Components of the Criminal Justice System Term Paper (Term Paper Sample)

Components of the Criminal Justice System
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Components of the Criminal Justice System
Introduction
Prison overcrowding is a global problem affecting many countries, the United States included. In his research, Jimmy Nguyen (2012), states that overcrowding in these correctional facilities has denied the prisoners or the inmates their basic human and constitutional rights. In her article, Susan Campers (2012), agrees with Jimmy that the state of prison overcrowding in the United States is a demonstration of a failing correctional system. In this essay, the paper gives a summary of these two articles and how their findings impact the five components of the criminal justice system.
Jimmy says that while humane treatment and rehabilitation are vital components of a correctional system as part of the criminal justice components, overcrowding hinders their achievement. If not well rehabilitated, as is the intent of a jail term, these former inmates are bound to commit more crime when they return to their communities as indicated by the increased rate of recidivism. In his comparative study, Jimmy states that the United States has the largest prison population among the developed countries, with a prison population of over 2.3 million people (Nguyen, 2012). Further, aside from these incarcerations, another five million people are on different correctional programs like parole, probation and supervision. The article links these high numbers of inmates to the war on drug and other historical issues in the criminal justice system that have seen many Americans incarcerated. For instance, he argues that lawmakers have encouraged mandatory prison sentences and the eradication of parole at the expense of good rehabilitation programs. The punitive sentences lashed out for drug offences by the system in the war against drugs is part of the problem these facilities are overcrowded. Jimmy gives the implications of the overcrowding in these facilities by taking the example of the Californian prison system. The overcrowding in these prisons is a constitutional violation that the criminal justice system must examine and create solutions that ensure that the inmates get their human rights (Nguyen, 2012). The article highlights the magnitude of the problem in California by the fact that prisoners are isolated or given solitary confinement for over twenty-four hours before they are taken to the right facility.
As Campers states in her article, overcrowding in these facilities is a demonstration of a failing correctional system. In its 2011 ruling the Supreme Court made it categorical that the poor conditions of prisons, particularly in California was unconstitutional because it was tantamount to cruelty and inhumane punishment instead of rehabilitation. The court asked the state authorities to reduce the population by close to thirty thousand inmates (Campers, 2012). Susan is categorical that the declining crime rate in the country is not being reflected in reduced prison populations. In fact, the American prison facilities have the largest prison populations than countries like China. Susan in her analysis states that the problem is partly due to political pressure in every election where candidates at any level promise to get tough on crime (Campers, 2012). Therefore, fulfilling the promise implies that they must arrest people and jail them in the name of fighting crime, especially drug wars. An increase of law enforcement agents on the streets is a recipe for continued arrests, even when they should not be there. The increased surveillance is a policy and practice problem since new arrests are made yet no facilities exist to house those arrested. Catching low-level offenders has seen the prison number soar, yet longer sentences do not necessarily lead to improved security on the streets.
The analysis and findings of these articles implies that the criminal justice system and its components must find better solutions to fix the problem. Overcrowding in prisons, as postulated by the two articles is a demonstration of failing justice system, right from the law enforcement agencies to the corrections. The law enforcement agents need to consider how to create their presence on the streets and ensure that they only make arrests that are meaningful because increased presence on the streets will lead to antagonism from the citizens (Forbes, 2013). The second component of the justice system is the prosecution and therefore, evidence presented by the law enforcement must be reviewed well to ascertain that certain crimes can be tried before a court of law. In case the evidence is not good enough to secu...