CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
By:
AFTAB AHMED LONE
(Additional District & Sessions Judge Balochistan)
Presently:
Director (Instructions)
Federal Judicial Academy
The term "Criminal Justice" refers to an area
of knowledge devoted to controlling crime through the scientific administration
of Police, Court and Rehabilitation/Correctional agencies. It is an
interdisciplinary field making use of the knowledge basis of sociology,
psychology, law, public policy and other related fields.
Criminal Justice is essentially an agency of social control, society considers some behaviors so dangerous and
destructive that it choose to either strictly control their occurrance or
outlaw them outright. It is the job of the agencies of justice to prevent these
behaviors by apprehending and punishing transgressors or deterring their future
occurrence. While society maintains other forms of social control, such as
parental and school-based discipline, they are designed to deal with moral and
not legal misbehavior. Only the Criminal Justice System maintains the power to
control crime and punish criminals.
A number of academic disciplines have been drawn upon to
develop insights into the causes and prevention of criminal behavior. After
taking information from various disciplines and consolidated as the knowledge
base for a new era of study. Understanding what knowledge is represented in
this field helps us to reach a working definition of Criminal Justice study.
"The study of criminal Justice may be defined as the
use of the scientific method to understand the Administration Procedures and
policies of those agencies of Government charged with enforcing the law
adjudicating crime and correcting criminal conduct. The study of Criminal
Justice involves analyzing how there institutions influence human behavior and
how they are in turn influenced by law and society."
The basic frame work of the Pakistan Criminal Justice
System is found in the Legislature, Judicial and Executives Branches of the
Government. The legislature defines the law by determining what conduct is
prohibited and establishes criminal penalties for those who violate the law,
the Courts interpret the law and determine whether it meets constitutional
requirements, the executive branch plans programs, appoints personal and
exercise administrative responsibility for Criminal Justice Agencies. This can
be seen herein under:--
Legislative Branch
National Assembly Senate
Appeal
Judiciary
Law of the land
the public
Validate
Invalidated
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The state constitution grants authority to pass laws. The
primary responsibility of legislatures in the Justice System is to define
criminal behavior and establish criminal penalties. The law making function
involves not only passing bills but also modifying and rejecting them. In
addition to establishing definition of crimes, legislatures also pass laws
governing Criminal Justice Procedures. These include rules and regulations
involving the laws of arrest, search warrants, bail, trial Court proceedings
and sentencing. Although the legislature enacts laws, most criminal procedures
are established by the Higher Courts. The initiative to pass a law may come
from a legislator, a criminal justice agency, a public official, or a group of
citizens. The issue is first studied by a legislative committee. Lobbyists and
interest group add their influence and knowledge to the discussion and contents
of the proposed bill. The respective legislative houses are subsequently given
the bill for a vote. In Congress and bicameral state legislatures, if the
legislation is not passed in its initial form by both the House of
Representatives and Senate, it is given to a joint legislative committee of
both houses to work out a compromise. A compromise bill is eventually voted on
by both bodies. When the bill has been passed, it is given to the chief
executive for his or her signatures. If signed, the bill becomes a law. If
vetoed, the bill may be dropped or referred back to the legislature for
reconsideration.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
Executive Power is vested in such public officials as the
President, Governors, Prime Minister and Chief Ministers. They are often
actively involved in criminal Justice issues. They have extensive power of
appointments; they appoint judges and heads of the administration agencies such
as Police Officials, Commissioners and the Chief of other several law enforcing
agencies. They have also the authority to remove administrative Personnel.
Another important executive function involves the power to grant pardons for
crimes. The President can pardon the criminal, even if appeal of a particular
criminal is dismissed from the higher appellate Court.
The control and prevention of criminal activity and the
treatment and reform of criminal offenders are carried out by the agencies of
Government. These public agencies created to maintain order, enforce the
criminal law, provide emergency services keep traffic on streets and highways
moving freely and create a sense of community safety. First is the Police
Department, the system and process of criminal justice depends on effective and
efficient police works, particularly when it comes to preventing and detecting
crime and apprehending and arresting criminal offenders. Former Chief Justice
of
"The Policemen (or women) on the beat, or in the
Petrol car, makes more decisions and exercise broader discretion affecting the
daily lives of people everyday and to a greater extent, in many respects, than
a judge will ordinarily exercise in a week."
