Understanding Crime, Justice, Media, Police and Victims in the Criminal Justice System

This article provides an overview of crime and justice, the role of media in reporting crime, the role of police and victims in the criminal justice system. It discusses the definitions of crime and justice, the benefits of media involvement in reporting crime, and the role of police and victims in the criminal justice system.

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criminal justice
STUDENT DETAILS:
Usman Gulab Zir (247514)

Answer to question 1: What is Crime?
In general terms, crime is an illegal action, which is punishable by the state or relevant
authorities. In respect of modern criminal law, the word crime has not any simple and entirely
established definition. However, some legal definitions have been given for certain
offences. The famous view is that crime is the option made by law in other words; something
is a crime if confirmed as such by the related and appropriate law (Akers, 2017). Other
proposed definitions are that a crime is an action, which is harmful not only to some person
but also to the group, state, or community. These actions are prohibited and illegal by law.
The crime refers to a wrongdoing, which merits community criticism and sentence, usually
by the method of penalty or sentence. It is not the same as the tort or civil wrong, which is an
action against the person, which needs compensation or reimbursement (Dostoevsky, 2017).
The crimes are generally prosecuted by the commonwealth or state, while it is usually up to
the person to take civil action to court. It is also probable for the person to start criminal
proceedings but it is very infrequent (Crawford and Evans, 2017).
There are certain matters like violence that can be both civil wrong and crime at the same
time. In this case, the police can conduct hearing for violence. The victim has also some
rights like to take civil actions to recover money or the compensation for the damages
suffered by him. Sometimes it is difficult to decide whether something is the crime. For an
example, an individual who takes money without authorization, it is considered as the crime.
Contrariwise, an individual who does not succeed to pay back money, it is considered as civil
wrong. It is not considered as crime. Though the civil action may be commenced to recover
the amount, the debtor may only be accused for the offence in case of involvement of fraud.
Further, criminal justice is delivery of justice to those who have committed crime. The
criminal justice system is the chain of government organisations and agencies. Their aim is to

recognise law-breakers and to impose the punishment. The other aims are criminal’s
rehabilitations, support for sufferers and stopping more crimes (Cohen and Felson, 2016).
Answer to question 2: What is Justice
Justice is considered as legal theory or philosophical theory, with the help of which equality
is directed. As with most rationally driven disciplines, there are different concepts of justice
in every culture. The concept of justice occupies main stage both in ethics, and in political
and legal viewpoints. Justice is a legal or logical theory to administer the fairness. As with
most rationally driven disciplines, the concept of justice is different in every nation. The
justice refers to the ethical distribution of the goods or evidences or amenities or properties or
punishment or remuneration (Wood, et. al, 2014). The aims of justice must be to have ethical
laws that may be used to validate acts, which mainly secure residents from foreign violence,
from local criminals, from severe economic mistreatment, from government ineffectiveness,
and secure the from the demolition of biodiversity (Clear, 2018). In this way, Justice is
equality in the manner which persons are handled. It secures the rights and penalising wrong
using impartiality (Messerschmidt and Tomsen, 2018).
Justice is based on the ethical concepts of morals, just, belief, faith, reasonableness, and laws.
In this way, justice is what people as the civilization regard as right. Justice is based on the
rule of law (Roy, et. al, 2014). The concept of rule of law states that the decisions are
required to be made according with the law. No one is exempt from law. It is required that
there should be respect for rule of law because it is essential need to secure justice in the
democracy. It makes sure that every decision or every act of people are in accordance with
law of nation (Locke, et. al, 2015). It also makes sure that individuals having powers do not
take decision in respect of survives in an illogical and irregular way on the basis of hate,
preconception and principles (Devlin and Gottfredson, 2018).

The rule of law secures the individuals by making sure that law applies similarly to all that
those who use government powers do so directed by the law and not by the personal
opinions. The rule of law can only function properly when courts act in a self-governing,
reasonable, public, and clear way. It is required that people should know the rights within
complete system of rule of law so that they can maintain them, as well as identify
disappointments and demand change (Cortazar, et. al, 2014).
Answer to question 5: Benefits of Media Involvement in Reporting of Crime
The media play the role as main public source of crime evidence. Various theorists argue it
that the reason is that people do not cooperate to the degree they formerly did, leading to
great social disaffection (Desmond, Papachristos and Kirk, 2016). Because of these reasons,
the dependence and faith on media has been increased for updates and newsflash on a
resident and local stage. It also means faith on the state for managing with the supposed risks
or threats. However, if the state appears to fail in handling these issues properly, then the
public often looks upon to majority forces beyond it that undertake solutions (Shungin, et. al,
2015).
The crime investigation of serious matters handled by media is a complex issue. On the one
hand, media may be a significant tool for producing useful information from the public or
society. Conversely, handling with media may take up useful time and means during the
serious initial level of an enquiry. Consequently, media handling has been acknowledged as a
dangerous skill of the senior investigating officer. Based on interview with senior
investigating officer and media liaison officers, information was composed on the part of
media handling for sixteen killings and sexual attacks (Surette, 2014). The research evaluated
common problems around media controlling in main crime inquiries and made focus on the
major functions and objects) of the media strategies (Hohl and Stanko, 2015).

