Abstract
The core components of police, criminal courts, and correctional agencies that are emended into the criminal justice system work to administer justice to the offender and the offended. However, the media has a strong influence on the policies of the criminal justice system core components in the procedures used to implement the activities in their areas of jurisdiction. This study investigated the effects of media 1 and media 2, which include the television and other print media respectively on their effects on the work of the police, courts, and the correctional systems. It is evident that the media effects can either be classified as fair on unfair depending on the jurisdiction of the offense and the step of the criminal justice system.
Introduction
The criminal justice system has specific procedures designed for each crime and the processing of offenders as different models illustrate the matter. Aos, Miller, and Drake (2006) have noted that is in response to the reflection on how the core components of the American criminal justice system, which include the police, correctional agencies, and criminal courts do their work. Basically, the American Criminal Justice System’s core components are the police, criminal courts, and correctional agencies. The core functions of the police are to investigate crime, protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of the people, ensure the safety of the community, ensure that public order is maintained, prevent and reduce crime, and apprehend criminals.
Police and media
Media 1
Schmalleger (2009) accurately identifies the key step of investigation and arrest as preceding each other depending on the reliability of evidence collected from the scene of the incident if the perpetrator is not found at the crime scene by the police. The media, which in this are journalists, play a significant role in building up evidence on the crime. Schmalleger (2009) does not distinguish the perpetrator of the crime from the suspect but clearly highlights the fact that embedded into the criminal justice system are the inalienable human rights of the suspect who is informed of their constitutional rights during the arrest and an array of other rights that the offender needs to be aware of. However, it is not a fair way of justice because the person has been perceived as a criminal without having been proved guilty.
Media 2
However, media 2 consist of a television crew and other print media. The administrative procedure of booking addresses key issues of collecting detailed personal information using every tool such as taking pictures and that underpins the appropriateness of collecting enough evidence from the suspect and for conducting further investigations (Drake, Aos, & Miller, 2009). According to Schmalleger (2009), it is a fair representation of the criminal justice system because the images show a situation where personal details are collected to ensure complete discrimination of the offender with the suspected offender. Here, the statement contained on the processing form is a clear representation of how just the process was in the context of the suspect’s legal and human rights.
Court and media 1
Criminal courts, which play the critical roles of deciding criminal cases, conducting impartial and fair trials, upholding the law, providing a check on the exercise of powers, and determining the guilt or innocence of the accused constitute another component of the criminal justice system.
The discourse by Justice and Meares (2014) on subsequent steps with the first appearance which entails the magistrate read out the charges with or without the provision of bail relies on the accuracy of the processing and the observation of the rights fundamentals and upholding of the legal and human rights of the suspect. In this case, media 1as described provides a fair chance of expressing one’s rights and I think this is a fair way of upholding the rights of the suspected offender. The appearance precedes a preliminary hearing, which are steps that accommodate various rights of the offender before the indictment and arraignment in court for the defendant is subjected to the court system to hear the indictment.
In the case of media 2, the court still has the suspect in their jurisdiction and the underpinning procedures that entail indictment and presentation of evidence by the defense in the face of a grand jury system that is perceived to be biased. The media provides evidence, which enables the public perceptions besides providing additional relief to the affected, the suspect, and the surviving relatives. The court procedures constitute several steps that must be monitored and documented appropriately in case of one party intending to contents the verdicts (Neubauer & Fradella, 2016). Due process steps constitute the adjudication that entails the rights of the defendants. Research shows that the media sometimes try to recommend punitive policies by painting crime as an individual choice and that has a strong impact on the criminal justice policies. The subsequent steps of adjudication and trials, sentencing, corrections and re-entry into the community define the key justice system steps that are commonly portrayed in the media environment, it is crucial to note that the media provides extensive coverage that depicts the nature of the system in terms of the legal rights of both parties.
Corrections and the media
Media 1
The media depicts correction agencies as tools of justice that work by providing safe and humane custody of suspects and offenders, executing the sentence that has been passed by the legal courts, reforming, rehabilitating, and integrating the convicts back into society through a system that respects the legal and human rights of the people. Media plays a significant role in depicting the policies and clauses in the law that empower the magistrate to either sentence the offender to prison or impose a probationary sentence on the offender. The first media appropriately provides the information in a manner that is acceptable to the offender and the offended.
Media 2
On the other hand, media 2 increases fear of crime by exposing the nature of the sentencing and the requirements related to the correctional activities and how they impact the offender (Taylor, 2014). Besides, the media provides detailed coverage of the processes and promotes those procedures attest to the legality of the rehabilitation approaches. The media in this case provides a strong foundation for shaping the attitudes and perceptions of the public opinion on the nature of justice of the rehabilitation process and approaches that modern prisons can use to overcome the problems of lock psychosis they suffer from.
Conclusion
The study has shown evidence of the strong influence of the media in the perceptions and attitudes of the public towards the procedures and how the components of the criminal justice system work. Each level of the justice system attracts different media reporting strategies. However, both media 1 and media 2 have effectively influenced the criminal justice system policies with modern approaches showing a balance in the administration of justice for the offender and the offended.
References
Aos, S., Miller, M., & Drake, E. (2006). Evidence-based public policy options to reduce future prison construction, criminal justice costs, and crime rates. Fed. Sent. R., 19, 275.
Drake, E. K., Aos, S., & Miller, M. G. (2009). Evidence-based public policy options to reduce crime and criminal justice costs: Implications in Washington State. Victims and Offenders, 4(2), 170-196.
Justice, B., & Meares, T. L. (2014). How the criminal justice system educates citizens. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 651(1), 159-177.
Neubauer, D., & Fradella, H. (2016). America’s courts and the criminal justice system. Cengage Learning.
Schmalleger, F. (2009). Criminal justice today: An introductory text for the 21st century. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Taylor, R. (2014). Juvenile justice: Policies, programs, and practices. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.