Theories of Criminal Justice

Theories of Criminal Justice

Introduction

It is worth establish that the criminal justice department is associated with a specific set of theories that are used to guide the professionals in the departments when dealing with criminals. Hence, it is plausible to ascertain that the theories provide extensive knowledge of the social phenomenon and natural behavior of criminals. Furthermore, they provide a reference point that is used in the criminal justice departments to study an individual and determine whether they are to be imposed on a sentence or proven guilty. Hence, they are developed to provide diverse perspectives regarding certain instances in the criminal justice departments. They can further be revealed to showcase the importance of using their guideline in practical application in specific incidences. The theories are associated with a higher tendency to portray and shape policies in criminal justice. Moreover, it is worth indicating that the theories try to establish the root cause of a crime. It can only be achieved through extreme scrutiny of human psychological acts and the performance of crimes within the societies that are affected by such issues (Cederblom, 2018). The theories further reveal that criminal behavior is studied and explained through the approaches hence, allowing the professionals and criminals to have better insights about the different consequences that are associated with them. The three popular criminal justice theories that are popular include; restorative, retributive, and transformative justice theories.

Restorative Justice Theory

The theory is popular in the criminal justice department as it focuses on how the victims that have been exposed to the harm of criminal instances can heal. Despite the justice that is provided through the judiciary institutions, it is plausible to indicate that healing is crucial among the individuals that are affected. Hence, the popularity of the theory is highly associated with the strategies that are applied to enable the community to live in harmony. Therefore, it is capable of the implementation of the rehabilitation strategies that prevent criminals from enjoying their freedom. The theory thus seeks to develop ways in which the offenders can be arrested and kept in correction institutions. Moreover, the approach develops means to create and restore harmony among the victims and the offenders in society (Hoyle and Batchelor, 2018). Therefore, the theory is highly connected with the healing process in society; hence, the popularity that is associated with it. It is correct, therefore, to indicate that restorative criminal justice theory is significant in society as it seeks to develop harmony and further repair the impact of the harm that has been caused due to the conducting of criminal behavior.

Consequently, it is worth establishing that restorative criminal justice theory insists on the capacity to develop ways to involve responses from the community-based levels. In this case, it can also be portrayed that the justice department tries to build strategies to make the offenders go through redemption and further initiate manners in which they can be accommodated back to society. In the modern world, peace and harmony are critical to ensure that society develops a good relationship without the development of conflicts (Strang and Braithwaite, 2017). Hence, as a form of crisis management, the restorative theory focuses on developing approaches that will allow the entire society to engage in peace and reconciliation. The society will have the capacity to accomplish this through the implementation of redemption among the criminals who offended the victims in society. Therefore, harmony is created, and thus, it relieves the society from the danger of developing harm that would result to higher chances of insecurity and conflicts among individuals. It can therefore, be elaborated that the theory manages to conduct a critical approach that achieves its objectives by bringing the offenders and criminals in the society together.

The theory doe not only focuses on the approaches that are instituted by criminal justice. However, it is correct to depict that it reveals the nature of the society through individual and social controls that can be implemented to control the individuals from further engagement in crime causes. The approach achieves this objective by making the criminals be at the center of criminal justice (Gavrielides, 2017). In such instances, the offenders are taken through extreme scrutiny to discover the causes of the crimes. Hence, it is appropriate to portray that professionals in the department have the opportunity to pace the offenders at the center of crime control and further engage members with the community to facilitate the process.

Based on the theory, it is considered to establish that individuals that are harmed by the offenders should be involved in the process of restoring justice and harmony. It is worth indicating that when victims of crimes should provide their insights and perceptions regarding the development of resolutions towards the cases. Unity can be brought through the implementation of strategies that ensure the redemption of the criminals. The theory, therefore, insists on the criminals that bring harm to the society should be held responsible for its effects and admit the causes that facilitated their involvement in the cases. It also contains the offenders accountable to the overall members of a community as well as the victims. Hence, it demands that criminals ought to be engaged in the process of averting the harm caused to the offended through the development of amendments that seek to restore justice within the society. Restitution to victims is crucial in theory through engaging the offenders who further participate in the redemption procedures. Hence, the community is finally restored to the overall re-integration. The offenders and the victims come together and are ready to live in harmony in the community.

Therefore, the theory also initiates in the objective that focuses on restoring the needs of the offended with society. It is worth indicating that restorative justice should also engage in the provision of overall justice in the community through the development of public safety policies with the communities to avert the incidence of prospective crimes in the future. The theory seeks to indicate that approaches of applying its principles should be incorporated in the prisons and further community to restore harmony. The programs that are developed in theory also initiate rehabilitation of the offenders to transform them into better individuals in the community. Conflict resolution can also be achieved through specific initiatives that are integrated with the integration programs to improve security and also engage the community in further scrutinization to avert from disintegration.

