Question:
Hey all,
As most of you know now, I am studying my Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice and I was just wondering what people think is the reasons why we NEED the Criminal Justice System. Could we live life as we know it in Australia without it?
Any responses are appreciated. I'm just after different peoples views and opinions.
xx Melz
what is the alternative? No criminal justice system at all?
Chaos and anarchy ?
Chaos and anarchy ?
Yes.those were my first thoughts.
Without any such system, surely standards, moral and social, would degenerate.
Humans need boundaries to feel safe, to deter and to grow.
Well of coarse we need the Criminal Justice System, that goes without saying! It needs to be alot stronger. I don't think Australia does enough to keep crime at a minimum, we're too busy trying to fight for our men in other countries (to set them free) rather than punish those ones that actually need to be punished. Australia sits on a huge pile of Pride (why?) We're NOT the lucky country, we're a stupid country, we let our own get away with shit and put them into a jail system that's more like a 'fun' camp if they don't follow our 'rules'. I think it's quite ironic that we can sit back and judge the crime rate in America (and other countries), their crime rate is higher because they have a criminal justice system that actually gives a shit enough to get off their arses and punish the crims according to their crimes. It's not that we don't have as much crime, it's because our crims are in the 'lucky' country. Australia need's a big fat reality check - and that's my opinion!
You do the crime, you do the time.” It’s a phrase often trotted out by politicians trying to boost their tough on crime credentials. But partly due to such law and order auctions, “the time” has been getting longer.
Sentences for almost all offences had increased when the total effective sentence was taken into account - this included the time received for lesser offences committed at the time of the principal offence. For example, sentences for rape had grown by 13 months, and incest by 12 months. But the largest increase documented was for the offence of culpable driving, which covers situations such as manslaughter by negligent driving, where the average sentence has risen to 6.2 years, from 4.7 years - an additional 17 months. Statistics might be incontrovertible evidence of a trend towards longer sentences, but they reveal nothing of the human cost. A prison sentence is a shattering experience for many inmates. Not only is prison life tough, but the almost inevitable damage to reputation, career and family makes life after prison difficult as well. Studies show that those imprisoned are more likely to reoffend.
Sentences must balance the need for appropriate punishment with the need to protect the community and reduce the incidence of crime in our community.
Melz, can you clarify if you are asking, can we function as a society with NO criminal justice system, or if you are asking should there be changes to the current criminal justice system. You post is a bit ambiguous.
Good point Naomi, especially as the Australian government spends $32 billion dollars on crime prevention in Australia, what is your real question Melz?
My question is Why do you think we need the criminal justice system?
Laura and Alexa's posts were what I was after. Their take on the system and whether it works or not, what they think needs to be fixed and why we need it.
Why do you think we need the criminal justice system?
That's quite different to your original post
As most of you know now, I am studying my Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice and I was just wondering what people think is the reasons why we NEED the Criminal Justice System. Could we live life as we know it in Australia without it?
Any responses are appreciated. I'm just after different peoples views and opinions.
xx Melz
Answer:
what is the alternative? No criminal justice system at all?
Answer:
Chaos and anarchy ?
Answer:
Chaos and anarchy ?
Yes.those were my first thoughts.
Without any such system, surely standards, moral and social, would degenerate.
Humans need boundaries to feel safe, to deter and to grow.
Answer:
Well of coarse we need the Criminal Justice System, that goes without saying! It needs to be alot stronger. I don't think Australia does enough to keep crime at a minimum, we're too busy trying to fight for our men in other countries (to set them free) rather than punish those ones that actually need to be punished. Australia sits on a huge pile of Pride (why?) We're NOT the lucky country, we're a stupid country, we let our own get away with shit and put them into a jail system that's more like a 'fun' camp if they don't follow our 'rules'. I think it's quite ironic that we can sit back and judge the crime rate in America (and other countries), their crime rate is higher because they have a criminal justice system that actually gives a shit enough to get off their arses and punish the crims according to their crimes. It's not that we don't have as much crime, it's because our crims are in the 'lucky' country. Australia need's a big fat reality check - and that's my opinion!
Answer:
You do the crime, you do the time.” It’s a phrase often trotted out by politicians trying to boost their tough on crime credentials. But partly due to such law and order auctions, “the time” has been getting longer.
Sentences for almost all offences had increased when the total effective sentence was taken into account - this included the time received for lesser offences committed at the time of the principal offence. For example, sentences for rape had grown by 13 months, and incest by 12 months. But the largest increase documented was for the offence of culpable driving, which covers situations such as manslaughter by negligent driving, where the average sentence has risen to 6.2 years, from 4.7 years - an additional 17 months. Statistics might be incontrovertible evidence of a trend towards longer sentences, but they reveal nothing of the human cost. A prison sentence is a shattering experience for many inmates. Not only is prison life tough, but the almost inevitable damage to reputation, career and family makes life after prison difficult as well. Studies show that those imprisoned are more likely to reoffend.
Sentences must balance the need for appropriate punishment with the need to protect the community and reduce the incidence of crime in our community.
Answer:
Melz, can you clarify if you are asking, can we function as a society with NO criminal justice system, or if you are asking should there be changes to the current criminal justice system. You post is a bit ambiguous.
Answer:
Good point Naomi, especially as the Australian government spends $32 billion dollars on crime prevention in Australia, what is your real question Melz?
Answer:
My question is Why do you think we need the criminal justice system?
Laura and Alexa's posts were what I was after. Their take on the system and whether it works or not, what they think needs to be fixed and why we need it.
Answer:
Why do you think we need the criminal justice system?
That's quite different to your original post
Could we live life as we know it in Australia without it?
.
A very simplified answer is:
as long as crime exists, for society to continue to function properly we need to have a system to deal with crime. We need it to protect society from criminals, and to provide some method of rehabilitation for the criminals themselves. TBH though, I don't know if our current system achieves either of these aims with any success I think some of the reasons are - the failings of the legal system itself (he who can afford the best lawyer often ends up with the best outcome), the shortfalls of the current corrective services . that said, I'd rather live in Australia with our system than some other countries in the world.
.
A very simplified answer is:
as long as crime exists, for society to continue to function properly we need to have a system to deal with crime. We need it to protect society from criminals, and to provide some method of rehabilitation for the criminals themselves. TBH though, I don't know if our current system achieves either of these aims with any success I think some of the reasons are - the failings of the legal system itself (he who can afford the best lawyer often ends up with the best outcome), the shortfalls of the current corrective services . that said, I'd rather live in Australia with our system than some other countries in the world.
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