Criminal justice refers to the system that identifies crimes and criminals, arrests them, ensures they are fairly judged, and punishes them according to the law. The system's main goal is to uphold justice and promote rehabilitation, and the three pieces of criminal justice work hand in hand to ensure this. These pieces include the law enforcement sector, the courts, and the correction facilities. There are many professionals in the criminal justice system; they include detectives, police officers, judges, attorneys, wardens, and parole officers. These major players in the system are expected to uphold a certain code of ethics.
However, there have been major ethical issues in the criminal justice system. These issues affect the smooth running of the process and the achievement of goals. They favor other people while oppressing the community. These issues might lead to the collapse of a criminal justice system, and they need to be addressed. One of the major issues is corruption and police brutality. This paper aims to identify the causes leading to corruption and brutality, discuss the types and methods of corruption and brutality, and evaluate the impacts of this issue on the community.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Corruption refers to the abuse of power entrusted by an organization or community for their personal gains (Scharbatke-Church, 2017). Corruption in the criminal justice system could be caused by greed and the need for financial benefit. An officer of the criminal justice system could choose to receive monetary value from a criminal in exchange for their freedom, to boost his/her financial status. Corruption can also be caused by the need for career advancement in the criminal justice system. An officer could choose to participate in corrupt activities in exchange for a promotion, personal gains, and ignorance. A good example is a member of the judiciary making biased judgment according to biased evidence as a result of ignorance.
Another cause of corruption in the criminal justice system is political manipulation. Officers of the law might act in favor of certain political groups to put them in their good books and a position to ask for a favor later. An officer of the system can result in corrupt acts due to their low level of education and lack of a broader understanding of the criminal justice code of ethics.
Brutality in the criminal justice system refers to the use of unwarranted and extreme force by people with authority in the law enforcement on criminal suspects and civilians. Most of the brutality in the criminal justice system is perpetuated by the police. There are also cases of brutality in the judiciary and correctional systems.
The blue wall of silence can cause brutality. This is a cultural code observed by the police department, and it means that officers have a silent rule of not reporting each other's cases of abuse and misconduct. They will not warn their colleagues when engaging in abusive behavior because of their spirit of 'brotherhood'. This not only causes but encourages brutality in the criminal justice system.
Another cause of brutality is racial profiling. This is experienced in all the pieces of the criminal justice system. Racial profiling refers to discrimination in how law enforcement officers handle the suspects, according to their religion, race, political stance, and economic status (Egharevba,2016 ). There have been many cases of Muslim suspects being mishandled by officers. Non-white races are more susceptible to brutality, and this has been a major issue, especially to the African American community.
Legal protections also encourage brutality in criminal justice. Records of performances and misconducts of law enforcement officials are often hidden from the public. The officers are projected to the public eye as perfect and innocent by the law. This type of immunity and shielding ethical misconduct from punishment encourages brutality in the system as steps are rarely taken to combat this.
The militarization of the police force could also be another cause of brutality in the criminal justice system. This is experienced in the police departments where special police groups are given military powers and training, making it difficult for them to different cases that need force and those that are negotiable such as a traffic offense. Examples of such groups include the Close Quarters Battle from the United States and S.A.R.S. from Nigeria.
Officers undertake various methods of corruption in the criminal justice systems. Bribery is one of the methods, and it refers to the event where an officer of the criminal justice system receives gifts or monetary value from a suspect as their means of soliciting a favor (Scharbatke-Church, 2017). Cases of bribery have been reported in the three criminal justice pieces and have become rampant, especially when suspects are trying to dodge arrest.
Sexual favors are another form of corruption in the criminal justice system. Some officers have been reported to demand sexual favors from a suspect in exchange for their release. This has also been experienced in the correction department. For instance, cases have been reported of wives sleeping with the prison officers to ensure their husband's security inside the prison.
Favoritism is also experienced in the system as a form of corruption. Hiring and promotion in the criminal justice system have been reported to be done based on connections and loyalty. Nepotism is a major part of the recruitment process. Officers of the law have also been reported to release suspects or give them preferential treatment because they are related(Scharbatke-Church, 2017).
Brutality in the criminal justice system also comes in various methods. The use of unreasonable force to get forced confessions out of suspects is one method. Law enforcement officers have been reported to use torture to get information out of criminal suspects during investigation and questioning sessions. Falsified evidence could also be planted on the suspect. They end up injuring the suspects or causing their death in custody.
Wrongful searches or seizures also qualifies as a firm of brutality in the criminal justice system. Officers of the law have been known sometimes to search premises or suspects' houses without any warrant. This is going against the suspects' rights and treating them as criminals without proving them guilty. A proper warrant from a judge should be present during any search.
Denial of medical care in custody is a form of brutality. This is mostly experienced in the correctional systems where an officer might punish a criminal by denying him/her their medical rights or ignoring their health complaints. This is very dangerous as it can cause death or deformity of an individual.
Sexual assault is another form of brutality in the criminal justice system. Sexual abuse occurs when an officer of the law violates a suspect in custody. The law states that a suspect in remand or a criminal in jail does not have any capacity to give sexual consent. Therefore, any sexual interaction between an officer and the suspect is termed as assault.
Corruption and brutality in criminal justice have impacted the community by causing distrust between the law enforcement officers and the citizens. Contrary to their role of protecting the citizens and promoting peace in the neighborhood, law enforcement officers have become a threat to the community, creating clouds of fear and uncertainty.
Cases of police brutality have become unbearable, and this has caused citizens of not only the United States but also other countries to take matters into their own hands and stage protests to oppose these unethical acts. This has been evident in the United States, where crowds from various states matched in protest of the murder of George Floyd, demanding justice. Another evident example is the case of Nigeria, whose citizens were recently protesting in the streets demanding the dissolution of S.A.R.S., a police service unit that uses brutality even on innocent citizens.
Corruption in the criminal justice system has increased the number of crimes in the community. More criminal gangs and drug dens have been created because these culprits are confident that bribing an officer will get them out of any trouble with the criminal justice system. This has increased the level of insecurity in the neighborhood.
Corruption and brutality have caused racism as issues such as racial profiling create a division between the Whites, the African Americans, and Hispanics (Egharevba,2016 ). The minor races feel susceptible to police brutality, causing them to always be on the lookout, and this makes them see the White race as privileged, creating division.
In conclusion, the ethical issue of corruption and brutality in criminal justice is becoming unbearable, and the government should develop strategies to curb this. This essay shows how unjust and unreliable the system has become; this overshadows the good deeds done by law abusing officers. Brutality is inhumane, and the code of ethics dictating the use of firearms and teasers in the criminal justice departments should be strengthened. There should also be clear laws instructing the actions that should be taken against officers with cases of corruption or brutality. The system should also give equal rights to employment to interested citizens to avoid nepotism. The cleaning of the criminal justice system will reduce the need for riots, which have already caused so much property damages and loss of lives.
References
Egharevba, S. (Ed.). (2016). Police brutality, racial profiling, and discrimination in the criminal justice system . I.G.I. Global.
Scharbatke-Church, C. (2017). Understanding Corruption in Criminal Justice as a Robust and Resilient System: An Analysis Process Using Systems Thinking Tools.
