Criminal Justice Report: Procedures, Challenges, and Reforms

This report provides a comprehensive overview of the American criminal justice system. It begins by outlining the procedural steps involved in criminal justice, distinguishing between the processes significant for prosecution and defense. The report then compares and contrasts the state and federal court systems, highlighting their similarities and differences in jurisdiction and operation. Furthermore, it identifies and analyzes the most critical challenges facing the criminal justice system, such as drug abuse, violence against women, and the impact of social media and technology on law enforcement. The report also addresses potential reform aims, including changes to sentencing policies and drug laws, and explores the legal principles derived from the Bible in relation to the penal system. The report concludes with a discussion on the use of body cameras and dash cameras in altering the safety and professionalism of criminal justice professionals. The report is supported by credible references to academic sources.

Running head: CRIMINAL JUSTICE
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Name of Student
Name of University
Author Note

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Procedural steps in American Criminal Justice Process
Criminal Procedure can be defined as the process of adjudication of the criminal law
(Siegel & Worrall, 2013). Although the criminal procedure can be differing by jurisdictions, yet
the beginning of the process is generally seen to be starting with a formal criminal charge with
the person held on trial to either be free on a bail or to be imprisoned and the result of such trial
is either the conviction or the acquittal of the defendant. The main procedural steps in the
criminal justice process that can be considered significant from the point of view of prosecution
are- the investigation of a crime whose main purpose is gathering of evidence for the
identification of any suspect and supporting of arrests; Arrests of the suspects which can be seen
to be involving taking under the custody of any person suspected of committing off crime for
holding them until crime; Prosecution of the defendant by the attorney for charging a person of
any crime; Indictment by the jury for the prosecution of capital offense under the Federal
Criminal Procedure Rules; Pretrial detention of the defendant for a temporary period of time;
Adjudication of the guilt by the jury or the judge by way of trial in presence of the prosecution
and the defense; Sentencing and punishment.
The procedural steps considered significant for the defense are- arraignment of a
defendant by appearing in the court and entering the plea of being guilty or not guilty;
Adjudication of the guilt by the jury or the judge by way of trial in presence of the prosecution
and the defense; Appeals that are filed in the appellate court by the attorneys and sentencing
(Miller & Hefner, 2015).

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Similarities and Differences of the Court System in State and Federal Judicial
System
Two different kinds of Courts are present in the United States, the Federal Court and the
state courts. There are both similarities and dissimilarities between the two. The difference
between the court systems are discussed as follows. The Federal courts are seen to be established
under the Constitution of the United States whereas the State courts are seen to be established by
the states. The next point of difference between the two is thee jurisdiction. The jurisdiction of
the Federal Courts can be seen to be limited to the types of the cases that had been listed in the
Constitution, whereas the State courts have a broader jurisdiction. The criminal cases that violate
the laws of the state are tried in the state courts, while the criminal cases violating the federal
laws are tried only in the federal courts. State courts can be seen to be handling larger number of
cases and have more public contact that the federal courts.
The similarities between the two courts are discussed as follows. The first similarity
between the two courts is that both the state and federal judges have the authority for the
sanctioning parties or attorneys failing to obey the instructions. Secondly, in both the systems
written Court Rules are enacted for providing mandatory procedures for conducting a case
(Howard Jr, 2014).
Most Important Challenges Facing The Criminal Justice System In America
The most important challenges that the Criminal justice system in America that could be
of greatest concern for those working in the criminal justice field are-

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 Drug abuse- In USA almost 50-80% of the men that are arrested are seen to be testing
positively for drug and substance abuse. This is seen to be leading towards a vicious
cycle of criminal activity.
 Violence against Women- As per the National Institute of Justice, about 1.3 million
women each year are being physically assaulted by an intimate partner, and stalking has
been more prevalent than it was previously thought.
 As per the latest data that has been made available almost 2 million people were
incarcerated for committing crimes and almost 7 million people were under supervision
in the U.S. About $50 billion per year are spent on the correctional efforts.
These three issues, among all other issues, are seen to be ever-increasing and as per the words of
the experts these issues within 2020 would increase tremendously (LaFree, 2018). There are
certain reform aims that can be taken for fixing these issues are-
 Reducing harsh prison sentences
 Changing the drug sentencing policy surrounding the war on drugs
 Decriminalizing certain laws, including drug policies
 Changing minimum sentencing laws
Social Media, Body Cameras And Dash Cameras Are Altering The Safety
And Professionalism Of Criminal Justice Professionals
Police dash camera systems had been prevalent in many of the United States police
departments. These devices were seen to be assisting agencies across the country for th
development of the community trust by way of transparency, as well as enhancing officer safety.

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The importances of installing dash cameras are:
 maintain the integrity and safety of police officers
 reduce police department liability
 provide transparency for the community
 improves conviction rates
 used for training police officers
Because of handful incidents many in America have been left deeply skeptical of law
enforcement procedures and how the officers are seen to handle potentially contentious
situations (Lippert & Newell, 2016). One of the solutions that have been proposed for this issue
is the equipping of the officers with body cameras.
The importance of the body cameras are:
 there would be direct evidence
 the behavior of both police and the citizen will improve
 are relatively unobtrusive
 There would be reductions in the complaints and any such related expenses.
Legal Principles of the Bible
The main focus of Christianity lies on the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus
Christ. The main theme that originates in the Old Testament and addressed in a frequent manner
in the New Testament is ‘atonement’. In both the Old and the New Testament the vicarious

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significance of the sacrifice has been accepted and emphasized. As per the Bible the one who has
been sacrificed is said to be taking the sins of the mankind upon himself and subsequently
freeing the mankind from all of its sins and reconcile with God. But according to the modern
penal law both the connotations of the atonement as mentioned in the Bible and the theology
relevant to it. As per the penal law one is seen to be responsible only for the crimes committed
by him and not by others (Schmalleger, 2017).
"And Aaron shall offer the bull, as a sin offering for himself, and shall make atonement for
himself and for his house.., and shall lay both his hands upon the head of the goat and send him
away into the wilderness ... and make atonement for himself and for the people." (Lev. 16:6, 21,
24).
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us--for it is written,
"CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE"-- in order that in Christ Jesus the
blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the
Spirit through faith. (Gal. 3:13-14)

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Reference
Miller, S. L., & Hefner, M. K. (2015). Procedural justice for victims and offenders?: Exploring
restorative justice processes in Australia and the US. Justice Quarterly, 32(1), 142-167.
Siegel, L. J., & Worrall, J. L. (2013). Introduction to criminal justice. Nelson Education.
Schmalleger, F. (2017). Criminal justice. Pearson.
Lippert, R. K., & Newell, B. C. (2016). Debate introduction: the privacy and surveillance
implications of police body cameras. Surveillance & Society, 14(1), 113-116.
LaFree, G. (2018). Losing legitimacy: Street crime and the decline of social institutions in
America. Routledge.
Howard Jr, J. W. (2014). Courts of appeals in the federal judicial system: A study of the second,
fifth, and District of Columbia circuits (Vol. 647). Princeton University Press.