250 word response due 10/18/2024 1 reference/intext citation
Wilkinson
When referring to the criminal justice system as a non system, the term is used to illustrate the lack of cohesion between the components of said system. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a system is defined as, “a set of connected things or devices that operate together” (System | Definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary 2024). However, the flaw in the criminal justice system is that the components – police, courts, corrections – fail to consistently work together to the best of their ability. Starting at the first piece of the puzzle, police are typically the first level of defense between the public and offenders who break the law. However, how does it affect the system when the police act improperly? This effect has been seen a lot more recently with the rise in police brutality and discrimination, like with George Floyd, but it is also an issue of the past. Take for example, the infamous trial of OJ Simpson for the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. Many speculate whether Simpson was guilty due to the overwhelming evidence. However, Simpson was found not guilty largely due to the defense being able to imply to the jury that the LAPD were racist and targeting Simpson. This fire was fueled also due to the fact that the LAPD was already under a magnifying glass being accused of police brutality of Rodney King. David Zirin, a political sportwritier for The Nation, discusses with PBS writer William Brangham stating just this. People were already on the fence about the police but, “when there were revelations in the trial of legitimate police misconduct, that only sealed the deal for a lot of folks who thought to themselves, ‘I’m not sure if O.J. Simpson can get a fair trial in the city and county of Los Angeles””(Brangham et al., 2024). By police acting improperly, it ruins the trust between the public and its public servants. People still don’t trust police and often allude back to Simpson when discussing recent brutality as a means to illustrate a pattern. As a result, people lack respect for the system and do not want to adhere to it, leading to further crime. Or on the other hand, people do not trust the system so they do not report incidents where they are victims of crime. So what happens then? This leads to the next step of the system – the courts.
Within the criminal justice system, there are certain steps in place for a person to go through a trial proceeding for a crime he is charged with. We tend to believe that only guilty people are charged with crimes and innocent people get to go free. Yet sometimes, innocent people are charged and guilty people go free. Take for example, Brock Turner. In 2016, Brock Turner was convicted on three counts of sexual assault after bystanders saw him raping unconscious Chanel Miller. Despite facing a sentence of up to 14 years in prison, Turner was sentenced to six months and served three. This is due to the fact that Judge Aaron Persky thought a longer sentence “ ‘would have had a severe impact on [Turner] — and he did not think Turner was a danger to others” (Neary, 2019). As one could imagine, this sentence was met with outrage. Many felt that Judge Persky was using his power to bend the system in a way to benefit the perpetrator instead of the victim —so much so in fact, that people gathered signatures for a successful recall campaign and Persky was the first judge in over eighty years in the state of California to be recalled. This is just one case that perfectly displays the cracks in the foundation of the criminal court system. In this case and many others, victims are scared to come forward for fear of it being a waste of time or that it won’t be taken seriously. According to the Pew Research Center, “in 2022, only 41.5% of violent crimes and 31.8% of household property crimes were reported to authorities” (Gramlich, 2024). Crimes like sexual assaults and domestic crimes seem to be the most underreported due to the fact that the survivors do not want to face scrutiny and often blame themselves. Growing up, many have heard the victim blaming phrases, “well what was she wearing” and “maybe she shouldn’t have drank so much” or “she was asking for it”. How would victims of a crime trust the system enough to come forward if they can see how the system fails others? If victims don’t come forward, how can justice be served?
The third component of the criminal justice system, corrections, is arguably the most broken part of the system. In theory, the fear of punishment in prison is supposed to deter people from committing crime and if someone does end up in jail, the goal is to rehabilitate this person enough to not reoffend. However, this is hardly ever the case. An article from the Vera Institute noted that, “a 2021 analysis of 116 studies found that prison time does not prevent people from reoffending and, in fact, can increase the likelihood that they will” (Why Punishing People in Jail and Prison isn’t Working, 2023). This is partly due to the fact that once released, people who served time find it extremely difficult to find a job and obtain affordable housing so they often resort back to crime to survive. If prisons focused more on rehabilitation instead of punishment, the recidivism rate could be much lower. For example in Norway, the recidivism rate is 20% which is a staggering drop from 70% in the 1990’s. Norway managed this by getting rid of using punishment as a deterrent for crime and instead, “utiliz[ing] a system of small, community-based correctional facilities that focus on rehabilitation and reintegration into society” (First Step Alliance, 2024). Prisons in Norway prisons also allow visits up to three times each week with the goal of maintaining relationships to have a support system upon release (First Step Alliance, 2024).This is a major contrast to the United States, where many struggle on their own once released. If a piece of the system consistently fails time and time again, why do people in power still insist on it being done this way?
To conclude, I do believe the criminal justice system is in fact a system, but some rusty parts need to be greased. In theory, the system is set up to work, with police arresting criminals, criminals going to trial, and guilty perpetrators going to prison to be rehabilitated and hopefully never reoffend. However, along the way, a lot of bad practices slip through the cracks and end up affecting the overall goal. What we get then is “ a non-system in which the police don’t catch criminals, the courts don’t try them, and the prisons don’t reform them” (Peak & Giacomazzi, 2019). I do believe that the criminal justice system can become a well oiled machine, but the machine can only run if the people running it act accordingly. In addition to this, all components of the machine have to work for the common goal to be achieved. If one part is lacking or broken, the whole system will crumble underneath the damage.
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