Nevertheless, the initiatives that are engaged in the restoration of peace in the community are connected to the restoration of peace, and criminal justice applications include; interventions by families, programs to conduct the mediation in the community, and redemption of the offenders. The presence of violence, especially in families, require the application of the theory to restore peace and harmony among the members (Prasetyo et al., 2016). Hence, methods that facilitate skill-building are common in certain instances. Dialogue between the offended and the offenders also demanded purposes of achieving trust and understanding among them. The criminal justice theory that seeks to develop a restorative impact in the society further aims to associate the officers from the probation department, prosecutors, juries, and various stakeholders in the society to appropriately achieve harmony and justice.

Retributive Criminal Justice Theory

The theory is portrayed through its perspectives that offenders in the community deserve punishment.  Therefore, the theory believes that every crime that is committed should be administered to justice by the court of laws. Hence, offenders deserve any form of sentence that is developed by justice professionals. The theory further establishes the correlation that exists between the intensity of punishment and the crime committed. Thus, it can be portrayed to be relevant in the community based on the insights it develops on how certain criminal offenses should be punished (Wenzel and Okimoto, 2016). Consequently, it is reasonable to maintain that the theory reveals the virtues and morals that govern the punishment inflicted on the offenders. For instance, it is constitutionally and morally wrong to punish individuals with the community for the crimes they have not committed. The retributive theory is critical and significant as it insists on justice issues that rescues the innocent citizens from being exposed to sentences for the crimes; they were not involved in. Moreover, the retributive theory also insists on the unacceptability of disproportional punishment that exists in criminal offenses. It ensures equality and justice by averting from the issues of being exposed to heavy sentences among individuals for crimes committed. For example, courts, through prosecutors, should not decide on a death penalty on a situation that does not succeed to demand such harsh punishments. Hence, the damage caused by the offenders should reveal a similar impact in terms of the sentence that will be imposed.

The theory is further organized into specific approaches. It is right to depict that deterrence and rational choice are considered to make the better part of the theory. In terms of the rational choice approach, humans are associated according to psychological analysis to make the decision based on whatever things and circumstances they encounter. Thus, it can be deduced that rational choice determines the perspectives among people to either abide by the laws or develop to become offenders in the society based on the consequences associated with their actions (Zaibert, 2016). Moreover, a violation of a law in the society can be attributed to the existence of guaranteed satisfaction to commit offenses. Hence, the punishment that is imposed by the court of law in association with the offense should seek to outweigh the excitement and satisfaction achieved from conducting the case in the community. Retributive theory is apparent through the thoughts that are developed in terms of the crimes committed and the consequences or punishment that can be engaged with it in society. Therefore, it builds on the deterrence approach that is used to avert people from conducting crimes within society. In this case, it can be developed that the approach individuals with an opportunity to weigh between the benefits and costs that are connected to the engagement in certain crimes (Wachtel, 2016). Additionally, people will seek to maximize pleasure in the world by eliminating the costs of committing criminal offenses. Hence, it is right to reveal the capacity of people refraining from engaging in criminal activities as a result of the desire to minimize pain.

Hence, the deterrence approach that is brought out by the retributive theory acts as the foundation to understand the causes and consequences associated with crime in the society. It is the main objective to understand the causes of criminal events and further develop the nature and foundation of offenses. Consequently, the offenders, in theory, are most significant as it seeks to come up with strategies that reveal of offenders. It builds on the importance of making the criminals accountable for the crimes. It does not insist on the healing of the victims as developed in the restorative theory. It also provides a guideline on the policies that discuss on the sentences and terms of prison among offenders to ensure the crimes committed are treated with similar intensity in penalties imposed. Therefore, programs are developed according to the theory to ensure justice has prevailed in criminal justice.

Conclusion

It is probable to indicate that criminal justice is associated with two popular theories that are; restorative and retributive. Restorative is highly initiated with the development of strategies to repair the harm that has been caused to the individuals. Moreover, it focuses on creating harmony between the offenders and victims. On the other hand, the retributive theory is consistent in its development of the necessity accompanied by the punishment of criminal activities. It elaborates on the concern associated with the development of similar punishment of the crimes that are committed within the society. It criticizes the behavior of innocent citizens being punished for crimes they have not committed. Hence, the two theories are relevant and popular as they build on the connection that exists among the and the society. They reveal the harmony, punishment, and correction of offenders as well as restoring justice to the offended.

References

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Strang, H., & Braithwaite, J. (2017). Restorative justice: Philosophy to practice. Routledge.

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Wenzel, M., & Okimoto, T. G. (2016). Retributive justice. In Handbook of social justice

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Zaibert, L. (2016). Punishment and retribution. Routledge.