It is no secret that America’s criminal justice system is failing. The U.S. has the largest incarcerated population of any nation, and an estimated 100 million Americans have a criminal record.
Such statistics point to severe failings within every aspect of the criminal justice system, from laws and policies to prisons and jails and to criminal justice professionals themselves.
Fortunately, much effort is being made to understand why America’s criminal justice system isn’t on par with the rest of the developed world. Here are a few of the most prominent reasons behind the weakness of America’s criminal justice system — and the first places we can start to make a positive change.
Law Enforcement and Policing
There are almost too many problems with America’s law enforcement policies and practices to list here.
First and foremost, armed law enforcement officers are too often sent into situations where they are neither needed nor wanted; their presence can unnecessarily escalate confrontations and lead to unintended behavior that results in criminal charges.
Additionally, police are too often focused on monitoring certain communities — especially impoverished and minority communities — which leads to increased arrests for minor crimes and unjust discrepancies in the demographics of incarcerated populations.
Finally, the behavior of law enforcement officials cannot be ignored. Many agencies instruct officers to act with unrestricted aggression and violence, which has led to countless tragic injuries and deaths.
Police reform is the bare minimum required to improve America’s criminal justice system, and it begins with law enforcement agencies admitting their faults and committing to change.
Prosecutorial Discretion
Prosecutorial discretion is a rule in law enforcement that allows prosecutors to determine which charges and sentences to levy in criminal cases without any oversight from an independent regulatory body.
The result is that prosecutors tend to aim for more intense punishments when they are confident in success because such legal wins improve a prosecutor’s reputation and lead to greater responsibility and career potential.
The American criminal justice system would benefit from a new structure for determining appropriate and fair charges and sentences for criminals.
Incarceration Conditions
The poor conditions of America’s jails and prisons have served as tasteless punchlines for decades.
Detention centers and penitentiaries are notoriously overcrowded, dirty, and dangerous, and inmates are constantly lacking in resources they need for adequate nutrition, hygiene, security, and rehabilitation.
In short, criminals are denied the fundamental respect deserved by all people. Changing the current expected conditions inside jails and prisons begins with shifting American perspectives to believe in the value of all human lives, even incarcerated ones.
Then, the criminal justice system may need to do away with for-profit prisons, which enjoy greater financial returns by reducing the quality of life for incarcerated people. This is one of the more difficult problems to fix, but it has the potential to make the most difference.
Access to Rehabilitative Services
Recidivism, or the tendency of a convicted criminal to commit another criminal act, is remarkably common in the United States. An astonishing 44 percent of released criminals will re-offend and return to prison within their first year out.
There are many reasons for this, primarily among them a failure of the criminal justice system to rehabilitate criminals during their incarceration.
Rehabilitation can help criminals recognize the errors in their past behavior and develop values that more closely align with community needs and desires, like safety and productivity.
Additionally, rehabilitation can include the acquisition of skills that can lead criminals to find employment and housing once released, allowing them to reenter society with success.
Access to Mental Health Services
Too often, the behavior of a person suffering from mental illness is misconstrued as violent or dangerous, and as a result, that person is forced into the criminal justice system — where they are unlikely to receive the mental health treatment they desperately need.
Worse, the criminal justice system itself can create mental disease as a result of the unhealthy environments within prisons and jails.
The sooner America recognizes the importance of widespread access to mental health services, both inside and outside the criminal justice system, the sooner everyone can receive the care that they need to survive and thrive.
If you are frustrated by the current state of America’s criminal justice system, you might consider pursuing credentials that allow you to make a difference. A bachelor of arts in criminal justice as well as graduate degrees in the field equip you with the knowledge and skill for various important positions within the criminal justice system.
With passion and proficiency, you can bring America into the 21st century and ensure true justice for all.