10 Facts of CJ

cassy rymas


1.The components of criminal justice include police, prosecution, judiciary, prisons, probation, and parole.

2.The criminal justice system has multiple and often conflicting objectives: the interests of the victim have to be balanced with the due process rights of the defendant, the broader public interest, as well as considerations of cost effectiveness.

3.Preventing crime is at least as important as punishing offenders. This is called deterrence. An example of this is the death penalty. Many people will avoid committing a crime if they know the punishment is serious, such as death.

4.The first US police force was in New York in 1844. It came from an English model of policing. The US reformed policing the world and many now follow what the US built.
Of all crimes, only about 10 percent are reported to the police. Reasons for that include that the crime was not that serious, it is felt that the police can’t do anything about it or that the victim is worried of not being believed. Also, if the victim knows the defendant then they are less likely to report the crime.

5.There are several different ways to punish an offender: financial penalties, community-based punishment (i.e. imprisonment), community service, a curfew, and a residence requirement, among others.

6.A suspended prison term is especially effective with young or first-time offenders as the mere threat of punishment is often sufficient. There is also a difference between jail and prison that many people do not know of. Jail is a year or less, prison is a year or more.

7.The judicial response to crime varies greatly from one society to another, even though the crime rates are similar. This is due to the discretion that is allowed at every stage. A prosecutor has discretion the most, and they’re able to use at any point. A judge also has a large amount of discretion in deciding the punishment given, there are guidelines for them to follow, though.

8.We expect our prisons to punish and to rehabilitate – we want offenders to come out as better people. This method of rehabilitation is called the reentry model. The goal is to reenter them into society and have them be an active member. Living the most normal life they could.

9.The prosecution is not subject to civil suit. Meaning a person cannot sue them for any wrong doing. However, they can still be legally punished.

10.Judge positions are life appointments. But they can retire or resign from their position. Also, a judge typically gets paid less than they did as a lawyer, but, the position of a judge is seen with higher prestige.

All facts came from my textbook.