Introduction
Criminal justice administration is concerned with deterring and punishing unlawful activities (Allen & Sawhney, 2010). Criminal justice administration is carried out by police officers, judges, lawyers and correctional officers (Allen & Sawhney, 2010). This essay focuses on the challenges that criminal justice administrators usually encounter at workplace. It also discusses rehabilitation as one of the functional roles of correction.
Challenges that Affect Criminal Justice Administrators
Administrators of criminal justice more often than not encounter the following challenges. First, institutions in charge of criminal justice administration are understaffed. Consequently, administrators of criminal justice do a lot of work. Many criminal justice officers experience psychological problems because they do a lot of work in a stressful environment. For instance, studies indicate that many police officers and correction officials abuse alcohol because they are stressed (Allen & Sawhney, 2010). This challenge has been exacerbated by increase in crime in the society (Allen & Sawhney, 2010). Therefore, understaffing leads to poor administration of criminal justice.
Second, administrators of criminal justice find it difficult to implement various activities due to insufficient funding (Allen & Sawhney, 2010). For example, police officers cannot investigate criminal activities properly because they lack requisite resources and equipment. Furthermore, correctional facilities are underfunded, overcrowded and poorly equipped. Thus, correctional officers are unable to rehabilitate law offenders appropriately.
Third, administrators of criminal justice face security risks because they pursue dangerous criminals. Moreover, the security of officers in the criminal justice system is affected by the proliferation of illegal arms in the society (Allen & Sawhney, 2010). For example, armed criminals always attack police officers.
Cyber crime affects the performance of law enforcement officers at various levels of criminal justice administration (Allen & Sawhney, 2010). For example, some criminals interfere with investigations by giving misleading information online. Furthermore, some individuals hack communication channels used by law enforcement officers. Lack of capacity to maintain and acquire modern information technology tools is also a significant challenge in the criminal justice administration.
Last, administrators of criminal justice are unable to curb contemporary crimes, such as terrorism and cyber offences because obsolete laws do not provide clear-cut guidelines for dealing with such cases. For instance, in the US, some laws are unclearly worded and frivolous. Consequently, it is difficult for administrators of criminal justice to implement outdated laws (Allen & Sawhney, 2010).
Rehabilitation Function of Corrections
In criminal justice, the term correction refers to measures taken against individuals found guilty of various offences. “Correctional measures include imprisonment, punishment, rehabilitation and probation” (Cavadino & Dignan, 2007). Prisons and rehabilitation centres are the primary correction facilities in the criminal justice system.
Rehabilitation refers to the process of reintegrating an imprisoned person into the society. Rehabilitation is a significant function of correction because it aims at deterring habitual offences (Cavadino & Dignan, 2007). In the past, rehabilitation was aimed at transforming behaviour of inmates (Cavadino & Dignan, 2007). At present, it focuses on prevention of criminal activities. Rehabilitation techniques include occupational training, psychotherapy and treatment of drug abuse disorders. The type of rehabilitation applied in the correction of an inmate depends on the offence committed (Cavadino & Dignan, 2007).
Rehabilitation can be carried out within a prison if an individual has committed a serious offence (Cavadino & Dignan, 2007). Alternatively, it can be carried out in the community once an inmate has been released from prison. Rehabilitation of inmates is an intricate process that requires great expertise and experience because of the following reasons. First, inmates are isolated from the public and compelled to live in a controlled environment. Second, some inmates can interfere with rehabilitation activities by inciting their colleagues to resist correction. For instance, research findings indicate that incarceration of criminals sometimes leads to increase criminal activities. Conversely, proper rehabilitation can deter inmates from breaking the law (Cavadino & Dignan, 2007).
Conclusion
This essay has revealed that administrators of criminal justice usually encounter several challenges that affect their performance at work. Therefore, various measures should be adopted to ensure that they work in a safe environment. Last, rehabilitation should be emphasized in correction because it is effective in prevention of crime. This course has enabled me to understand the challenges in the criminal justice administration and the functions of correction.
References
Allen, J., & Sawhney, R. (2010). Administration and Management in Criminal Justice: A Service Quality Approach. London: SAGE.
Cavadino, M., & Dignan, J. (2007). The Penal System: An Introduction. London: SAGE.