Impacts That Regulatory Criminal Laws Have Had On the Criminal Justice System and Society

Impacts That Regulatory Criminal Laws Have Had On the Criminal Justice System and Society

The Government’s responsibility to defend the life and property of its citizens from exploitation is fulfilled through a code of criminal law imposed by a criminal justice system. Besides statutes that protect citizens, the Government also enacts laws known as regulatory laws that criminalize certain behaviors that are deemed to be not consistent with the best interests of society. On the other hand, five distinctive assumptions can be among existing regulatory models. The first regulatory approach targets the incentive-driven individual, whereby the dominant motivation of the individual is based on a cost-benefit calculation (LaFree, 2018). Consequently, the path of the regulator should focus on preventing the bad apples and providing incentives to the good apples. Also, the second regulatory approach targets the reason-driven individual where an individual who looks to regulators to be persuaded about the wisdom of engaging in a particular behaviour is the primary assumption about human motivation (Baker et al., 2015).

Moreover, the third regulatory approach assumes that the dominant compliance motivation is related to social identity. Thus, demonstrating to the individual that the prevailing norm, either quantitatively or qualitatively, is to obey the law, is where most of the attention focuses on.  Besides, the fourth regulatory approach assumes on the citizenship-oriented individual whose primary motivation is compliance because it is the law, regardless of its content (Baker et al., 2015).

On the other hand, communities operate in the context of federal and state policies that can affect local government decisions relevant to health through laws and regulations, through the resources allocation, and by shaping political will on issues and approaches (LaFree, 2018). Besides, the more widely recognized policies are the ones that fund or regulate health care delivery services. However, plans in a variety of areas can be relevant to health disparities, ranging from education to land and housing, the environment, and criminal justice (Baker et al., 2015). Additionally, policies vary significantly over time in establishing priorities, providing funding, or encouraging collaboration and also across geographical areas. Also, they offer essential opportunities to promoting health equity hence shaping the levers available to communities to address change (LaFree, 2018). Besides, to be able to respond effectively to address health, the district must be better informed about the implications of federal and state policy and policy changes. Thus, the strategies will be more effective when the needs of communities are more considered in decision making at the federal and state levels (LaFree, 2018).

On the other hand, regulatory laws prohibit socially unacceptable behavior such as possession, prostitution, traffic violation, gambling, and sale and use of certain drugs. Besides, most of the severe problems faced by the police chiefs are related to police and community relations, and they include ratio profiling and negative police image, especially in minority communities (Baker et al., 2015). Notably, racial profiling has the most significant and potentially long-lasting impact on children as well as youths since it comprises their future. It affects their sense of self-esteem and confidence, and also leads to their loss of education, negative psychological impact, increment in the criminalization of children, as well as promoting anti-social behaviors (LaFree, 2018). Besides, racial profiling has resulted in the creation of mistrust on institutions among both the youth and adults of the criminal justice system, law enforcement, customs and border control and the education system. Thus, lack of faith and sense of usefulness of registering complaints with police, human rights commissions, or other complaint bodies was expressed by many communities because they felt that they would not be taken seriously or would be treated as suspects (Baker et al., 2015). Additionally, ratio profiling makes individuals belonging to radicalized communities think that they are not equal members of society regardless of whether they are persons whose families have been there for generations (LaFree, 2018).

On the other hand, racial profiling has led to community division and unwillingness to be identified with one’s community. Also, it has resulted in communities not being well represented in key societal institutions since individuals do not feel they should seek out and gain positions of power or authority in society (LaFree, 2018). Moreover, racial profiling has resulted in physical effects from authorities based on race, colour, ancestry, ethnic origin, place of birth, or religion of the person. On the other hand, negative police image among the public has negatively impacted the criminal, regulatory laws (Baker et al., 2015). Also, policing is based upon what the public feels about the police and what they see every day, but not saying how good you are at policing. Besides, to be able to secure and maintain the respect of the people, police must secure the willing cooperation of the people in voluntary observance of the law (LaFree, 2018). For instance, reckless driving or unnecessary speeding in a police vehicle makes citizens feel infuriated; hence, the justification from the department is that speeding is necessary to get the job done. Also, talking on a mobile device while driving a police vehicle is viewed as unnecessary by the public (Baker et al., 2015). Besides understanding the fact that they have an exemption that allows on-duty police officers to talk on the phone, the audience feels that personal calls on patrol should be minimized. Also, treating individuals disrespectfully no matter the situation either verbally or physically, which is contrary to the job description, which says that cops must rise above the abuse and maintain courageous calm in the face of danger, scorn, or ridicule?

Furthermore, the examination revealed that the enforcement of regulatory laws relates to many of the community-related problems (LaFree, 2018). Additionally, implementation of statutory requirements did not only place a heavy burden on police but also on the resources of the entire criminal justice system, leading to a system that cannot function as it was intended.  Besides, over-legislation has led to too many laws for the criminal justice system to adequately enforce and process (Baker et al., 2015). On the other hand, lack of adequate resources has led to a reduction of charges and sentences of those arrested through please negotiations resulting in early release back to the society. Besides, this has also resulted in the continuation of criminal activities in communities, ending with another arrest by police. Also, the proactive policing strategies have one of their primary goals the reduction of crime and disorder (LaFree, 2018). Therefore, the initial motivating force is the goal of reducing crime and disorder, which have the potential for adverse outcomes in the community constituting collateral concerns. On the other hand, community participation in collaborative efforts with the police helps in shaping the sort of evaluative judgments which are useful, fair, and lawful that community members make about police performance. Besides, these evaluations also help in shaping the general orientation toward the police hence, developing the behavior of community members in terms of law abidingness, cooperation with authorities, and engagement in the community (LaFree, 2018).

Notably, increased rates of incarceration led to a decrease in crime. However, research indicates that long sentences are characteristics of the period of high incarceration rates, which has contributed significantly to low crime rates. On the other hand, incarcerated people endure physical and emotional struggles during the period of imprisonment thus, their spouses, partners, and the children are likely to face financial and emotional challenges as well hence affecting familial relationships (LaFree, 2018). Additionally, incarceration has also led to increased risks of divorce, diminished political participation, housing insecurity, and homelessness. Also, the imprisonment of both parents and either will have debilitating consequences for children (Baker et al., 2015). Moreover, lawmakers are considering legislating more substantial sentences hence raising questions about the role of prison sentences in crime prevention (Baker et al., 2015). Therefore, most discussions of crime and its prevention is lacking a way of generating a quantitative estimate of what alternative policies would cost and what they would achieve (LaFree, 2018).  In addition, a crime against businesses will also affect both managers and staff. Hence, knowledge of victimization and its shock can spread out, creating a ripple effect through the neighbourhood (LaFree, 2018). However, some results may only be short-term, whereby victims cope with financial loss quite quickly by using their resources, or with the help of family and friends. Additionally, some effects such as psychological and social effects can be long-lasting to the extent of victims needing professional psychiatric or psychological support. For instance, people who tend to be victims of severe physical assaults, robberies and particularly rape (LaFree, 2018). Nevertheless, consistent observation has shown that the emotional effects of victimization do not differ much when comparing victims of different types of crime, which include nonviolent and violent crime.

References

Baker, T., Pickett, J. T., Amin, D. M., Golden, K., Dhungana, K., Gertz, M., & Bedard, L. (2015). Shared race/ethnicity, court procedural justice, and self‐regulating beliefs: A study of female offenders. Law & Society Review, 49(2), 433-466.

LaFree, G. (2018). Losing legitimacy: Street crime and the decline of social institutions in America. Routledge.