A Vision of Crimes in the Future, Essay Example

The purpose of the criminal justice system is to protect the people of the community, and help to protect society from offenders. However, even if the criminal justice worked as it should, people would form different opinions, based on their own life experiences, perceptions formed from the media, and what they have read. The criminal justice system has changed much over the past few decades, as the national government has lodge their “war on drugs” it has been rather ineffective in getting drugs off the street, or doing anything to stop the infiltration of drugs in the communities. Based on the information from the textbook, as well as lessons in the classroom, Walker writes that, crime has hit a 35-year low (Walker, 2010). In providing more support on the answer for the first question, most Americans have a good grasp of crime issues and the realities of the criminal justice system. This is believed because; the criminal justice is a complex system in which many people are not aware of(Lochner, 2003). Many see the issues of right and wrong as clear cut, and when offenders commit crimes they should go straight to jail. However, the way in which the criminal justice works does not work in the way in which has been written into law. It is perceived that the criminal justice system’s three purposes are to remove people that are dangerous from society, deter criminal behavior, and to provide suitable punishment or justices to offenders.

In my first attempt at the survey, I believed the number one crime facing this country was property and violent crimes. However, Walker points out that, “the reduction in crime occurred in all major categories of both violent and property crime” (Walker, 2010). Even in my second belief after reading all the textbooks, and outside articles, my belief has been theft, but the robbery and household burglary rate also fell to the lowest period since the 21^st century. One of the biggest obstacles that the country is facing dealing with the criminal justice system is the problem of incarcerating people over drug crimes. Even at the least miniscule, they are being sent to prison at disproportionate rates, where minorities are the most often convicted. Even when the Reagan decried the war on drugs, it has not done much almost 40 years later. In my answers, I felt the best way to reduce drug crime is to reduce the demand for treating dug addicted individuals, and offer more incentives for people sending in anonymous tips. However, the second time around I felt that they should legalize some forms of recreational drugs, more on the lines of marijuana.

Looking at TED Talks, Steve Levitt, felt that crack cocaine was the biggest innovation in American history, when it was created and hit the streets it shifted society and the economy. Drugs have always played a part of the criminal justice system and the economy, the problem being that the wrong people have profited from it. People are arrested, or commit crimes to obtain drugs. Many feel that one way to solve the drug problem is to implement prevention intervention strategies, but feel it is too expensive, I disagree. People just do not want to spend the resources on solving the problems of crime. Even at the height of the technology advances which makes it easier for people to commit crimes. According to Marc Goodman, the crime problem that he is most afraid of has to do with the uses of technology. “Technology has made our world increasingly open, and fro the most part, that’s great, but all of this openness may have unintended consequences.” (Goodman, 2012) People are able to create their own networks to traffic drugs and humans, and other terrorist acts. While these precautions are true to have, my answer differed only slightly, and that is mainly because of the renewed information that was received. Many receive information from the media, and do not do the due diligence of getting the facts straight, of caring to open up a book on the criminal justice system. While many people fail to acknowledge the complexities of the system. More needs to be done for law enforcements to work with the communities and the public of informing them on the changes, and their policies. When people are more aware of policies, processes, and the laws, them more people are willing to do more to protect their communities, instead of relying on TV media to form their opinion.

References

Goodman, Marc. (2012). A Vision of Crimes In the Future. TED Talks. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/marc_goodman_a_vision_of_crimes_in_the_future/transcript?language=en

Levitt, Steven. (2004). The Freakonomics of Crack Dealing. TED Talks Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_levitt_analyzes_crack_economics/transcript?language=en

Lochner, Lance. (2003). Individual Perceptions of the Criminal Justice System. National Bureau of Economic Research. Retrieved from http://www.nber.org/papers/w9474.pdf

Walker, Samuel. (2010). Sense and Non-sense about Crime, Drugs, and Communities.7th edition. Cengage Learning.