The criminal justice system in England and Wales is formulated on the basis of some basic aims and targets. The main target of this system is to reduce the prevalence of crime and ensure the speedy trial of the culprits. The main steps involved in the criminal justice system include the policing, court trial and corrections (Davies, Croall and Tyrer 2005). The initial investigation and collection of evidence is carried out by police. After that, the suspect is presented in the court for trial and the adequate sentence and punishment is finalized.
Correction involves the participation of culprits in different activities according to the terms and conditions of the punishment. As far as the feasibility and adequacy of criminal justice system in England and Wales is concerned, it is pertinent to mention that many loopholes and deficiencies have been observed in the whole system for the past few decades (Budd, Sharp and Mayhew 2005). One of the main causes of the failure of criminal justice system is the inability of the lawyers to provide justice to the victims of domestic violence and rape.
Most of these victims are the women who cannot raise their voice against the ruthless attitude of the lawyers (Temkin 2003). Most of the times, the cases are decided in the favor of wealthy and influential party and no importance is given to the evidence provided against the defendants. The victims, witnesses of the crime and women are the ultimate sufferers in the whole course of events. The legal and criminal justice system is being largely controlled by the oligarchs of the society.
In order to support the defendants, the decision-making in the criminal courts of England and Wales is deliberately delayed. The rape victims have to wait for two or more years in order to get their cases decided. There is a significant addition of money in the British economy in the form of legal fee given by the influential defendants including the foreign companies, businessmen and others (Duffy et al. 2008). The criminal justice system has been plagued by many vices of extreme nature.
There are many instances in which the basic record and evidence in the form of videos and paperwork was removed or destroyed in order to let down the victim. Another significant loophole of the criminal justice system is the ruthless hearing about the details of sensitive cases carried out by the lawyers in the courtrooms. Many controversial questions are asked form the victims in order to pressurize and embarrass them in front of others. This leads to the development of depression and distress for the victim and he or she cannot answer properly.
The easy and affordable accessibility to the justice system has been made impossible by the difficult rules and procedures involved in it. The poor and helpless victims are not able to afford the tribunal and legal fee for their cases. In addition to that, most of the victims of domestic violence and rape are not able to present the detailed set of evidence that is required to support their cases. This is a real barrier in the process of making final decision about the cases. It may lead to the unjust decision of the cases in favor of defendants who can easily set free from the punishment and sentences.
Even if the cases are decided against the offenders, their punishment is found to be minimal as compared to the severity of the crime committed by them. This trend cannot relieve the trauma of the victims and it adds to their distress resultantly. Another important fault in the criminal justice system of England and Wales is that there are a huge number of people belonging to the black races who are imprisoned every year in the jails. The number of black people being punished is more than their representation in the total population (Unnever and Cullen 2007).
Recent researches have shown that the percentage of black people in the jail of England is fifteen percent while their original representation in the population is only two percent. It shows a stark injustice being carried out against the black races (Maruna and King 2004). The criminologists and criminal experts have found the reason of this trend to be ingrained in the age-old racial prejudice present in the English society. Most of the times, the black victims are tortured and beaten in the police custody in order to compel them to accept the conduction of crime.
The cases of discrimination against the blacks for the provision of bail are also significant in England (Roberts 2007). The blacks are physically remanded in the higher proportion as compared to the white counterparts. These facts speak volumes about the weakness of criminal justice system of England and Wales. The inappropriateness of the criminal justice system frustrates the law enforcement authorities as well. The police staff and other officers concerned are not satisfied with the delayed and inefficient justice system, which is against the victim (Irving and Hilgendorf 1980).
The research studies conducted in order to get the opinion of police officer showed that they did not consider the deterrence to be sufficient (Jackson 2012). Instead of that, they want the provision of efficient and ample terms of punishment for the offenders on the society. The police staff complains that the evidence and other significant information collected by them against the influential offenders are ignored during the trials in the courts (Hough 2010). There is a complaint of unnecessary adjournments in the courts, which delays the final decision making of the cases.
The repetitive adjournments are done in order to provide opportunity to the defendants to make their cases stronger as compared to those of the victims. In addition to the inequality meted out to the females in the criminal justice system, many disadvantaged groups of the society also face the same attitude form the lawyers and judges. Many ethnic groups are particularly susceptible to the inequality and injustice in England and Wales (Phillips 2011). According to the statistics, white people form about 85 percent of the total population and the remaining fifteen percent comprises those belonging to different ethnic groups.
Gypsies and the travelers are also subjected to the prejudice in the criminal justice system. In most of the cases, even the presence of slightest evidence is sufficient for the judges to decide the cases against them (Cemlyn 2008). The judges do not take into consideration the context and extent of the crime committed by these vulnerable group members and make hasty decisions of their cases. The racial and ethnic prejudice present in the English society finds its roots in the criminal justice system as well.
