Criminal Justice Trends Evaluation



Criminal Justice Trends Evaluation

Introduction

A public poll in United Stated of America revealed that the worst fear that people in the US felt was that they would become a victim of a crime (Ross, 2011). The society is marked by low level of criminal behavior. The level of civility has also declines in that people have become generally rebellious. In addition, due to the rising rate of crime and the need for people to feel safe and secure, the policy interventions have been introduced rapidly to meet the gap in the policy framework and the actual on ground situations.

This change both in the public opinion and the rapid response by the government has led to the need for research in this domain. The paper discusses the contemporary issues that are faced by the criminal justice system as well as the trends both recent and future in the system.

Youth Violence

The prevalence and ever increase in adolescent crimes has led to a feeling of personal risk among people. This includes people who have witnessed juvenile violence in some form or people who have been themselves the victims of this type of crime. There is a need to study the reason behind this increase in the rate of juvenile crime. There are several reasons for this. Leisure is an important part of the human life activities (Drizin & Leo, 2004). It is a very dynamic concept in that there is no discreet definition of leisure. As per the modern concept, leisure is viewed as a road to happiness. What children do in their leisure hours determines their personality, if only partly. As concerns the youth of today, the sedentary lifestyle is the function of prevalence of video games. These video games are marked by violence. Interestingly, whenever the term, effects is used with video games, a negative connotation is sensed to be associated with it. Video games may encompass some benefits for the youth, but the downsides which it owns are far greater than what the benefits have to offer to the youth. Hence, the youth have become aggressive and violent because of the media and the video games they play.

Another reason for this is the prevalence of drugs and drinking among the youth. For this reason there are certain changes made in the policy regulations. The implementation of law for youth has to be done through enforcement for better effects. The National Institute of Justice in Kansas has banned the possession or display of guns in public by youth. This is a serious crime and will be dealt with accordingly. The following graph shows the upwards trend in number of guns and non-guns homicides (Ross, 2011).

Under the SSI program, the drug market has been cut down whereby the government will take strict actions against anyone involved in the trade, selling or buying of drugs.

Drugs and the Community

The widespread prevalence of crimes is also the result of drugs. This drug usage has not only lead to ...