Law enforcement

There are three branches of government namely legislative, judicial and executive. The legislative branch of government is involved in making laws. The Senate and House of Representatives are the composition of the legislative government branch (Boothroyd, 2015). The executive branch implements the laws made by the legislature. Executive is made up of the president, cabinet members and the vice president who ensure the laws are implemented and carried out. Judiciary branch is able to evaluate the already made laws. The branch is composed of the court system with the highest cost being the Supreme Court then followed by the other federal laws (Dempsey & Forst, 2013). Law enforcement follows under the judicial branch of government which evaluates the laws made by the legislative branch. Law enforcement especially in the US, court systems and corrections are the major components of the criminal justice system. The systems operate semi independently though they are all involved in criminal investigation and administration of punishments. In addition, courts have the power to come up with legal determinations in regard to the conduct of law enforcements and corrections. Law enforcement is seen to operate mainly through the governmental police agencies. The law enforcement agencies are involved in carrying out investigations on criminal activities. The law enforcement agencies then take their investigative reports to the courts for the courts to determine the fate of the criminals. The legal agencies are entitled in deterring crimes and preventing successful criminals from carrying out criminal activities. The law enforcement agencies may have other functions such as enforcements of warrants and perform other duties ordered out by the courts (Dempsey & Forst, 2013). The agencies are also involved in handling emergencies that threat the lives of people, protect public and government infrastructure and protect government officials among other public services.

There are different types of law enforcement agencies that are used in evaluating the government laws. Federal agencies are the largest agencies then down to the smallest agencies known as the police departments (Conser, Paynich & Gingerich, 2013). The type of job to be carried out depends on the agency type, its size, mission and even the jurisdiction. Therefore the right agency needs to be selected when carrying out all activities and jobs. Federal law enforcement agencies are the largest and perform most of the large jobs. There are 27 offices of the inspector general as well as 65 federal agencies with personnel employed on full time basis and authorized to be in possession of firearms and make arrests as well. Examples of federal agencies with the highest numbers of personnel include Federal Bureau of Prison, the FBI, US Customs and Border Protection and the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Conser, Paynich & Gingerich, 2013). The federal agencies have over 15000 trained personnel to ensure criminal activities are deterred. There are over 16000 state and local law enforcement agencies. Most of them are operated by the local governments and are of several types. Local police, highway patrol, special jurisdiction police and deputy sheriffs are examples of the state and local enforcement agencies. The law enforcement agencies should be accredited for them to work for the public. Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) ensures that the law enforcement are accredited and allowed to provide services to the public (Conser, Paynich & Gingerich, 2013). CALEA has enrolled over 800 federal agencies thus ensuring they are legible to provide services to the community and state at large.

• Serving and protecting the public- the work of most law enforcement agencies is serving and protecting the public. The police ensure that they help out the communities in times of disasters and any other emergencies (Delattre, 2002). For instance when a natural disaster happens, it is the duty of the police since they are trained to help out the public and ensure they save many lives as possible. The police ensure they protect the citizens on the roads and take actions on the reckless drivers. Police officers arrest criminals as one way of deterring criminal activities and ensure the people remain safe at all the time.
• Investigating various crimes- police officers ensure that when people call out to the department to report crime, response takes place immediately. The officers take statements from as many as possible especially the eye witnesses at the crime scene (Dempsey & Forst, 2013). The officers section off crime scenes in order for the forensic scientists to carry out their investigation on what led to the crime.
• Community involvement- most of the police officers are involved in community development projects and services (Dempsey & Forst, 2013). The police officers speak to students and teachers in schools and the community at large. They teach people on disaster preparedness measures and what people should do in the occurrence of a disaster. They are involved in drug prevention programs as well safe driving programs to ensure people remain safe. Through carrying out community projects a good relationship develops between the police officers and the public.
• Call response and emergencies- The police officers are trained on how to handle emergencies and are always alert on radio calls mainly from precincts (Dempsey & Forst, 2013). Some calls involve small crimes and emergencies while some involve major crimes therefore police officers have to be alert all the time. The officers are trained on responses systems in case of disasters therefore they are of great importance in the society.

The Supreme Court has the role of regulating the police. The Supreme Court influence on the way the police carry put their jobs. The courts have final words on criminal brought to them by the police therefore showing that courts have more power (Belknap, 2004). The Supreme Court determines how the police conduct searches on people. In addition police officers have to carry out duties ordered to them by the courts. Most of the criminal cases in courts regarding criminal justice have to be balanced between the rights of the society and rights of the individual. The courts hear cases of police harassment and have to determine whether the police officers have violated the laws (Belknap, 2004). The Supreme Court is keen to give justice to all people including police officers who often violate rights of people and end up acting like the victims. The two components, police and the courts often face challenges interacting with each other. The components must interact since the courts need the police and vice versa for them to carry out their responsibilities. The courts and police are independent from each other thus are able to protect the society from unfair sentences, police abuse and mostly corruption (Goel, 2005). Therefore the two components have to work together in order to protect the people which is their main responsibility.

