Criminal Justice Enforcement policies

Criminal Justice Enforcement policies 6 CRIMINAL JUSTICE ENFORCEMENT POLICIES

Criminal Justice Enforcement Policies Your Name Goes Here

Institutional Affiliation Goes HereCriminal Justice Enforcement Policies Introduction

The question as presented

Some believe that tougher enforcement policies should be pursued including increased spending on law enforcement and prison facilities longer sentences for offenders , and stepped up use of the death penalty for the worst crimes . Others argue that more money needs to be spent on prevention , including social services and education , to provide hope and opportunity for potential offenders . Apply

pros and cons and conclude which idea is probably best

Re-defining the question

The question has three flaws ? It fails to define the types of crime which are to be reduced . For example providing hope and opportunity for potential offenders ' will do nothing to reduce management crime (e .g . Enron , organized crime (e .g . the Mafia , terrorism or sexual offences .I will therefore focus on lower-class urban crime , especially teenage gangsterism , drug-related crime , crimes committed by people in desperate financial crises and crimes committed by people with grievances ? The question presents an either-or ' choice between stronger law enforcement and preventive measures , but we need a combination of the two approaches ? It assumes that stronger law enforcement ' means harsher law enforcement

We need a combination of law enforcement and preventive measures

The most severe law enforcement will achieve little if lower-class urban offenders can see no legitimate way to solve their problems or satisfy their aspirations . At the absolute best it could turn the criminals into a passive underclass which is forever dependent on welfare benefits Even then the most energetic and ambitious members of this underclass would eventually be targeted by recruiters for organized crime or terrorist organizations

Social improvements alone will be ineffective if the atmosphere of fear and hopelessness which pervades crime-ridden areas prevents local people from taking advantage of them , or if the improvement are sabotaged by those who have a stake in the existing situation (e .g . loan-sharks and gang-leaders . So we need a combination of ? Long-term measures to enable people to improve their own lives ? Medium-term measures to mitigate the situation while the long-term measures are in progress , and to deal with the difficulties which a few people will continue to experience - it 's unrealistic to expect that we can solve all urban social problems completely ? Improved law enforcement to prevent the situation from getting worse and to give the locals confidence that their efforts will not be undermined by random crimes and will not be sabotaged by those who have a stake in the existing situation . The term law enforcement ' needs further analysis , which I will supply in the next section

Law enforcement

Overview of law enforcement

This has three main components ? Policing ? The legal system ? Sentencing - in this essay I regard prison construction and operation as part of the infrastructure which supports sentencing

To save space I will not consider the legal system here , since the question specifically mentioned policing and sentencing (references to prisons...