Introduction
Criminal justice can be defined as the process by which nations and even the local governments of a country use in trying to administer justice or even social control in a country. Criminal justice can be applicable in most of the countries so that the government can be in a position to deter the many crimes plus sanctioning those deviants in our societies who try to break these laws. So with criminal justice, it is primarily the work of the police and the prosecutes. These are the only people who are concerned with law enforcement but not the military group. You find that the police who are the law enforcement groups in accordance with the courts, attorneys and local jails are concerned with ensuring that security has been maintained in the country through ensuring that those people who are caught deviating from the law can be arrested. So in this case the law enforcement makes the various laws which are supposed to be followed by the citizens of that country and incase anyone deviates from the law, the accused is processed by the law enforcement through the criminal justice system. The government is also involved in this case in trying to ensure that a proper framework of laws that are supposed to protect the citizens of that country have been made hence protecting the individual rights. So in this case, in the pursuit of the criminal justice, it is seen as a fair process whereby punishment is given to the offender as per the type of criminal which is done by the offender when found guilty. So the issue of military shift to the law enforcement is not the best way to go. (Kennedy, 2000).
Arguments against
The issue of enforcing criminal law is the work of the police and this was popularized in the year 1930s as the police was seen as the group which is concerned with law enforcement. It is the law enforcement which is then concerned with ensuring that there is law and order in the country but not the military shift in the law enforcement. The issue of military shift to the law enforcement will mean that there will be low performance of the activities which will be done by the military group. This is because you tend to find that most of the military forces are concerned with external security unlike the law enforcement which is concerned with ensuring that there is internal security in the country. So it will mean that when military work is shifted to the law enforcement, there will be low performance in trying to administer social justice to the members of the public simply because you will find that these military forces have only been trained to provide external security. External security in the sense that they try to ensure that all the country borders have been protected and also incase a country has been invaded by terrorists or even incase of wars, this is now the right time when the military groups can be seen to be quite effective in providing its military services. They tend to deal with any external attacks which might be from another country but they are not trained in administering justice in the country. So it will mean that shifting the military work to the law enforcement will mean that there will be more criminals in the country since these people have not been trained to deal with criminals at all but they have been trained on ensuring that our borders have been protected and hence no attack from another country.
The proper channel of trying to administer justice will not be followed in that, you find that when trying to administer law and justice, there has to be a written down law which is used to ensure that there is a fair justice for those people who have been convicted with such crimes. So you will find that if the military forces are shifted to the issue of military enforcement, there will be no fair justice which will be given to those criminals who have been got with such crimes. This is because they have no ideas as far as criminal justice is concerned since you find that they have only been trained to shoot. This is because they deal with foreigners and also with the terrorists and do not also know how to address to the people who have been caught with such behaviors. In this case the argument here is that most of the military groups have only been trained in handling guns. The only training which they got was on how to use guns and on how to deal with terrorist but not on making laws. So in this case the work of law enforcement should only be left on the police and the prosecutors since you will find that these are the only people who deal with the internal security and have been trained in ensuring that there is order in our country. (Kennedy, 2000).
You find that in most cases the first conduct which the offender comes upon with criminal justice is usually the police or the law enforcement and it is this police who tries to invest the type of crime this particular offender has done and when found guilty, he is arrested by the police. It is only the police or the law enforcement that have been empowered by the government to use any force in trying to ensure criminal justice. The law enforcement uses the legal coercion and other legal means so that they can try to ensure that there is order and social justice in most of our societies. But for the case of the military force, they have no powers to use any force or even other legal coercions unless there is a state of emergency which has been called by the president of that country. It is only during this particular time when now the military force can be allowed to ensure that there is law and order in the country. It’s only the police who are also the law enforcement who are allowed to exercise this power to the citizens of the country in order to ensure that the individual rights have been recognized. The law enforcement are concerned with making the various laws of the country and also ensuring that such laws have been followed by the citizens living in that country. This is one of the ways which they use in trying to administer justice through arresting those criminals who are convicted with crimes said to be against the law of the country. (Friedman, 2000).
