Criminal Justice System Essay

542 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Discrimination in the u.s justice system

What is the purpose of the criminal justice system? According to the official Ministry Of Justice website - [www.justice.gov.uk] there is a clear objective that the criminal justice system hopes to fulfil: “The purpose of the Criminal Justice System... is to deliver justice for all, by convicting and punishing the guilty and helping them to stop offending, while protecting the innocent.”, and this isn’t just applicable in the UK, many other countries and areas of the world operate to a similar objective. And at a glance, many would agree that justice systems across the world do fulfil this purpose, bringing peace to those who have been wronged, by punishing those who commit the offence. However, when it comes to sentencing, are there factors …show more content…

The Law states that when it is clear that discriminatory sentencing has occurred, an alteration of the sentence could be decided upon, but what about the millions of cases that go un-noticed each and every year, with many people not being treated according to the aims of the jurisdiction? My EPQ is going to focus on gender discrimination in criminal sentencing, and discuss whether the criminal justice system is actually fair for everyone. I’m going to do this by studying examples from countries all around the world and comparing cases where gender has affected a sentence given, in a situation where identical crimes have been committed by both a male and a female convict. I think that it is very important to investigate this matter because discrimination in any circumstance is wrong, but discrimination in a direct violation of ‘justice’ is even worse and I think that it’s right to unveil and highlight any instances where it is evident that gender has in fact affected a sentence. However investigations will have to be very deep and thorough as many barristers deny such discrimination takes place in the court

Show More
Related

  • Disparities in Sentencing: The Role of Race and Gender

    1274 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Most modem sentencing systems in the United States express an explicit commitment to ensuring that a defendant 's sentence is not affected by the defendant 's race or gender (Hessick, 2010).” Even though individuals are protected through the Bill of Rights and Sentencing Reform Acts, there are still disparities in sentencing within the criminal justice systems. Often, race and gender bias negatively affects sentencing.

    Read More

  • Gender Disparity In Sentencing

    949 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many have argued that there is obvious disparate treatment among particular demographic groups of criminal defendants by the courts. While the federal sentencing guidelines were created in order to maintain uniform treatment of defendants based on legally relevant factors, we still see extralegal factors causing disparity. A significant amount of attention, however, has been focused on racial disparities in sentencing. While racial disparity is an important concern, there is another disparity with which attention is needed: sex-based disparity. Sex-based disparity, or, gender disparity, while it does receive significantly less media attention, is just as great if not greater than racial disparity. Similar to race, gender is considered an extralegal

    Read More

  • Stereotyping of Female Offenders in the Criminal Justice System

    988 Words  | 2 Pages

    Statistical evidence has shown that women do in fact receive lesser and longer sentences when they are convicted of the similar crimes as men; such as drug related crimes (Coughenour, 1995). Criminologists provide different theories that explain the differences between male and female treatment in the criminal justice system. Once of the known theories that are express by the male counterpart that make up the criminal justice system is ‘chivalry’. By definition, ‘chivalry’ is the protection of women. This term start...

    Read More

  • Essay On The Criminal Justice System

    1320 Words  | 3 Pages

    Over the next 10 years the criminal Justice system could entirely change with the passing of a major law, epidemic, or failed service. Consequently, every since 9-11 our justice system has become much more open minded. Therefore, resulting in the strict enforcement of laws to protect its citizens. Nothing ever stays the same for too long. New developments related to science, technology, DNA analysis, and countless other tools and other factors are changing for the better in solving cases, prevention of crimes, and aiding in investigations. Where there is change there will be changes in the way we handle everyday processing. For example, booking a criminal, acquiring evidence, and interrogation. This also results in the field of criminal justice having no choice but to adapt to the slowly changing times or else be left behind.

    Read More

  • Criminology Essay

    1009 Words  | 3 Pages

    Criminology as a genre is defined as the scientific study of crime, as well as its causes, law enforcement interaction, criminal behavior, and means of prevention. In its own way criminology is the history of humanity. As long as people have been on earth there has been criminal activity. Much like most other work atmospheres, it was a male dominated field. A woman seeking to work in criminology was unheard of. Men filled the jobs as police officers, lawyers, judges, and politicians. However, in the 1860s Belva Lockwood became determined to pave the way for women in criminology. As a women’s rights activist, she became one of the most influential women in criminology.

    Read More

  • Criminal Justice System Reflection

    1326 Words  | 3 Pages

    My first exposure to the criminal justice system was while in high school when I was fortunate to be chosen for an internship with a District Judge John Vance in Dallas, Texas. Judge Vance made certain I had a rich and varied experience. He had me to sit in on several high profile cases in his court and to participate in preparing cases for trial with a prosecutor and defense attorney. In addition, he encouraged me to visit other courtrooms and courthouses to observe the proceedings. This along with him coordinating visits at local jails and law enforcement agencies gave me a broad and well-rounded perspective of the criminal justice system. I recall fondly, sitting in on closing arguments at the federal courthouse; the prosecutors practiced

    Read More

  • Police Authority vs Individual Rights

    1076 Words  | 3 Pages

    Crew, B. Keith. “Sex differences in criminal sentencing: Chivalry or patriarchy?” Justice Quarterly (Mar. 1991): n. pag. Print.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Criminal Justice System