The United States Department of Justice is the one that addresses the issue of police misconduct and explains how people are able to file complains if they feel the police officers have violated their rights (Fitch, 2013). There are federal laws that address the issue of police misconduct and can be classified as either civil or criminal statutes. The laws cover all the officers including state, local and those who work in prisons and jails. The court system in the US ensures that people are protected and that the police officers do not violate their rights (Fitch, 2013). Police officers are investigated by the Department of Justice and if found guilty they face the consequences. People who file such complains are referred to as victims and the Department of Justice ensures they get justice. The police officers are guided by code of ethics which they are supposed to adhere to. Failure to adhere to the code of ethics leads to law consequences where the officers are punished. Police officers are accountable for their actions thus ensure they follow orders. Incase police officers fail to adhere to the laws, they are held accountable for their actions and face the consequences. The internal mechanisms of holding police accountable, lies within the police departments while the external mechanism lies in the hands of the state (Fitch, 2013). The police are supervised thus this ensures that the police organizational culture is effective and efficient in order to ensure the police officers do their jobs and are held accountable for their actions.

Corrections

Most of the time there is confusion between the term jail and prison. in addition the media tends to mislead people with its use of jail sentences rather than prison sentences. A jail can be described as a secure place that mainly houses people who have been arrested and have not yet been taken to court indicating that if taken to court they can be subjected to person sentences (Clear et al, 2016). In addition jails house people who have been convicted of misdemeanor criminal offences and are serving jail sentences of less than a year. Jails also house people who have been sentenced to prison and are awaiting transfer the specific prison. Jails are in most cases operated by the county or local government since they house criminals who have committed minor crimes and those waiting to go to courts. Most people are taken to jails daily compared to those who are imprisoned. Jails are also known as detention facilities since people are detained there before being transferred to other facilities. On the other hand prisons can be described as secure facilities which house criminals who have committed major crimes or felony criminal offences and are to serve terms of one year and above (Clear et al, 2016).

Prisons are controlled by the state government since they house major criminals who have committed major crimes. People are released from the prison after they serve their terms. This shows that jails are different from prisons and people should not confuse the two terms. Treatment centers are those that offer treatment services to inmates. The services can offer drug abuse related services and ensure the inmates are fully rehabilitated from using drugs (Leukefeld, Gullotta & Gregrich, 2011). The centers are important since they ensure inmates are well taken care of in case of health issues and problems. Prisons, jails and treatment centers are important in molding the lives of criminals and ensuring they are better people in the society.

The current correction system is based on punishment as compared to rehabilitation insinuation that it is the worst time to be a prisoner in the US. Researchers suggest that the current correction system is unpleasant compared to the past correction system (Pollock, 2014). Prisons are not fun places but rehabilitation should take place. The prisons have strict rules and the budget has had shortcomings which makes the life in prisons very unpleasant. Rehabilitation was the main theme in the US correction systems until mid 1970s when things changed. Prisons were initially meant to install occupational skills and solve psychological problems of people with drugs challenges that may interfere with the smooth running of activities in the communities. A number of criminals received court punishments which ensured they participated in the rehabilitation procedures in the prisons (Pollock, 2014). Currently prisons are seen as punishment facilities that ensure criminals are severely punished rather than being rehabilitated.

This punishment approach has not deterred crimes but instead encouraged more crimes hence population increase in the prisons (Pollock, 2014). Prisons have been the hosts of mentally ill people since most of the criminals ended up developing psychological problems. Unlike in the past when prisons acted as rehabilitation centers, the current prisons are punishments centers where criminals end up developing serious mental problems. Prisons were developed to correct the behaviors of criminals but have changed into areas where prisoners develop mental disorders instead (Pollock, 2014). Most of the correction facilities are punitive in nature thus end up punishing prisoners more instead of focusing on establishing rehabilitation programs. Rehabilitation in the past was useful since it focused on correcting actions of criminals rather than punishing them without installing the necessary skills in them.

The life of a prisoner can be boring since they have a specific routine followed throughout the prison term. Most of the prisoners feel lonely and are subjected to few on none rehabilitation programs. Prisons hold large numbers of people thus they are overcrowded and often health issues are ignored and cause problems to the people. The waking time of prisoners is between 5 to 6 am depending on the prison type. The prisoners are thoroughly checked by the guards and counted in order to start their day (Alarid et al, 2008). Prisoners share cells and if one have kitchen jobs then the waking time changes to around 3.30 am when one has to wake up. The inmates then take a 30 minutes breakfast after waking up ready to start the daily routine activities. Every prisoner has a job such as working in the kitchen, serving food, laundry, construction works and other types of jobs.