The military forces can be differentiated so much from the law enforcement depending on the many roles which they tend to play in the country. So in each department, it means that each group has its own assigned roles which it has to do but shifting the work of a particular group in to another group will mean that less work will be done and also when done, it will not be done correctly. This is because like any organization, you tend to find that there are so many departments and each department is assigned its own roles. This is very much important to ensure that effective services can be given to the members of the public. So the case of military forces and the law enforcement will also apply here. These are two different departments with different roles to play in the society. So when one is shifted in to the other, it will mean that there will be less total output in to the society. So the issue of shifting the military work in to law enforcement or even shifting law enforcement in to military will mean that the work will not be done effective. Each group should do its own work. For the military group, it should deal with the work of ensuring that there is external securing in the country but the work of law enforcement should only be left on the police. It is through this that you will find that there is law and order in the country due to work differentiation and specialization. You will find that the country will be in a position to be free from any external attacks which might be as a result of terrorist invading a country. A good example to explain this is in US whereby most of the military forces are not involved in the law enforcement but they only operate externally in ensuring that the countries borders have been protected since you find that most of the terrorists use the country’s border to invade the country. So this will mean that its only the police which will be involved in ensuring that there is law and order in the society through ensuring that all criminals have been put in arrest so as to ensure that people are in a position to live happily in their own country with no cases of criminalities. This is because you tend to find that most of the criminal behaviors can sometimes be so much threatening and can affect the economic growth of the country. (Friedman, 2000).
Arguments for
In a way, you find that the military forces can be shifted in law enforcement. This can happen in cases when there is an increased insecurity in the country say when there are political conflicts, ethnic conflicts plus other sources of conflicts which might occur in the country. A good example to explain these phenomena can be traced to the Kenya presidential elections conflicts which led to so many political conflicts. It was during this time when so many ethnic groups were fighting against each other hence lead to so many deaths of innocent people and others were displaced. So, with these phenomena, it can be argued that the military forces can be shifted in ensuring that there is law and order in the country when such conflicts escalate so much leading to so many deaths of the people. When ethnic groups fight against each other, you find that the law enforcement groups which is the police can not be effective in such a scenario and hence it is the time now when the military forces can be called to help in law enforcement. It is the time like in Kenya when the president of the country calls for a state of emergency with the military forces ruling the country. It is during this time when the military forces come together and try to ensure that there is a criminal justice in the country. (Chapin, 2004).
Another argument is the issue of corruption. You tend to find that most of the law enforcement bodies tend to be so much corrupt and hence criminal justice is never realized. A good example to explain this is in Kenya whereby most if not all of the police and the other law enforcement bodies are said to be corrupt unlike the military forces. You find that law in not at all followed since most of these people receive bribes and its only the poor who are misused in this case. So I tend to believe that trying the military force in to the law enforcement can sometime work effectively since they are not as corrupt as the police. You find that under the law enforcement, there are laws which have been established by the country to be followed but they are not followed at all. These laws only favor the most powerful and also the rich in most of our societies hence criminal justice is not fair at all. The rate of criminals is still at a rise since most of the criminals are discharged out of bribery. So with this military shift to law enforcement work and law enforcement shift to military work can be effective in such a case. (Chapin, 2004).
Conclusion
The administration of justice is one of the most essential things in any given country. This is because it is through a proper administration of justice that a country can be in a position to protect its people from so many problems which tend to happen in a particular society. The work of administering justice should be left on the law enforcement bodies that are trained in ensuring that all criminals have been brought in to book and no shootings like the case with the military forces that have been trained to shoot. So, rules should be established by the law enforcement to ensure that people’s rights have been respected and if anyone is caught deviating from such rules, the proper procedure should be taken as per those rules. So with this, military forces should not be shifted in the law enforcement since you will find that if they are shifted, then it will mean that law and order will not be achieved since these people have not be trained in ensuring that there is law and order in a given country.
Reference
Kennedy, R. (2000): The state and the criminal law. Harvard Law Journal. Vol. 107.
Friedman, L. (2000): Crime and justice in America history. Journal of criminal justice. Vol. 5.
Chapin, B. (2004): Crime and punishment in America history. Georgia law review, Vol. 11.