The criminal justice system in England and Wales is formulated on the basis of some basic aims and targets. The main target of this system is to reduce the prevalence of crime and ensure the speedy trial of the culprits. The main steps involved in the criminal justice system include the policing, court trial and corrections (Davies, Croall and Tyrer 2005). The initial investigation and collection of evidence is carried out by police. After that, the suspect is presented in the court for trial and the adequate sentence and punishment is finalized.
Correction involves the participation of culprits in different activities according to the terms and conditions of the punishment. As far as the feasibility and adequacy of criminal justice system in England and Wales is concerned, it is pertinent to mention that many loopholes and deficiencies have been observed in the whole system for the past few decades (Budd, Sharp and Mayhew 2005). One of the main causes of the failure of criminal justice system is the inability of the lawyers to provide justice to the victims of domestic violence and rape.
Most of these victims are the women who cannot raise their voice against the ruthless attitude of the lawyers (Temkin 2003). Most of the times, the cases are decided in the favor of wealthy and influential party and no importance is given to the evidence provided against the defendants. The victims, witnesses of the crime and women are the ultimate sufferers in the whole course of events. The legal and criminal justice system is being largely controlled by the oligarchs of the society.
In order to support the defendants, the decision-making in the criminal courts of England and Wales is deliberately delayed. The rape victims have to wait for two or more years in order to get their cases decided. There is a significant addition of money in the British economy in the form of legal fee given by the influential defendants including the foreign companies, businessmen and others (Duffy et al. 2008). The criminal justice system has been plagued by many vices of extreme nature.
There are many instances in which the basic record and evidence in the form of videos and paperwork was removed or destroyed in order to let down the victim. Another significant loophole of the criminal justice system is the ruthless hearing about the details of sensitive cases carried out by the lawyers in the courtrooms. Many controversial questions are asked form the victims in order to pressurize and embarrass them in front of others. This leads to the development of depression and distress for the victim and he or she cannot answer properly.
The easy and affordable accessibility to the justice system has been made impossible by the difficult rules and procedures involved in it. The poor and helpless victims are not able to afford the tribunal and legal fee for their cases. In addition to that, most of the victims of domestic violence and rape are not able to present the detailed set of evidence that is required to support their cases. This is a real barrier in the process of making final decision about the cases. It may lead to the unjust decision of the cases in favor of defendants who can easily set free from the punishment and sentences.
Even if the cases are decided against the offenders, their punishment is found to be minimal as compared to the severity of the crime committed by them. This trend cannot relieve the trauma of the victims and it adds to their distress resultantly. Another important fault in the criminal justice system of England and Wales is that there are a huge number of people belonging to the black races who are imprisoned every year in the jails. The number of black people being punished is more than their representation in the total population (Unnever and Cullen 2007).
Recent researches have shown that the percentage of black people in the jail of England is fifteen percent while their original representation in the population is only two percent. It shows a stark injustice being carried out against the black races (Maruna and King 2004). The criminologists and criminal experts have found the reason of this trend to be ingrained in the age-old racial prejudice present in the English society. Most of the times, the black victims are tortured and beaten in the police custody in order to compel them to accept the conduction of crime.
The cases of discrimination against the blacks for the provision of bail are also significant in England (Roberts 2007). The blacks are physically remanded in the higher proportion as compared to the white counterparts. These facts speak volumes about the weakness of criminal justice system of England and Wales. The inappropriateness of the criminal justice system frustrates the law enforcement authorities as well. The police staff and other officers concerned are not satisfied with the delayed and inefficient justice system, which is against the victim (Irving and Hilgendorf 1980).
The research studies conducted in order to get the opinion of police officer showed that they did not consider the deterrence to be sufficient (Jackson 2012). Instead of that, they want the provision of efficient and ample terms of punishment for the offenders on the society. The police staff complains that the evidence and other significant information collected by them against the influential offenders are ignored during the trials in the courts (Hough 2010). There is a complaint of unnecessary adjournments in the courts, which delays the final decision making of the cases.
The repetitive adjournments are done in order to provide opportunity to the defendants to make their cases stronger as compared to those of the victims. In addition to the inequality meted out to the females in the criminal justice system, many disadvantaged groups of the society also face the same attitude form the lawyers and judges. Many ethnic groups are particularly susceptible to the inequality and injustice in England and Wales (Phillips 2011). According to the statistics, white people form about 85 percent of the total population and the remaining fifteen percent comprises those belonging to different ethnic groups.
Gypsies and the travelers are also subjected to the prejudice in the criminal justice system. In most of the cases, even the presence of slightest evidence is sufficient for the judges to decide the cases against them (Cemlyn 2008). The judges do not take into consideration the context and extent of the crime committed by these vulnerable group members and make hasty decisions of their cases. The racial and ethnic prejudice present in the English society finds its roots in the criminal justice system as well.
