Introduction
Justice is what protects the rights of citizens. Justice is concerned with laws, organizations and even the social system. Justice reveals itself in decision making, judgments and accusations. The basic assumption is that it should apply without discrimination to all citizens. The law of a country is enforced by agencies. These agencies make and implement the law.
There are various law enforcement agencies in the federal government of the United States. They make law, amend the law and implement it within the American borders. They are divided into departments. They include the executive office of the President, general service administration, the United States department of justice, the United States department of homeland security and the United States department of Treasury. The United States has three levels of law enforcement, the federal bureau of investigation a, the state police and the local police. In addition, there are private agencies that provide security in the United States.
The first Amendment states the freedom of religion, press and expression. The fourth Amendment is the provisions for search and seizure. The Fifth Amendment is about Trial and Punishment, Compensation for Takings. The sixth Amendment is the right to speedy trial and confrontation of witness and the fourteenth Amendment is citizenship rights as indicated by Lorcher (2010, pp2).
Objectives and challenges facing the federal, state and local enforcement agencies
The United States federal bureau of investigation is a law enforcement agency. Its mandate includes: maintaining and applying the United States criminal law in order to provide guidance and security within the borders. The Federal bureau of investigation is specialized in handling the major cases. It has an advanced laboratory for investigations. They are distributed in all parts of the country to aid the local police in investigations as well as give more security to the American citizens.
The state police also enforce the law and perform investigations. Their mandate is to enforce law pertaining to traffic, governor’s security, train new recruits and give technological support. The local police include: the municipal department, city and county bureau, transit and campus police. In addition, the local police perform the task of handling judiciary papers, are in charge of bringing order in courtrooms and assist in jail by giving support in its administration (Truth, 2007, pp 3).
The arrangement of the court room portrays the glorification of justice. Peak (2010, pp 185) describes how the court venues accommodate all the concerned parties. The finishing of the court room is very costly. Moreover, there is respect given to the court, for instance citizens stand up when the judge arrives. Citizens abide to by these rules to show their loyalty and respect. The venues haves enough space to accommodate evidence and enough space for court proceedings.
The private agencies offer services that include among others, security guards, security patrol and alarm services. They work under the government’s supervision. The private agencies in many cases are given restriction of arrests (Truth, 2007, pp 4). They can detain law breakers as they await the police to make arrests.
Challenges of the federal government include internet fraud. Citizens abuse their rights to freedom of speech to spread unlawful information. The Federal Trade Commission (2007, Para 4) mentions that law enforcement agencies have the task to locate fraud messages that are e-mailed through the internet. This is because the internet has been used to spread information in criminal activities.
Another challenge is between the private and the government agencies. The cooperation at different levels has been a challenge. The governmental agencies are at times reluctant to share information with the private agencies. According to The Federal Trade Commission (2007, Para 8) this challenge manifests itself where both the governmental and the private agencies are required to compile a report for the judiciary.
Collection of data insists on cooperation. This is because the extent of internet crime such as fraud can be difficult to measure. The agencies rely on reports made. This is a major shortcoming because reports are made after the spread and losses have been made. The citizens contribute to these challenges. They report these incidences to different agencies with different complains. Although these cases are related assembling these data together for analysis is difficult.
The US online.com (2011, Para 8) argues that the courts have challenges. There are delays when it comes to the process of justice. A lot of time is consumed when defendants delay coming for trials and the trials take long before conclusion. This is in contrast with the sixth Amendment where individuals have a right to a speedy trial. The access to a jury is difficult. Furthermore, there is inequality in the way the rich and the poor access justice. Another challenge is the increasingly developing technology. As mentioned earlier, the internet can be used in criminal activities. The personnel and expertise have to invent ways of arriving at the criminals in time.
The roles of the federal, state and local court systems with respect to public safety and civil rights
The federal, state and local courts have an obligation to protect the citizens by enforcing the civil rights. The federal courts are organized into three levels. The first level is the district courts situated in every state. These courts have the mandate to listen to cases as permitted by the constitution and federal government of the United States. The citizen’s disputes are heard in these courts without discrimination. As the civil rights imply, citizens are not immune to this law and therefore when summoned they are expected to show up in court. The law does not deny any citizens, liberty or life without following the due process.
The following level is the court of appeal. The court of appeal listens to the case without altering the facts of the case. They strictly interpret the law to handle the case. The top most level is the United States Supreme Court. When a person appeals to the Court of Appeal the contestant’s case is taken to the Supreme Court. This court cases are concerned with important constitutional interpretation in most cases.
The state courts delegate their services to the morals and safety of all citizens. The bills of right are applied by these courts. The bills of rights restrict the control of the state courts over its citizens. The state courts create the local courts so that they can listen to cases that are minor criminal offenses in nature. The courts observe that they do not try a person for the same offense in the courts. Also the accused is tried and only receives punishment after proven guilty. These courts also ensure that compensations are made where they are due. Arrests are only made with an arrest warrant that indicate who is to be searched, where and what will be seized.
