law enforcement agency of the USA, which is considered as the supreme authority to regulate law and order situation in the country. The FBI has been authorized to ensure the imposition of law from federal to the state and local levels. It provides help and support to the state and county police department, whenever the two look for its help in the hour of need. The FBI also performs its investigation duties according to the instructions of the Department of criminal justice. The government allocates huge amount of its budget for the FBI for the proper maintenance of law and order in the US society. With the insurgence of the terrorism at global level, and the 9/11 terrorist attacks had boosted up the responsibilities of the FBI, which has established it overseas offices in order to combat with the terrorist naissance with an iron hand. Hence, the FBI not only covers the criminal activities at federal and state levels, but also it contains the vast scope of investigating the criminals living outside the USA, and involved in any type of criminal activities against the very interest of the USA.
The State Police stands at the second level of the US law enforcement set up. It is responsible for keep the law and order situation in perfect decorum at state level. It is therefore, it has its jurisdictions within some specific state. All the US states have established their own police department at state level, which is endowed with the full authorities of making investigations and calling the offenders to the question, who are responsible for the breaking of law and creating anarchy in the state. The State Police seeks the help of the local police divisions for the search of the criminals and arrest of them to announce sentence according to the Code of |Criminal Procedure applied and observed by the Court of Law. State police also patronizes the sub-division police departments and helps the local and county police in detecting of crimes of various kinds for the best interest of the state.
Similarly, the local or county police department is the primary investigation organization that is responsible for maintaining law and order situation at local and county levels. It has the authority to search out, arrest and keep the accused under its investigation on the basis of the complaint against the accused as well as on the basis of their personal source of information regarding any criminal act or offence had been committed against the statute of the law in force. The local police make investigation against the accused and produce him before the court of law according to the prescribed provisions of law. Different counties have their own local police department, which are responsible for the protection of life, honor and property of the people living in the specific counties.
Since the contemporary American society contains divergent classes, communities, races, religions and ethnic group, the significance of the police department at county levels has accelerated to a great extent. The societies have also witnessed unabated expansion with the passage of time, and crime rate has got its place along with the growth of civilization with an upward trend, the need of rules and system was felt to preserve calm and harmony. Subsequently, local police and private security personnel have found new roles to perform for control the criminal activities. Local political authorities have established rules at county levels to check the activities of the people belonging to divergent races. The private security personnel keep an eye on the activities of the people, who are new comers in locality or in an organization. Whenever they find anything untoward or doubtful, they bring it into the notice of the local police, which enters into investigation process with the individuals involved in suspicious activities. Since the private security personnel have limited scope, the criminals have least fear of them. It is therefore common venture of the local police and private personnel is rendering magnificent services for the best interest of the masses at large for evading turbulence and control crimes in the prescribed manners prevailing in an area. Since private security personnel can only work out to point out the malevolent activities of the offenders, they require the help of the local police for the proper investigation, penalty and punishment of the criminals. “Police are” Vedder et al. submit, “encouraged to operate without legal restrictions particularly in cases that arouse public indignation such as arson, murder and rape.” (1976: 475)
All the three levels of police are bound to work as a team within the country. Amalgamation of different cultural groups has also boosted the need of working the three police systems in congregation. Since absence of equality and social injustice at county, state and country levels has given a go to the feelings of hatred and revenge among non-privileged groups and deprived individuals, it is extremely essential that the law enforcing agencies belonging to different levels support one another to make the USA a peaceful area of the world. Being the strategic, military and economic leader of the whole globe, the world looks at the USA for the progress and prosperity of the people. If atmosphere of the investigation and judicial process, at all the three levels, is amiable, encouraging and sympathetic, the victimized could narrate the whole incident of victimization without any feelings of fear, coercion and undue influence on the one hand, and detection of crimes and offences will also be easy, quick and comprehensive on the other.
The source of funding is quite different at all the three levels of investigations. Local police receives funds at county level, where the county political administration generates funds for the police. The government has introduced various taxes for meeting the expenditures required by the local police. Similarly, the state police obtain funds from the state department of interior. On the contrary, the FBI seeks huge funding not only at country level, but also the overseas governments as well as the UNO also provides funds to the FBI in order for the exercise of its operations. The inclusion and increase of crimes at community levels as well as the arrival of foreigners in pursuit of education, job, business and other opportunities have created problems in respect of law and order. The quarrels on the basis of ethnicity, race and religion have become an order of the day, which cannot be regulated without proper funding. Similarly, there must be decentralization of powers and authorities by assigning the local and state police departments with powers, authorities and financial aids, so that the burden from the FBI could be balanced to some extent. It is therefore the three police levels must divide their responsibilities by analyzing the changing trends of the contemporary US society.