    1008 Words  | 3 Pages

    The status of the criminal justice system in Europe during the 1700s was the product of long tradition of aristocracy. An aristocracy government is one in which land is owned by particular families and is passed down through the generations of a family line. The monarch of the region grants titles and powers to the privileged classes, who in return keep order within their land and swear loyalty to the monarch. Property and power in an aristocracy were the privileges of birth alone and being merit was simply irrelevant. Their lives circled around maintaining, while attempting to expand, their wealth and power. Historically, as a higher class among others, aristocrats were known to be negligent towards the poor. To where they were prone to appoint

    Read More

  • Essay On Criminology

    1444 Words  | 3 Pages

    Criminology is the scientific study of crime and criminals. It is also a study that is constantly changing due to the people in our society, which political, economic and spiritual views of individuals come into consideration. Robert Agnew, an important man to the world of criminology, he was born on December first, in 1953, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Agnew fortunately is still living, and ages sixty years of age. He Attended Rutgers College, a school in New Jersey, where he received his Bachelors of Arts in sociology, although both his Masters and PhD in sociology he obtained in University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Sociology being the study of the functioning of human society. Agnew discovered his passion for teaching after her worked as a teacher’s assistant and served as Associate Editor to Social Forces Journal for a couple years. Agnew started teaching at Emory University, the courses he taught varied from criminology to the introduction of sociology. In addition to teaching, Robert Agnew wrote many books and articles about either criminology or sociology. He was also involved in both field’s sociology and criminology through academics, and contributed to them greatly. Although his best contribution was his development of the general strain theory. A theory in which Agnew elaborated on and decided to adjust his perspective. Having gone through bad experiences in one’s life, can influence in the way that a certain individual thinks, and can lead them towards a life involving crime in their everyday lives.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Criminal Justice System

    1187 Words  | 3 Pages

    The criminal justice system has come under fire over the last couple years over the handling of many incidents involving police officers use of force and the lack of punishments being handed down to them. Police officers play a vital role in ensuring law and order is maintained in the communities they are protecting and serving against any crimes and to help during natural disasters. This paper will explore how the criminal justice system is viewed in the eyes of a police officers and the thoughts on everything that has been ongoing.

    Read More

  • Race, Class, and Gender

    1907 Words  | 4 Pages

    ... (2007) This case clearly demonstrated that there is no equality in the sentencing of female offenders and that women are being sentence more harshly than males.

    Read More

  • Equality In Criminal Justice

    1573 Words  | 4 Pages

    From an equal justice perspective, “all people should be treated equally before the law and equality may best be achieved through individual discretion in the justice process” (Siegel and Worrall, 2013, page 20). Through this perspective, all criminals who commit the same crime would be equally subjected to the same form of punishment. Thus extralegal factors, which include the person’s gender, age, race or previous criminal activity, would not be considered by the judge, when they sentence the severity of the punishment. This limits the injustice within the system and any unfair treatment an offender a may receive while in the system. It also sets clear and rigid guidelines for judges to uphold during sentencing.

    Read More

  • Crime and Punishment Essay

    753 Words  | 2 Pages

    By the end of Dostoyesky’s Crime and Punishment, the reader is no longer under the illusion of the possible existence of “extraordinary” men. For an open-minded reader, and even perhaps the closed-minded ones too, the book is a journey through Raskolnikov’s proposed theory on crime. It is a theory based on the ideas that had “been printed and read a thousand times”(313) by both Hegel and Nietzsche. Hegel, a German philosopher, influenced Dostoyesky with his utilitarian emphasis on the ends rather than the means whereby a superman existed as one that stood above the ordinary man, but worked for the benefit of all mankind. Nietsche’s more selfish philosophy focused on the rights to power which allowed one to act in a Hegelian manner. In committing his crime, Raskolnikov experienced the ultimate punishment as he realized that his existence was not that of the “extraordinary” man presented in his theory. In chapter five of part three in Crime and Punishment, this theory is outlined by its creator, Raskolnikov. Such an innovative theory would clearly have placed him in the “extraordinary” category, but when he fails to meet its standards, by submitting to the common law through his confession, the theory crumbles right before the reader’s eyes.

    Read More

  • Classical School Of Criminology Essay

    1422 Words  | 3 Pages

    Offenders are protected today by both the rule of law, ensuring that all offenders are treated equally, regardless of their age, sex or position in the community, and due process, which ensures that all offenders are given a fair trial with the opportunity to defend themselves and be heard (Williams, 2012). Beccaria’s emphasis on punishment being humane and non-violent has also carried through to modern day corrections. It is still the case today that offenders must only receive punishment that is proportionate to the crime they have committed and the punishment is determined by the law. The power of the judges and the magistrates to make decisions on punishment is guided by the legislation and they do not have the power to change the law (Ferrajoli,

    Read More

  • Criminal Justice Reflection Paper

    1807 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Intro to Criminal Justice class, I had the opportunity to learn about the Criminal Justice System more thoroughly. I learned that there are three components that make up the Criminal Justice System such as the courts, law enforcement, and corrections. Each component has its own role in making sure the the Criminal Justice System is functioning properly. If one of these components are not efficient the Criminal Justice system will not be as strong as it could be.

    Read More

More about Criminal Justice System Essay

Open Document