It is required that vicious crimes must be reported with the help of media because individuals
have rights to have the knowledge about what is going on in the groups (Fishman, 2018). The
public might step up to help the offender. The community might want to institute community
policing in regarding to state the issue. It is right of the people to know the matters of the
world. Because of these reasons, the importance of media is increased to report the crimes. It
is found by the research that newspaper and television influence the behaviours of viewers
(Bradford and Myhill, 2015). These media channels can modify the attitude of their
spectators to some issues involving crimes. Inappropriately, the media overstate criminal
issues in the search of benefit and to get more admiration. The news delivered by media
finishes the understanding of persons for the sufferers of these occurrences. This type of news
contributes to a conductive atmosphere for criminals or wrongdoers to monitor.
Answer to question 8: Role of the Police within the Criminal Justice System
In many countries, the criminal justice system controls and manages the crimes and
criminals. The criminal justice system is composed of three primary and distinct constituents
such as court, police, and corrections. Sometimes these constituents are considered as
subsystem. From this viewpoint, the constituents of the criminal justice system are considered
as interconnected, dependent, and motivated to get a combined aim. This opinion of criminal
justice makes focus on the process of flow of the cases with the help of this system, affecting
current influences as matters move from one constituents to the another. The acts of police
department on the ways, influence the function of imprison and jail such as actions of police
influence the work of court and orders of judges (Nagin, Solow and Lum, 2015).
The main duty of police officer is to secure the life, freedom, and belongings of the people. It
is for the security of these privileges that criminal justice system has been established
allocating significant duty to the police officers. The police have many responsibilities to

perform. The most significant duty is to maintain the law, order, and inquiry of crimes. They
are charged with the duty of securing valuable human rights of people. The police officers
have specific role in the criminal justice system. Not only actions of legal officers influence
the functions of the whole criminal justice system, but police also influence the operations of
criminal justice system. The police officers are said gatekeepers of the criminal justice
system. They are normally the first to establish connection with blamed victims. They may
make the decision about what will happen to these people. The role of police in criminal
matters is to inquiry of the crime. The inquiry involves seizure of important documents,
inquiring witness, collecting their proof, arrest of the accused, and securing the accuser
(Ashworth, 2015).
However, there are many people, who never took in prison or even experienced the direct
encounter with police officers in any certain year, police are the most likely constituent of the
criminal justice system to have the impact on their daily lives. This effect is not mainly
representational. The persons normally see the police when they are conducting their daily
activities or when they are discovered to media descriptions of the police. Additionally, the
majority of commissioned people in police agencies are allocated to responsibilities, and
most work out of noticeable patrol vehicle and reflectivity has been a main facet in crime
control approaches and policies (Cole, Smith and DeJong, 2018).
Answer to question 9: Role of the Victims in the Criminal Justice System
Through the criminal justice system, public prosecutors have a wide choice to use their rights
and powers when it comes to deciding what crimes are needed to be accused. This option has
significant support through both public policy and lawful separation of powers principles.
This option is created based on various elements, including the cruelty of crime, the degree of
confirmations, prosecutorial sources and other factors included in the particular manner. The

victim support and involvement in the inquiry and trial of crime often is the main element in
this analysis (Roberts, 2018).
Factually, in the proper management of the criminal justice system, the part of the offender in
criminal trials has been dangerous. The victim testament often is the most significant
component of the trial. Additionally, the collaboration of the victim in an inquiry and trial,
often results in the exercise of discretion of prosecutor in favour of criminal trial. This
involvement is consequently both serious and anticipated. Therefore, the public policy as
personified in acts and general case laws, is created to motivate the part of sufferers in the
crime trial. In this fundamental structure, actions that restrict the part of victims in the
criminal procedure in the important manner will result in the criminal procedure having less
effect. Furthermore, the broad discretion given to the prosecutor in criminal procedure
permits them to make use of details and sources of victim in any manner the prosecutor
believes or considers proper (Jewkes, 2015) .
As white-collar crime has become the important element of the law implementation program,
the insurance business has played an important role in supporting prosecutor in the inquiry
and trial of insurance fraud, including health care providers, advocates, fake applicants and a
vast array of members in the boundless policies to deceive insurance organisations and their
clients. Through the nation, insurers regularly collaborate with law implement officers that
are inspecting fraud related to insurance, giving details, specific proficiency, practical and
managerial support for the complex inquiries. The assistance may include inquiries earlier the
recommendations to law implement, support with continuing law implement inquiries and the
provision of proficiency or financial support in the inquiry of the difficult crime. The recent
federal health insurance fraud act even needs collaboration between law implement
officers and private insurers on the examinations of fraud (Macmillan, 2016).

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