In addition, There must be inclusion of psychiatrists during the investigation process related to the victims, in order to examine the nature and intensity of a criminal assault took place against an individual. The psychological examination of the victim of criminal offence would be highly supportive in detecting the crime on the one hand, and tracing out the criminal on the other. The states must devise laws and recruit staff in bulk in order to suppress criminal behaviour from their societies. Police stations and prison houses have already been set up to eradicate the menace with an iron hand. Yet, the misdemeanour found its vacuum more profoundly with the passage of time. Biological, psychological and sociological theories of crime and punishment have also been articulated, and concepts of reward and punishment have been introduced to mitigate the problem, but neither judiciary, nor executive nor the legislature could overcome the situation. There is an urgent need of such regulatory authority that can mitigate the fears and worries of the victimized in a proper way, which is possible only if there is unabated co-operation among different levels of police departments.
All the three levels of investigation can imitate the footprints of the theorists for the adequate submission of investigation process. Theories of crimes emphatically declare the crime as the product of biological, psychological, economic, social and ethnic causes; it is therefore, the nature of crimes varies from one society to the other on the one hand, and resembles in all societies too on the other. Thus, demographic statistics plays significant role in this regard. Lombroso (1876), the famous biologist-psychologist, has elaborated physical causes of crime, according to which some specific physical traits and biological characteristics emphatically define the personality as criminal. According to him, some particular structure of skull, ears, hands and feet can suggest inner-self of criminals. In the same way, psychological causes can also help the law enforcing agencies in respect of detecting a crime. For example, children grown up in extremely poor environment can commit crimes related to robbery, theft and burglary in order to take revenge of the deprivations they underwent in their childhood. Hence, criminal psychology helps the law enforcing agencies identify and detect the criminals by following the causes of crime behind it.
Bromberg has categorised criminal in three types including psychopathic personality, schizoid psychopathic personality and paranoid psychopathic personality. (Quoted in Vedder et al, 1976 189) Paranoid psychopathic personality is interested in crimes like blackmailing and emotional assaults, while schizoid psychopathic personality aims at serious offences like murder and rape. Race, ethnicity, region, religion, age, sex, socioeconomic status and environment play dominant part in indulging and involving into criminal acts and offences. The pleasure one seeks in media and other platforms develops the desire for doing the act on the same patterns, which gives a go to the criminal activities in society.
The mode of investigation must be free, fair and impartial too in order to make the process impartial. In the same way, judiciary working in a society must also be independent and without any political, social or economic bar, burden and pressure as well as religious and ethnic prejudice. In the same way, training sessions of the authorities must be conducted, so they could detect the temptation behind crime. The authorities must look into the financial causes of crime, so that white-collar crimes, burglary, robbery, theft and other crimes of this nature can be traced out. The authorities must also look into the psychological causes and derives behind a criminal act in order to minimize crime rate from society. Sometimes, agencies neglect the significance of moral law and look into the superficial events, which could easily be concealed under the mist of doubt. But the new amendments in the statute laws implemented in many countries of the world have justified the homosexuality and prostitution on the basis if the offenders are practicing it with free consent of both the parties without any coercion, undue influence, fraudulent, misrepresentation or compulsion, which may jeopardise the very foundations of society.
References
Coser, Lewis A. (1977) Masters of Sociological Thought: Ideas in Historical and Social Context, 2nd Ed., Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.,
Devlin, Lord Patrick. The Enforcement of Morals. 1965
Foucault, Michel. (1980) The History of Sexuality 1: An Introduction, tr. Robert Hurley New York p 43.
Flores, J. Robert. (2005) How the Justice System Responds. Juvenile Justice Bulletin December 2005
Hagan, John. (1988) Modern Criminology. McGraw-Hill Book Company, Singapore pp 39-43
Macionis, John J. Sociology. Eleventh Edition. Pearson Prentice Hall Inc. 2007 p
Rose, Nikolas. (2000) Government and Control The British Journal of Criminology 40: pp 321-339. Web.
Schmalleger, Frank Criminal Justice Today Tenth Edition
Vedder, Clyde B., Koenig, Samuel & Clark, Robert E. (1976) Criminology. Holt, Rinehart & Winston New York.
George, Robert P. Making Men Moral: Civil Liberties and Public Morality Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993.
MacCormack, Patricia. (2001) Pleasure, Perversion and Death Three Lines of Flight for the Viewing. Web.
Thorp, John. (1992) The Social Construction of Homosexuality. Web.
Turner, Jonathan H. (1989) The Structure of Sociological Theory The Dorsey Press, Illinois
Viola, Richard H (1987) Organizations in Changing Societies: Administration and Human Values. V.B. Saunders Company Philadelphia London Toronto
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