1. Running head: PURSUING CRIMINAL JUSTICE OUTLINE 1
Pursuing Criminal Justice Outline
Juan Malfavon
CJA/483 v2
October 21, 2011
Albert Mendoza M.A.
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Outline
I selected the component of policing to develop a personal broader knowledge of the first
tier in the criminal justice system. I believe that justice relates to an arrest against the criminal
committing the act of a crime against another individual, and that the criminal must pay the
victim and society back for the act of the crime through the retribution process as legally set
forth in current laws according to the crime committed.
The three current practices of the component that demonstrate the successful achievement
are (1) The investigation process that allows for a sure measure of evidence to be gathered, (2)
The detention of the criminal during the investigation to ensure that the individual does not
commit other crimes during the investigation and (3) the formal arrests of the criminal and
criminal proceedings to try the criminal once evidence in place to ensure that the individual was
not wrongfully detained or charged.
There have been several significant changes that law enforcement agencies have
undergone since the September 11th attacks on the United States; they are (1) the money
laundering transmittal business and related hawalas (Fact Sheet: The USA Patriot Act - A
Proven Homeland Security Tool, 2005). That permit for the identify and tracking of money
being laundered more easily by identifying transferred sums of money that are ten thousand
dollars or more to be reviewed by the FBI and to place a tracking process on the originations of
those funds. (2) Readily available information through federal channels on people to law
enforcement personnel and federal organizations like ICE, FBI, CIA, DHS, and the ATF. (3)
More money for technologically improved communication equipment and a larger budget for
personnel and crime fighting equipment.
Even with more money and communications sharing programs like the Patriot Act, I
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believe the three biggest challenges in the next 10 years for the law enforcement community will
be (1) to develop multicultural training programs that will enable the hiring of more non-White
citizens to handle the ever growing population of multicularism in the Unites States. The 2nd
challenge will be to implement a training program that will develop personnel who will put aside
personal biases toward other races and do his or her job with professionalism and treat everyone
as equal. The 3rd challenge will be to establish a program by where every law enforcement
agency will act and be trained in the same manner nationwide so that Americans will be treated
with the same fairness and dignity regardless of the state, county or city in which he or she
resides.
Prior to learning about law enforcement programs and how they correlate with the public,
I used to think that justice was a thing of the past or only for affluent people, but after learning of
historical events that have benefited people through the common law system used in the United
States, I have a better sense of justice and how justice actually applies to everyone in the United
States, even undocumented people have a life line to justice in the United States.
During my reading assignments I realized that justice is not just a word, but an actual
event that takes time to develop to ensure that the handing out of punishments is commensurate
with the crime. "Justice is the ligament which holds civilized beings and civilized nations
together," said Daniel Webster at the funeral of Justice Joseph Story, in 1845, Kirk, R. (1993).
The common law system allows people to expect certain outcomes on the degree of his or
her own personal case and how it applies to everyone regardless of social status. I intend to
commit to a professional ethic based on fairness and not on a person’s clout in society; I hope to
achieve a firm understanding of the level of education I am receiving. I believe that I will have a
better grasp of justice and hope to meet the expectations that will be entrusted to me as I did
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when I was a United States Marine Officer, I will continue to hold my faith in God and in my
country and the values that have made America a beacon of hope for people of many countries
who come here for a better chance at opportunity, freedom of choice, religion, and life.
The reason American law works so well is based on simple practices of law which enable
a crime to be solved with some expediency and fairness to both parties involved, they are (1) the
investigation process that is more thorough today thanks to the advancements of technology and
because information sharing is more cohesive within governmental law enforcement agencies (2)
The detention of the criminal during the investigation makes research more formidable because
the criminal cannot move about and cover his or her tracks (3) The formal arrests of the criminal
and criminal proceedings allow for the prosecution to substantiate the crime in question and to
process the criminal according to common law procedures
Unfortunately; not everyone agrees with the current laws and statutes that define
American Justice because not everyone thinks the same, some people like to live in a perfect
world where there is no evil and nothing ever goes wrong, but these are the same people who
always come out and complain about crime not being reduced when he or she is the victim.
There will be a few people that will cry out “foul” because that is the nature of people,
and not all people think the same nor are they on the same sheet of music when it comes to
justice or crime prevention, but for the most part everyone does want justice to be handed out or
controlled in a fair manner.
