Introduction
Despite the fact that the criminal justice policy is shaped by the bills passed by the Congress (Toch & Maguire, 2014), the significance of public opinion on the subject matter is very high. Since the basic principles of democracy are promoted actively in the modern society, it is only logical that people should assume a more active position in improving the criminal justice policy.
The specified effects of public opinion on the criminal justice policy, however, cannot be considered entirely positive. The lack of expertise on the subject matter among most members of the U.S. population is the key reason for concern. Although most people feel intuitively what is right and what is wrong, their concept of justice is still far superficial to constitute a decent basis for the criminal justice policy (Toch & Maguire, 2014). Therefore, the influence, which public opinion has on the issue in question, can be regarded as dubious.
However, the introduction of information technology into the everyday life of the U.S. population allows for addressing the issue mentioned above by increasing awareness on topical issues concerning criminal justice. As a result, people have an opportunity to become more educated on the topic; consequently, their opinions on the issue of the criminal justice policy have a chance at becoming more competent Therefore, the disadvantage mentioned above can be viewed as minor given the fact that modern IT tools allow addressing it rather easily.
Therefore, the impact of the public opinion on the criminal justice policy adopted in the U.S. can be deemed as high. People shape the law as the society evolves. The phenomenon in question helps update legal policies in accordance with the standards of the 21st century.
Role of Interest Groups in Rehabilitation Policies Success
The very concept of rehabilitation groups is admittedly controversial (). Although the idea of providing criminals with a chance to mend their ways and become decent members of the society is rather noble, assuming that they will be able to change radically is rather naĂŻve. Herein the key controversy of the issue lies.
At present, the issue of rehabilitation is addressed in the state policies such as the Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act (NORA) deserve to be mentioned. The specified act is aimed at putting the emphasis on rehabilitation of criminals rather than their punishment. In other words, the people, who cannot be viewed as serious offenders, are offered a second chance with the promotion of NORA and are capable of integrating back in the society without resorting to their criminal practices.
As far as the key interest groups in relation to the state rehabilitation policies are concerned, organizations such as the National Justice Association (National Justice Association, 2015) need to be brought up. Organizations such as the one mentioned above contribute to the evolution of the existing justice system by voicing the concerns of specific denizens of the local population.
The effects of the specified groups on the rehabilitation policies are rather ambiguous. On the one hand, the groups in question have enough influence to convey the message concerning people’s needs and demands so that the policies in question could be altered correspondingly. On the other hand, the weight of these groups may be used in an inappropriate manner. Consequently, the security of the American society may be jeopardized due to poorly written and executed laws.
Reference List
National Justice Association. (2015). Web.
Toch, H. & Maguire, K. (2014). Public opinion regarding crime, criminal justice, and related topics. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 51(4), 424–444.