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Effectiveness of the Criminal Justice System in Jamaica as evidenced by levels of crime in Jamaica.
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Topic: Lack of Certainty and Celerity in the Criminal Justice System accounts for the high level of crimes committed. Dependent Variable: Crime Level Independent Variable: Criminal Justice System Operationalization Celerity. Celerity for this study refers to the swiftness with which criminal sanctions are applied after the commission of a crime. Certainty. Certainty refers to the probability of apprehension and punishment for a crime. Crime Levels. Crime levels in this study refer to the statistics on the levels of reported crime in the country as reported by agencies such as STATIN. Criminal Justice System Criminal Justice System in this study refers to Elaboration of central thesis. The idea is that the levels of crime are high not only as a result of economic stress and other such factors but also as a result of lack of certainty and celerity in the Criminal Justice System. This fosters opinions and impressions of the manipulation of the Criminal Justice System. These beliefs decrease the threat of punishment for illegal activity produced by the Criminal Justice System. If punishment is not swift and dependable then it looses power as a threat against illegal activities. Beccaria theorized that a minimum amount of punishment was needed if criminals were convinced that their violations were certain to be discovered and swiftly punished. This was similar to the Rational Choice Theory. It can be argued though that criminals are victims of such factors as racism, poverty, alienation, strain and their crime is an expression of their frustration. Their anger is a creation of social inequality. The Criminal Justice System serves to control the “have not’s”. It serves to secure the power of the affluent and judges those before it by two standards of justice. Within it the rich have private attorneys while the poor get public defenders. This process includes most lawyers. The best lawyers, from the best schools, with the best experience are quickly absorbed into prestigious law firms practicing civil, and more particularly, corporate law. Those attorneys who find their way to the bar in the criminal courts are usually from less prestigious law schools, have less training, and come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds (Ladinsky, 1984). Greg Barak (1980) goes so far as to argue that corporate law as an institutionalized specialty acted to erode the quality of criminal defense attorneys, insuring that criminal lawyers are primarily those of poorer quality, experience, and training. Whether intended or not the outcome is the same. Those high-quality attorneys who choose to practice criminal law find themselves with heavy caseloads that make impossible quality case preparation for all but the elite of the profession. They find themselves burdened with many cases. Burnout among criminal lawyers is the rule, and it occurs early in their careers. Another route for practicing criminal law is to join the district attorney's office as a prosecutor. Those attorneys who come out of law school and join public defenders' offices are, for the most part, putting in their time and getting experience in order to move on to a law firm and eventually enter the more lucrative practice of civil and corporate law. Their priorities are clearly to avoid offending people in the system and to get through the public defender experience without incurring any black marks against their future acceptance into the upper strata of the practice of law (Platt and Pollack, 1975). In addition, public defenders are employees of the court. Their professional lives depend on good working relations with prosecutors and judges. Rocking the boat will not enhance a public defender's professional life. Agreeing to a quick plea bargain that clears the court calendar and gives the prosecutor a "win," on the other hand, will (Blumberg, 1975; Casper, 1972; Skolnick, 1966). Court-assigned private attorneys are no more strongly motivated to represent their clients' interests. They are paid a set fee considerably lower than the fee they would be getting from their private clients for the same time and effort. Bringing a case to a rapid conclusion, preferably through a bargained guilty plea, is very much in their economic interest. As such while a poor person may steal a night drop deposit bag and get sent to a maximum security prison the rich person who steals ten million through some type of fraud, putting many people out of jobs and much needed income is sentenced to—if at all sentenced—a minimum security prison, or a “country club institution”. The indications show that the system is not working well. It fails to adequately protect society from crime. It fails to reduce crime or deter criminals. It fails to treat all of the accused with equal justice. It is discriminatory, unevenly applied, and is not even handed. Description of problem. The Criminal Justice System does not take into account the economic system and this is understandable. People feel forced to find other sources of income and survival. However, it is a shared opinion the lady justice is not blind.
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