Criminal Justice Trends

Criminal Justice Trends

Amanda Jones

CJA/484

Anthony Shaver

September 15, 2016

Criminal Justice Trends

        In this paper, we will discuss criminal justice trends of the past, present and future in law enforcement, as well as the budgetary and managerial aspects. These are all vital factors in the criminal justice system. With all the various changes that have been made in the past and present, to the criminal justice system, the impact on the future of it will change greatly. When there is change, of any size or magnitude, it has a constant ripple effect for the foreseeable future. Every aspect of criminal justice, whether it be law enforcement, courts or corrections, each plays its own important part and without one, the others simply wouldn’t function the same. There are so many different areas of law enforcement officers such as, uniformed officers, sheriffs and deputies, state police or troopers, and detectives, just to name a few.  All of these roles also play a huge part in the past, present and future of criminal justice. Change is typically good as long as it has a positive impact and doesn’t negatively affect the future.

        In the 1800 and 1900’s, people in their communities felt safe in their homes and walking down their streets. The fear of their own communities wasn’t present like it is today. Police officers often knew people in their communities by name and the communities knew and appreciated their law enforcement. Local businesses felt safe and the community felt protected by their law enforcement. There were open lines of communication between the community and law enforcement and if someone needed help they never hesitated to call. As time and technology have changed and grown, so did the relationship between the community and law enforcement. During the mid-too late 1990’s, there were several new technologies that were brought into law enforcement. Technologies such as newer cars, police radios and scanners, radar and in car computers. As the development of technology was happening, the relationship between law enforcement and the community was changing and sometimes, not for the better. (Police: History in Policing, 2011).

        With all the new technologies, the way law enforcement conducted themselves and did their jobs changed as well. Most foot patrols were replaced with vehicle patrols and people started to feel the disconnect with their relationship with law enforcement. People started feeling less safe in their communities and homes. Where people often left their homes and cars unlock, people started installing extra home and car security. People in the communities stopped getting to know their neighbors and caring about forging those lasting relationships. The trust within law enforcement and their communities started to fall and there were more complaints lodged against law enforcement. The quality of law enforcement also seemed to be on the decline. The way the law enforcement handled calls and how they patrolled was said to be more aggressive than in years past.

        In present trends in law enforcement, there are still new technologies that are being added to the everyday use of law enforcement. Not only with the added technologies, they have also become much more advanced, with the use of surveillance on the streets and in stores, photo speed radar, and much more. Advancement in police radios, in car computers and the 911 calling services has made law enforcements job easier and more efficient. Being able to identify suspects or criminals much quicker with the use of video surveillance eliminates the need for time consuming sketch artists and unreliable sketches. With the use of social media, it has made it so that law enforcement doesn’t make a bigger effort at getting to know the community but still allowing the public to stay informed on things happening within the community and policing.

        As in anything, there is always room for improvement, as is the case with technology. Cetron & Davies states, “The exponential rate at which technology is changing is directly affecting policing today (2008). With these changes being made, not only does it affect and impact the criminal justice system, but it also affects people and society. It also largely affects correction and the court system, and not just directly law enforcement.

        When it comes to budgetary and managerial aspects of law enforcement, these thing have also made large changes and continue to do so. There have been numerous budgetary cuts and setbacks in the last several years. According to Shari Phiel, when addressing the budget in Oregon, for the years of 2014-2015, there needed to be a cut of more than $750,000 from all annual expenses. Unfortunately, these budgetary cuts are not something new to law enforcement. The future doesn’t look much better when it comes to major budget cuts in the state of Oregon, or throughout the United States. In 2015, the Portland Police Bureau had a budget of $169 million dollars, and ultimately overspent by almost $3.5 million dollars. Why is there so much overspending? Is there not enough of a budget to stay under? Do we need to grow the budgets? Where does the problem lie? (Max Bertstein, The Oregonian, 2015). Management has been shown to change, just like anything else. Like we stated previously, all things could use improvement, and management isn’t any different. When there is any glitch or shortcoming when it comes to management, there is often a ripple effect and it can leave a negative reaction throughout a whole organization. The outcome of law enforcement, courts and correction has a direct result from the way management is handled.