critical issue in criminal justice

Discussion 1

Ideology , Policy , and Practice in Criminal Justice

1 . Through the prism of juvenile justice , Feld (2003 ) discusses the historical and contemporary roots of liberalism and conservatism as they affect criminal justice in the United States . Summarize these historical roots and comment on their impact on contemporary criminal justice . Does Feld 's article reflect an ideological bias ? If so , what is it and why do you think so

Feld`s article about the juvenile justice system in a way has shown us the historical roots of liberalism and conservatism and how

they affect criminal justice today . The article stated that issues such as concentrated poverty , racial isolation , and the ensuing of youth crime and violence are the cumulative consequences of the public policies that produce the patterned inequality . Moreover , this article stresses different causes of crime . Liberals see crime not as a product of individual moral failure but as the result of social influences (Currie 1985 . In particular , unemployment , racial discrimination , and governmental policies that work to the disadvantage of the poor are the root causes of crime and it is only by changing the social environment will crime be reduced (Currie 1989

Further , our politicians ' public policy debates about these issues have affected much of our criminal justice system today . As a result , the conservative proposes the so called crime control model to reduce crime by increasing the penalties on criminals . On the other hand , the liberal proposes the due process model that advocates social programs aimed primarily at reducing crime by reducing poverty

As I see it , the impact of conservatism is more on the production of inadequate protection of society . The conservatives are concerned that criminals beat the system ' and get off easy ' In their view the cure is to eliminate legal loopholes by curtailing the exclusionary rule , abolishing the insanity defense , allowing for preventive detention of dangerous offenders , and increasing the certainty of punishment . In contrast , the liberals ' due process model emphasizes protecting the rights of the individual . Its advocates are concerned about lawbreaking they see the need to protect the public from predatory criminals

Lastly , Feld`s article clearly reflect an ideological bias . It has shown us that

politics , ideology , and criminal justice are intimately linked and inseparable . Because of the close ties among them , it may be easier to understand how some interests get served while others are ignored or even harmed . For example , those with political power , or the ability of individuals or groups to influence government as it allocates a society 's resources ' are more likely to have their interests served at the expense of others

He further discussed that although criminal justice policy development is affected by groups other than lawmakers , including the media , voters lobbies , and other special interest groups , politicians play the largest role in setting the crime control agenda . Yes , I agree with him that politicians have the greatest ideological influence on what we do in criminal justice this is because of their power . They have the power to...