Prisoners are expected to work until lunch time when they are given a one hour lunch break. After lunch they return to their jobs until 3PM when the jobs end. They have two hours free time until 5PM when dinner is served. After dinner some prisoners offer religious and counseling services where inmates are subjected to guidance and counseling programs (Alarid et al, 2008). Before going to their cells they are counted once again and the prison lights are put off by 11PM. the prison life is boring and monotonous since routine activities take place each day. There are various types of inmates depending on the crimes they committed. There are robbery inmates, sex abuse inmates, terrorism inmates, drug possession inmates, firearm possession inmates, attempted murder inmates among many other inmates (Alarid et al, 2008). All the inmates are under close check to ensure they do not escape since they are imprisoned as a result of major crimes thus termed as dangerous.

Public operated prisons are funded by the state while the private operated prisons are funded by individuals and well wishers. The private operated prisons were initially created as cost effective prisons which helped the state save money but are no longer cost effective compared to the public operated prisons (Price & Morris, 2012). Private operated prisons have increased chances of escape and violence. Violence has been reported among the inmates and between guards and inmates. Guards are so harsh and often assault prisoners in the private owned prisons. The cost of public operated prisons from research carried out is less compared to that of private owned prisons which initially were meant to help the state save some dollars (Price & Morris, 2012). Private owned prisons do not accept inmates that will lead them to using more costs. They focus on taking in inmates who will spend less in prisons and have committed minor crimes. The private owned prisons get their funds from well-wishers, donors and the state as well so that they can run smoothly. They are classified as nonprofit organizations which ensure prisons are safe and deter them from escaping. Less expensive inmates are often sent to the private operated prisons but research shows that doing this is not cost effective and does not help the government save some money.

Sentencing policies are able to ensure that offenders or criminals are made accountable for their crimes in order to deter other people from committing similar offences and minimizing the likelihood for the offenders to commit new crimes (Alarid et al, 2008). The sentencing actions mainly aim on the policy of protecting the public. The state laws give guidance on how prisons should carry out prison terms and for how long. In addition the state laws control the prison terms to be administered to offenders, tell the offenders to be subjected to community services and provide alternatives services to other offenders. The legislature provides the courts with sentencing options as well as sanctions to criminals. The legislature ensures that the public is protected through coming up with the best policies that will ensure the offenders reduce the likelihood of committing new crimes (Alarid et al, 2008). The legislature controls how offenders are to be treated therefore control the court and correction systems and ensure the public and offenders are protected.

Probation officers have different roles from counselors and parole officers. The officers ensure that criminals are not a threat to the community and are following the rehabilitation programs (Ross, 2016). They ensure they test criminals whether they are abusing drugs and put them under rehabilitation programs. The officers write files and reports for the criminals. In addition they provide the necessary resources needed by criminals, even counseling sessions. The officers usually supervise criminals who are outside the prisons and are doing community projects (Ross, 2016). On the other hand parole officers perform different duties with probation officers. They ensure they work with criminals who have served their times and are released to the communities. They ensure the offenders become part of the society once more. The parole officers supervise and check on those released offenders to ensure they do not commit new crimes and are part of the society once more. They ensure the parolees are not involved in the issue of drug abuse and thus reduce the risks of the parolees committing other crimes that will ensure they are imprisoned once more. Counselors provide counseling services to the inmates, parolees and those offenders on probation. They ensure guidance programs are efficient to offenders in order to reduce the risks of crimes reoccurring once more (Ross, 2016).

References

Alarid, L. F., Cromwell, P. F., Del, C. R. V., & Cromwell, P. F. (2008). Community-based           corrections. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.

Belknap, M. R. (2004). The Vinson Court: Justices, rulings, and legacy. Santa Barbara, Calif.      [u.a.: ABC-Clio.

Boothroyd, J. (2015). What are the branches of government?. Place of publication not identified:             Lerner Publications.

Champion, D. J. (2001). Police misconduct in America: A reference handbook. Santa Barbara,     Calif: ABC-CLIO.

Clear, T. R., Reisig, M. D., Turpin-Petrosino, C., & Cole, G. F. (2016). American corrections in brief.

Conser, J. A., Paynich, R., & Gingerich, T. (2013). Law enforcement in the United States.            Burlington, Mass: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Delattre, E. J. (2002). Character and cops: Ethics in policing. Washington, D.C: AEI Press.

Dempsey, J. S., & Forst, L. S. (2013). An introduction to policing. Albany, N.Y: Delmar.

Fitch, B. D. (2013). Law enforcement ethics: Classic and contemporary issues.

Goel, S. (2005). Courts, police, authorities & common man. New Delhi: Shrishti Books.

Leukefeld, C. G., Gullotta, T. P., & Gregrich, J. (2011). Handbook of evidence-based substance   abuse treatment in criminal justice settings. New York: Springer.

Pollock, J. M. (2014). Ethical dilemmas and decisions in criminal justice.

Price, B. E., & Morris, J. C. (2012). Prison privatization: The many facets of a controversial        industry. Santa Barbara, Calif: Praeger.

Ross, J. I. (2016). Key issues in corrections.