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Criminal Justice System

Key Agencies of the Criminal Justice System:

  • The Police

  • Crown Prosecution Service

  • The Court System

  • National Offender Management Service

  • Youth Justice Board

Government Departments Responsible for the Criminal Justice System:

Home Office:

  • Oversees the police.

  • Protects the public from terror, crime, and anti-social behaviour.

  • Helps build security, justice, and respect that enable people to prosper in a free and tolerant society.

  • Responsible for crime and crime reduction, policing, security, and counterterrorism.

Attorney General:

  • Oversees the Criminal Prosecution Service, the Serious Fraud Office, and the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office.

  • Responsible for ensuring the rule of law is upheld.

  • Takes action to appeal unduly lenient sentences and bring proceedings under the Contempt of Court Act.

Department of Justice:

  • Oversees the magistrates’ courts, the Crown Court, the Appeals Court, the Legal Services Commission, and the NOMS.

  • Manages the justice process from end to end.

  • Responsible for criminal law and sentencing policy, for legal aid, reducing re-offending, and for prisons and probation.

Role of the Criminal Justice System in Preventing Crime:

  • Deterrence: Discouraging potential offenders from committing crimes through the threat of punishment.

  • Public Protection: Ensuring the safety of the public by incapacitating offenders through imprisonment or other means.

  • Retribution: Providing a sense of justice for victims and society by punishing offenders for their crimes.

  • Rehabilitation: Helping offenders to reform and reintegrate into society as law-abiding citizens.

Roles in the Criminal Justice System:

Police:

  • Enforce the law by prosecuting and catching criminals.

Courts:

  • Determine guilt and impose an appropriate sentence.

Perspectives View of the Criminal Justice System:

Functionalism:

  • Functionalists see the criminal justice system as a vital institution within society.

  • It works with other social institutions to ensure social solidarity and cohesion by maintaining law and order.

Marxism:

  • Marxists view the Criminal Justice System as part of the repressive state apparatus.

  • It is used by the ruling class to maintain their power through oppression while appearing legitimate.

Feminism:

  • Feminists see the criminal justice system as a tool of the patriarchy to maintain their power.

  • This is done through the fact that most members of the Criminal Justice System are men.

  • Women face double victimisation and double deviancy at their hands.