Criminal Justice Policy
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The creation of the Criminal Justice Policy is one of the complicated processes in criminology and policy making. This is because the process incorporates the application of theory, ideology, and ethics. The Criminal Justice Policy is a policy that enables criminologists to assess and analyze different types of crimes and establish strategies that can aid in their mitigation. The three components are applied in varied ways leading to the creation of an all-inclusive policy guiding criminology.
Criminologists apply criminological theories to assist the policy implementers and the general public in understanding what crime is, its various types, and the criminal justice concept. Research by Welsh& Harris (2016) reveals that the theories play a part in the policymaking by informing the law making process, distinguishing a just behavior from a criminal act and the criminal undertakings. Furthermore, the theories provide the ideal scenarios in which the policy is applied. Restorative justice theory is one of the important theories. It focuses on how one can recuperate from the damages caused by criminal behaviors.
Ideology in Criminal Justice policy, on the other hand, involves a set of applicable philosophies and beliefs that shape the policymaking. According to Brown et al. (2019), social, economic, and political ideologies help categorize social, economic, or political crimes. The ideologies also inform the explanations in the paradigms of crime from different perspectives. This, in turn, helps the criminologists to understand the different contexts of crimes and their impacts on the victims.
Makers of criminal justice policy also apply ethical principles in the policymaking process. Ethics refer to moral values that guide the behaviors of a person. Ethics enable one to determine whether their behaviors are right or wrong. Pickett (2019) argues that applying moral principles can help reduce the rates of crime because criminals would know if their acts are bad and the psychological, economic, and social impacts that their behaviors would cause.
One of the most important public policies is on abortion, touching on the people’s cultures and society at large. The abortion law policy categorized abortion as a legal activity that can be procured whenever needed. Ethically, abortion should be a criminal activity because it leads to the termination of human lives. The constitution of the land bars anyone from denying another right to life. However, when a pregnancy puts the mother’s life in danger, it becomes no crime to procure it (Daniels et al., 2016).
The theoretical aspect and the ethical considerations informed the making of the abortion policy. Theoretically, abortion should not be legalized because of the concept of the sacredness of life. This sacredness is propagated by the moral values of a person recognizing that abortion contradicts the value of sacredness attached to the life of the unborn. Daniels et al. (2016) reiterate that human instincts need to prevent an individual from performing an abortion. Instead, one should protect the life of the unborn in all means.
The concept of causation is a major concept in criminology. Causation enables a criminologist to link a criminal behavior to the outcome of that behavior. In most cases, criminal behavior results in physical, mental, economic, and even social injury. The criminological theory has challenges in explaining causation (Brown et al., 2019). This is because people are not aware of the causes of their behaviors and those of others. Even the criminologists are not cannot establish the causes of their own behaviors. This complicates the process of making and implementing the criminal justice policy.
People expect justice policies to be morally principled. This is because moral values are the basic principles that form the basic fabric of societal growth and development. For that matter, criminal justice policymakers ensure that the policies incorporate the ethical aspects of society. Ethics guide how criminal policy implementers like the police interact with the communities they are in charge of, and vice versa. When police conduct their operations within the communities in an ethical manner, the community can cooperate to reduce, end, or even prevent crime (Pickett, 2019).
Additionally, ethics influence the willingness of the members of the society to share information. This is one of the major participants of the people in mitigating crime. Ethically, the people should provide relevant information to the criminal justice officers to enable the professionals to arrest and punish the criminals (Welsh & Harris, 2016). Moreover, this will enable the officers to create awareness in the community concerning the detrimental impacts of criminal activities and how it can be prevented.
The process of criminal justice policy making also involves the idea of translational criminology. This is a perspective that shapes the decision making process by both criminal justice researchers and practitioners. Translational criminology holds that there should be a co-production of criminal evidence by the two parties. This is an effective way of bridging the gap between the practitioners and the researchers. Therefore, the decisions made must be pegged on the quality and relevance of the pieces of evidence produced. Furthermore, the decision must be binding to the two parties involved.
Coming up with a criminal justice policy is a complex one that involves consideration of many factors because the policy affects the community members, researchers, and policy implementers. The application of ethics cannot be overlooked. The theories and ideologies incorporated in the policies make them suitable in addressing criminal issues in society.
References
Brown, S. E., Esbensen, F., & Geis, G. (2019). Criminology: Explaining Crime and Its Context (10th ed.). Routledge.
Daniels, C. R., Ferguson, J., Howard, G., & Roberti, A. (2016). Informed or misinformed consent? Abortion policy in the United States. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 41(2), 181-209.
Pickett, J. T. (2019). Public opinion and criminal justice policy: Theory and research. Annual Review of Criminology, 2, 405-428.
Welsh, W. N., & Harris, P. W. (2016). Criminal justice policy and planning: Planned change. Routledge.