The courts should protect the rights of inmates who are imprisoned. Peak (2010, pp 312) indicates that inmates are entitled to protection from other inmates who violate their rights. For example, inmates can be protected from sexual abuse by other inmates. Those who are mentally ill may be given different treatment so that their rights are not breached.
The objectives of the juvenile justice system with those of other agencies
The juvenile justice system is a government’s initiative to deal with crime committed by children. The juvenile justice employees have exceptional training to deal with children involved in crime. The cases may be handled within the adult justice system or outside the court. When the case is handled outside the court, the judiciary makes use of special commissions or administrative boards.
The main objective of the juvenile court is to address the needs of the child as well as understand the root cause of the crime. Therefore, this system ensures that children are treated with dignity. For instance, the process and procedure is done within the shortest period possible. The process is led by the best interest and basic needs of the child.
The juvenile court employs different form of punishment as opposed to the other law enforcement agencies. Instead of depriving the privileges of an individual like the other law agencies do, the juvenile courts employ corrective measures. The corrective measure is between the child in crime, the community and the victim of the crime. The Juvenile Justice Panel (2010, Para 5) states that the court discourages detention of children. In cases where detention must be enforced, the directive is that it should take the shortest time possible. The corrective measures given by the juvenile court are: supervision of the child, probation, counseling, community service, restrictions on pocket money and changes in the family like change of guardian.
The roles of the private security organization with respect to both corporate and public protection
The private security agencies are widely used by the many companies in the United States. For example businesses, churches, schools and other organizations contract security guards to provide security for their premises. The security guards play a complementary role of protecting the citizens. Thompson (2006, Para 2) maintains that the private security guards give protection to the public. Like the police, they are sometimes armed, in uniform and perform security checks. With the increase in crime, they have assisted the police to make arrests by. In some instances, they make assist arrests by detaining suspects and hands over the suspects to the authorities. Their powers are limited and hence they cannot make arrests.
The private security organization offer alarm services. This is very essential for emergency situations. The guards receive training that teaches them the new forms of technology used for surveillance. This way they can note any unusual behavior and take action immediately. Thompson (2006, Para 10) emphasizes that, the security guards respond quickly and assist the police in situations where there is a large crowd. They also pay attention to what the police do especially in crime scenes.
The security guards provide security to the property within the organization. Their presence keeps the criminal acts away from happening. Some private organizations provide security for money and valuable equipment of an organization. The private corporation can also offer investigative services. For instance, a business organization may hire a private security firm to investigate on a certain person they want to do business with. In addition, they can perform patrol duties. Thompson (2006, Para 11) points out that when there is a social gathering, the private organization can be hired to give protection to the public. Additionally, they can manage traffic control duties in crowded areas. Another role they play is to provide services such as; body guards. Individuals can hire body guards for personal protection.
The private organization put more emphasis in providing security to individuals and specific organization. On the other hand, the police mainly focus on giving security to the community as a whole; hence, the corporation between the private and public agencies leads to improved security in general.
Solutions to various challenges facing criminal justice organizations and security organizations
The US online.com (2011, Para 17) gives suggestion on how to encounter the problem of case load. That a court accepts the number of cases it can handle within a given period of time. Also the courts restrict the nature of cases to certain courts so that they are delegated to expertise within the courts. The courts have provisions and procedures that protect the accused and imprisoned.
In terms of technology, the courts must invent ways of acquiring the internet related evidence and crime related incidences in time. An agency department can be dedicated to the crimes associated to internet. This will make it possible for all cases to be reported in the same institute. As a result, it will be possible for the agency to follow trends and spot patterns. A research will be possible to conduct in such an institution. The end result will be a well equipped justice system in the modern world of changing technology. Peak (2010, pp185) suggests that the courts should have automated access to important information to assist in investigations.
In cases where an individual feels violated because an office or security guards over used their power, the individual should not resist. They should comply and later file a case. The reason for this is that the security guards or the officer are armed.
Conclusion
The bills of right provide guidance to the justice system. If the courts enforce these laws, then the American citizen will feel secure. The justice system must however make access to the justice available and increase the speed in cases where court processes take a long period of time.
Reference List
Federal Trade Commission. (2007). Challenges for Law Enforcement. Web.
Justice centre. (2004). Federal law enforcement Agencies. University of Alaska Anchorage. Web.
Juvenile Justice Panel (2010). Juvenile Justice. Web.
Lorcher, T. (2010). U.S. Constitution: Bills of Rights Summary. Web.
Peak, K. J. (2010). Justice Administration: Police, Court and Correction Management, Sixth edition. London: Prentice Hall.
The US online. (2011). Government: The Federal, State and Local Courts. Web.
Thompson, S. (2006). Arrest power of Private Security Guards. Web.
Truth, L. (2007). Law Enforcement in the United States. Associate content. Web.
Whitney, N. J. (2010). About Private Security. Web.