Problems in Criminal Justice
There are many different criticisms of the United States criminal justice system. This article will explore the competing theories of punishment as well as the arguments related to excessive criminalization and socioeconomic factors in criminal justice.
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Theories
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In the United States, the primary method of punishment is confinement. This theory is that those who violate our laws should be removed from society, and/or their social privileges should be eliminated. A secondary theory is deterrence. Under this theory, individuals would commit a crime but they don't to avoid punishment. Punishment in the form of social shaming such as censure also has a role in the U.S. criminal justice system but is largely secondary. Other related concepts to these theories of punishment are rehabilitation and restorative justice.
Theories are Speculation
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While many studies have been done, there is no clear winner in which model is an effective response to offending behavior. Is deterrence an effective model? Does confinement eliminate crime or simply remove offenders from the streets into the micro-society of a prison system funded by the remainder of society? Should tax dollars go into family stabilization and rehabilitation in the hopes of reducing crime and recidivism, or should tax dollars go toward confinement? There is no definitive answer as to which theory of punishment is the most effective, and as such both federal and state governments struggle to find a balance between creating a stable society, responding to constituents who have been harmed and spending tax dollars on other programs.
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Excessive Criminalization
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Given the percentage of the population deemed "offenders," there is a question if the United States simply has too many crimes. More criminal laws increase the need for law enforcement as well as judicial officers. More criminal laws require more facilities for holding prisoners, or alternatively, give rise to safety concerns for prison employees and inmates in overpopulated facilities. Should every injury to a citizen result in a criminal action? Are legislatures simply responding to evolving and adapting actions of offenders? Is this evolution natural, or is there another cause to the rise, or more accurately the diversification, of criminal activity? Is there a relationship between the United States' economic structure, legal framework or social values, and between morality and crime? Again, there is no definitive answer.
Socioeconomic Considerations
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Socioeconomic factors come into question at multiple phases of the criminal justice system. The ability of an individual charged with a crime to hire an attorney is significant. That crimes with equivalent harms such as use of crack and use of cocaine have had different sentencing mandates gives rise to an argument that certain crimes (or the individuals who commit the crime) are more socially acceptable. There is also a relationship between human/social services and crime in that stabilizing families and creating self-sufficiency benefits all in making those individuals less vulnerable to exploitation (either to become criminals or to be subject to crime), thus ending the crime cycle.
The Next Questions
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Where does the United States go from here? Do we pour more dollars into the confinement model? Do we dust off old rehabilitation plans? Are there triggers that can be eliminated through human/social services, education or revised economic models? When comparing the United States to other countries around the world, our criminal system is markedly different. However, other aspects of our culture including wealth, diversity and the resulting robust pursuit of technology and innovation, have in the past made the United States distinguishable from other countries. What are we as a society willing to change in order to reduce our need for a criminal justice system?
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