THE COURTS
"It is the part of the system that is most
venerable, the most formally organized and the most elaborately circumstances
by law and tradition. It is the institution around which the rest of the system
has developed and to which the rest of the system is in large measure
responsible. It regulates the flow of the criminal process under governance of
the law. It is expected to articulate the community's most deeply held, most
cherished views about the relationship of individual and society."
The criminal Courts regulate the process by which the
criminal responsibility of defendants accused of violating the law is
determined. The Court is expected to convict and sentenced those found guilty
of crimes while ensuring that the innocent are freed without any consequences
and burden. The entire criminal Court process is undertaken with the
recognition that the rights of the individual should be protected at all times.
An accused also has the right to be given due process, or to be treated with fundamental
fairness. This includes the right to be present at trial, to be notified of the
charge(s), to have an opportunity to examine the witness and to have favorable
witness appear.
The District Courts variously called, the
THE PROSECUTION AND DEFENSE.
The prosecutor and the defense attorney are the opponents
in what is known as the adversary system the prosecutor is the public official
who represents the Government and present its case against the
accused/defendant, who is charged with a violation of the criminal law. The
prosecutor is known variously as a district attorney, public prosecutor and is
appointed by the Government. The prosecutor is responsible not only for
charging the accused with the crime but also for bringing the case to trial and
to a final conclusion. The defense attorney on the other hand, is responsible
for providing legal defense to the accused. This role involves two major
functions.
(i) Protecting the
constitutional right of the accused, and
(ii) Presenting the
best possible legal defense for the accused.
The defense attorney represent a client from initial
arrest through the trial stage, during the hearing and if needed through the
process of appeal. Any person accused of a crime can obtain the service of a
private attorney if he or she can afford to do so. The ultimate objection of
the adversary system is to seek the truth, in this way determining the guilt or
innocence of the accused from the formal evidence presented at the trial. The system ensure that the accused is given a fair trial, the
relevant facts of a given case came on record and that an impartial decision is
reached.
CORRECTIONS
Following the criminal trial resulting in conclusion and
sentencing, the offender enters the correctional system. The correction
involves probation, jails and parole programs for both juvenile and adult offenders.
Complicating this system is the dramatic population explosion in the country,
and minimum numbers of jails. Apart from that jail system suffers from an
extremely poor performance record, many offenders return to crimes shortly
after spending their period of sentence. This is due to the lack of effective
treatment and training programmes, poor physical environment and health
conditions and the fact that offenders in many institution/jails are subjected
to violence from other inmates and guards. Some of the major components of
correction are discussed below:
PROBATION
Probation is a judicial action that allows the offender
to remain in the community, subject to condition imposed by Court order, under
the supervision of probation officer. It enables the offender to continue
working while avoiding the pains of imprisonment. In advance countries, social
services are provided to help the offender adjust in the community; counseling,
assistance from social workers and group treatment, as well as the use of
community resources to obtain employment, welfare and housing etc. are offered
to the offender while on probation. In same countries community based
correctional centers have been established for first time offenders where they
live while holding a job or obtaining education.
CONFINEMENT
The State reserves the right through the criminal law to
hold the criminals in jails. There the jail authorities classify the prisoners.
The inmates are assigned to minimum, medium or maximum security classes.
Maximum security cells have high walls, barred cells, and careful security
measures and have the most dangerous prisoners. Medium class may physically
reasonable, more guarded cells but their inmates require less control and
therefore can receive more intensive treatment,
Minimum security may have separate rooms and offer inmates much freedom and
good correctional programmes.
PAROLE
In our country the parole system is not that much
established, but in other advanced countries the convicted are selected for
early release on the condition that they obey a set of restrictive behavioral
rules under the supervision of a parole officer. The main purpose of early
release parole is to help the ex-inmate bridge the gap between institutional
confinement and a positive adjustment within the community.
After their release offenders are supervised by parole
authorities who help them find employment, deal with family and social
difficulties and gain treatment for emotional or substance abuse problems. If
the offender violate condition of community supervision, parole may be revoked
and the parole may be sent back to jail for completion of his confinement
period. In countries like
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