The criminal justice system comprises government institutions and systems operating simultaneously to uphold social control, mitigate and deter crime, and sanction lawbreakers with rehabilitation and criminal penalties within the confines of the constitutional laws. In the U.S, the evolution of the criminal justice system can be traced from the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice of 1967 with the famous “The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society” report which made several recommendations including the formal establishment of a state Criminal Justice System (Walker, 1992). This report coined the phrase, “criminal justice system” and described it as the periphery of enforcing standardized conducts aimed at protecting society and an individual. Generally, this system strives to align society towards justice and confidence to law-abiding citizens (Walker, 1992).
Within the realms of the American laws, the criminal justice system comprises of the law creators (Legislative), courts (adjudication), and correctional facilities such as probation, parole, prisons, and jails (Walker, 1992). Until the late 1960s, the focus was only on police. This abruptly changed in the 1970s following surging crime rates across America with the introduction of the Warren court. This Supreme Court redefined altered powers of the courts and the police. In addition, it redefined the rights of an individual. These changes were inspired by Law Enforcement Education Programs of the late 1960s (Walker, 1992). The introduction of detention centers was inspired by the Quaker movement though it was necessary as part of correctional measures. In addition, predominant Civil Rights movements of the 1960s necessitated the change from mere policing to the introduction of responsibilities and definitions for other organs forming part of the Criminal Justice System (Walker, 1992).
References
Keller, G and Mary, A. (2002) Evolving Strategy of Policing: Case Studies of Strategic Change. New York: National Institute of Justice.
Mutchnick, R. (2009) Criminal Justice Interactive: Companion Text. New York: Prentice-Hall.
Schmalleger, F. (2010) Criminal Justice Today: An Introductory Text for the 21st Century. New York: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Walker, S. (1992). Origins of the Contemporary Criminal Justice Paradigm: The American Bar Foundation Survey. Justice Quarterly Journal, 9.1, 1953-1969.