Criminal_Law

The Criminal Justice System Candice Dawn Ojeda University of Phoenix Criminal Justice M. Jay Farr April, 28, 2013 The Criminal Justice System This paper is to help decipher the criminal justice system and the roles in which each different area plays within the system. The criminal justice system is the set of different agencies and processes established by governments to control crime and impose penalties on those who break or dishonor the laws set forth by these agencies. There are five different structures that will be discussed here. The first of these to discuss is law enforcement. This agency is responsible for following up on reports that crime has taken place in the area they protect. Officers will investigate the alleged crimes and gather and evidence. Law enforcement officers investigate, protect the evidence and will testify if need be to uphold the law. This is the place where we the persecution of the person. This explains the part this role plays in the government role of the criminal justice system. The next step in the process is that of prosecutors. These are people who act as lawyers and who represent the state or federal government. They are the people who will try and persecute the person who is being accused of breaking the law. Essentially these people will review the case, decide if they have enough evidence to go forward with trying the person and will see it through from start to finish. The prosecutor decides if there is reason to stand trial. The person may be offered bail at this time. The person can also be released on an or bond based on the crime. The third step involved is defense attorneys. Defense attorneys are the people who defend the accused and will go head to head with the prosecution. The defense attorney will either be hired by the person assigned as a public defender by the courts. These beacons of the court help to defend and be fair to the person who has hired them. The next step is that of the courts. The courts is the game court so to say where all of this takes place. The judge presides over the courts and this is where the person is tried, and the person is convicted or seen as innocent. Plea agreements, sentencing, trials and releasing of the person is where this takes place. This leads us to final step that is called corrections. Corrections is where the person who was convicted is supervised by correction officers. This could be either by parole officers, isp, jail, half way houses or prison. The duty of these people is to make sure the law is upheld and to ensure the person is held in the most restrictive environment that the position they are in allows. The also oversee the person being released from the environment they are in. References Kelling, George L., Mary A. Wycoff (December 2002). Evolving Strategy of Policing: Case Studies of Strategic Change. National Institute of Justice