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Contemporary Issue in Criminal Justice
Shaquitta Covington
Walden University
July 19, 2021
Contemporary Issue in Criminal Justice
Justice is a fundamental aspect of the United States democratic system. Nonetheless, the criminal justice system faces several challenges ranging from terrorism, racial discrimination, human trafficking, and drug crimes. Professionals in the criminal justice systems interact with these challenges daily; therefore, working in the criminal justice system presents a good platform for them to serve, protect and assure public safety and reduced crime. The criminal justice systems have the constitutional jurisdiction to offer rehabilitation to criminals and lawbreakers, offer moral support to the victims, and, most importantly, prevent crimes. Regardless of efforts to stabilize the justice system, I believe the US Criminal Justice System cannot provide justice to those in need due to an unclear roadmap to handle criminal vices and underlying issues in the justice system.
Historically, the criminal justice system has several contemporary issues. First is human trafficking; according to (Farrell and Reichert, 2017), Over 24 million people are victims of sexual exploitation and forced labor. The United States is one of the countries where modern slavery is rampant. The criminal justice system prioritizes addressing this menace of human trafficking by enforcing laws protecting human rights and prosecuting those that breach these laws. However, human trafficking remains a challenge to the criminal justice system because some top-ranking members of the society and government participate in such barbaric vice, making it unreliable for the justice system to hold them responsible. Secondly, mental health contributes widely to criminal cases in the US. Instead of focusing on mental treatment, the US Criminal Justice System subjects people with mental illness to criminal laws and punishment, undermine the quest for fair justice as in the UN charter for human rights (Malik, 2017). To settle this score, the criminal justice system, need to bring on board policymakers, psychologists and chancellors, however, according to US criminal department, 40% of an inmate have mental health problems, a justification that the justice system is unreliable in cherishing human rights (Kroner, 2021).
Drug crimes are another vital issue surrounding the criminal justice system. United States prison has over seventy thousand inmates with drug and substance abuse history. It is the mandate for the criminal justice system to sensitize the public on drug-related crime through better policies and efficient frameworks. Racial discrimination is another issue undermining the criminal justice system; however, there is a worldwide campaign to fight racial discrimination like the “black-lives matters” campaign. Cyber-crimes undermine the quest for criminal justice due to identity theft, making it hard to trace criminal masquerading on social platforms such as Facebook.
According to, criminal cases rise daily due to poverty, ignorance and poor parenting. As of January 2020, the data in the criminal justice system database prove that for a hundred criminal cases, seventy of them are theft cases, ten are cases of assault, five cases of robbery, five rape cases, while the rest are intentional and non-intentional homicide, bribery and kidnapping in an equal ratio (Kovera, 2019). This data raises serious challenges in handling criminal cases since one needs to convict a criminal of sound mind and the fragility of some crimes.
Although the criminal justice system faces many hurdles, there are emerging trends to tackle these challenges in the pursuit of justice. First is sentencing reforms such as releasing those jailed due to petty cases to reduce congestion in prison, restoring voting rights to prisoners facing felony convictions, reducing sentences for those convicted due to drug-related cases. The criminal justice department also engages in public sensitization drive on racial discrimination, drug and substance abuse and sexual exploitation. With the formulation of clear policies and laws, enforcing the laws will help fight for justice and fairness in the United States of America.
References
Farrell, A. and Reichert, J., 2017. Using US law-enforcement data: Promise and limits in measuring human trafficking. Journal of Human Trafficking, 3(1), pp.39-60.
Malik, D., 2017. Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice. family law, 39(2), p.168.
Kroner, D.G., 2021. Emerging trends in Criminal Justice: A Special Issue in Honor of J. Stephen Wormith. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 48(4), pp.395-397.
Kovera, M.B., 2019. Racial disparities in the criminal justice system: Prevalence, causes, and a search for solutions. Journal of Social Issues, 75(4), pp.1139-1164.
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