For example some changes provoked by 9/11attacks are (1) the passage of the USA
Patriot Act on October 25, 2001; (2) the president’s executive order issued November 13, 2001,
authorizing detention and military trials for non-citizens suspected of terrorism; (3) the creation
by presidential order in May 2003 of the Terrorist Threat Integration Center (TTIC), an
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interagency body with participants drawn from the Department of Homeland Security, the State
Department, the Defense Department, the FBI, the Department of Justice, and various
intelligence bodies; it reports to the director of the Central Intelligence Agency Fact Sheet: The
USA Patriot Act - A Proven Homeland Security Tool. (2005). Even though these changes have
helped t odeter many terrorists crimes, there are still people that argue that the Patriot Act is a
bad tool for government to have because he or she feels that this tool gives government too much
power that will go unchecked like the power that Edgar J. Hoover had during his reign as CIA
director.
These new law changes can be seen as positive and negative, depending on the
perspective of freedom that an individual has. Some people see it as an infringement on their
rights and others don’t. "Terrorists exist to obviate and overcome all the physical barriers put in
their place," said Bruce Hoffman, a former adviser to the National Commission on Terrorism and
the vice president for external affairs at the Rand Corp Fenoglio, G., Frater, E., Gorman, S.,
Heath, E., and Murray, M. (2001). What I believe he meant is that Terrorist or simple criminals
will do whatever he or she can to cross the line of the law and to get away with crime. It is in
this context that laws need to be changed, developed or improved to protect its citizenry.
I believe these changes are worthwhile and necessary because of the ever increasing
terrorism warnings against non Muslims and people who just don’t commit crimes worldwide
because laws are broken by bad people, and made to keep good people in line. As the fanatics
get more brazen with their terror plots and recruiting of home grown terrorist increases, so too
should we increase the laws, regulations and programs to help fight this disease known as
terrorism and to stop criminal minds in his or her tracks
With the implementation of new laws, more specifically with the Patriot Act many people
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felt that his or her personal rights are being violated because of the Patriot Acts ability to ease
drop on phone calls and to review banking information on anyone, so there has been legislation
enacted to repeal the Patriot Act in its entirety and also to keep parts of the act in place. Some of
the actions put in place to overcome this resistance are Legislation efforts to help meet the
demands of those that would have no Patriot Act at all, and those that deem the Patriot Act a
necessity to the safety of the nation. According to Fenoglio, G., Frater, E., Gorman, S., Heath, E,
and Murray, M (2001) The challenges for counter-terrorism efforts inside U.S. borders will
largely be ones of balance: cost versus benefit; freedom versus security.
Some of the proposals that could conceivably do the most to stave off terrorist attacks
will also be the most controversial and will prompt objections, on moral, and civil liberties
grounds. What this really means is that keeping security and safety within U.S. borders will
continue to be an issue for those that would like to see fewer restrictions on individual rights.
These legal changes occurred because of an event like 9/11 but there were other events
prior to this horrific action by an unknown enemy like the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole and the
initial bombing of the world trade towers in 1993. These events took place because the current
federal law enforcement agencies such as the FBI, CIA, DEA, and other governmental
organizations were not communicating information that would have linked events, criminals, and
actionable data that would have deterred these crimes. According to (Smith, 2004) The efforts to
facilitate information sharing are warranted because investigators have now shown that, had
there been sufficiently effective systems for data sharing and assessment in place, the September
11 attacks probably would never have happened. This form of data sharing between agencies
will be an essential part of combating crime.
The challenges that will be faced by this nation will come from several venues but most
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importantly from multicultural issues in handling individuals of differing faiths and cultural
diversities because so many people today come from so many different back grounds and
religions. It will be difficult for any peace officer to simply speak to any American, because of
the language issues and religious or ethnic differences that will make a person feel that he or she
is being threatened or just bullied by police because so many people in America today do not
assimilate nor are they expected to assimilate because it would be seen as a cultural attack on his
or her religion or custom.
This lack of requirement toward traditional United States etiquette and assimilation will
certainly be the down fall of the American way of life; as more time passes without requirements
for language, borders, and United States culture.
I believe that the future of law enforcement will become more strategic in nature due to
the overwhelming amount of cyber crimes and levels of theft that are emerging within the United
States and other countries, as information sharing becomes easier for law enforcement agencies
so too, do crimes of pornography, embezzlement, identity theft, human smuggling, terrorism, and
drug trafficking become easier for criminals.
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References
Fact Sheet: The USA Patriot Act - A Proven Homeland Security Tool. (2005). Retrieved
http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/press_release_0815.shtm
Fenoglio, G., Frater, E., Gorman, S., Heath, E., and Murray, M. (2001). Proposals to combat
terrorism would change Americans’ ways. National Journal, Government Executive.
Retrieved from http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0901/092101nj2.htm
Kirk, R. (1993). The meaning of justice. Lecture on poverty and inequality. The Heritage
Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.heritage.org/research/lecture/the-meaning-of-
justice
Smith, R. M. (2004, spring). Arraigning Terror. Dissent magazine, (), 39-44. Annual Editions
Criminal Justice 09-10 33e Article03.