Runninghead:CRIMINALJUSTICE

CriminalJustice
ArielVincent
AcademyHighSchool

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HowdoesAmericascriminaljusticesystemeducatecitizens,andisthereachanceto
reducecrimesignificantly?Thenumberofcrimesthatoccurinthisworldhadincreasedaround
the1900sbutthencarefullydecreasedintheearly2000s.Policedepartmentshavebeenkeeping
alotofcrimerecordsandreportsinordertobeaheadofwhatcrimeshappenintheworld.Police
forcesliketheFederalBureauofInvestigation(FBI),alwaysfindwaystohelpprotectthepeople
andpreventcrimebydoingtheirjob.
Criminaljusticeisthesystemofpracticesandinstitutionsofthegovernmenttocontrol
andhelppreventcrimefromevergettingworse(
TheCriminalJusticeSystem,2012)
.The
criminaljusticesystemworksonthosewhoviolatethelawsandpostscriminalpenaltieson
them.Policeforcesarepartofthecriminaljusticesystemandareoneofthemostimportant
authoritiesinthisworldbecausetheyprotectinnocentcitizensandfamilies.Manypeople
wonderhowthecriminaljusticeprocessworks.Therearethreemajorinstitutionsthatprocessa
caseinthecriminaljusticeprocess:thelawenforcement,courtsystem,andcorrections.The
processmayvaryaccordingtothejurisdiction,theseriousnessofthecrime(felonyor
misdemeanor),whethertheaccusedisajuvenileoranadult,andotherfactors(TheCriminal
JusticeSystem,2012).Inthecriminaljusticesystemthereareseveralseparatedepartmentsof
policeforces:FederalBureauofInvestigation(FBI),SpecialWeaponsAttackTeam(SWAT),
CrimeSceneInvestigation(CSI),sheriffsanddeputysheriffs,detectives,theU.SDrug
EnforcementAdministration(DEA),andmanymore.TheFBIaredefinitelymostcommonly
usedtoinvestigatecrimes.Theyhavetohelpcontrolthecrimesthatarebeingcommittedin
todayssocietyof2016.Policeprotectionisprimarilyafunctionofcitiesandtowns.
CorrectionsisprimarilyafunctionofStategovernments.Mostjusticepersonnelareemployedat

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thelocallevel(BureauofJusticeStatistics,2016),whicharethosewhoarecriminaljustice
officials.
TheFederalBureauofInvestigation(FBI)areoneofthebiggestrisktakersinthe
criminaljusticesystem.Whiletheyareinvestigating,theyhavetofindanyevidencethatwill
helpthemdeterminewhetherthefederaloffensewascommittedornot.Ifthefederaloffensewas
committed,theFBIhavetofindoutwhocommittedit.Notallcrimesarefederaloffensesunless
theyhaveanyconnectionwiththefederalgovernment.
Federallawenforcementagencieswill
investigateacrimeonlyifthereisreasontobelievethatthecrimeviolatedfederallaw("The
FBIFederalBureauofInvestigation",2013).Anexamplewouldbesomebodyrobbedata
federalbank.Sinceithasaconnectionwiththefederalgovernment,theywillbechargedwith
seriouscharges.Mostofthecrimesthatoccurtodayareusuallybasedoninjustice,inequality,
andhavingnoprivacy.Notonlydopeoplecommitthesametypesofcrimesoverandoveragain,
buttheyaretryingtosendamessagetotheauthoritiesbecauseofwhattheyaredoingandare
notdoingitright.Thereisnotonepersononthisearthwhojustcommitsacrimefornoreason.
Therehastobeatleastonesmallexplanationandareasonforthethingsthattheyaredoing.
Peopleareangryandwantjusticeandnothingelse,TheFBIonlycollectsanddisseminates
intelligenceunderguidelinesdesignedspecificallytoprotecttheprivacyofU.S.citizens,andwe
arecommittedtousingourauthoritiesandresourcesresponsibly(OurResponsibilityToProtect
CivilLiberties,2010).TheFBIhasapurposeinthisworld,andthatisexactlywhattheydoto
tryandsatisfythepeople.Itwillnotsatisfythemcompletely,butitwillreducecrimeslowly.
ItisnotreallysimpletobecomeanFBIAgentrightaway.Theyhavetogothroughalot
oftraining.Theyalsohavetogotocollegeandgetabachelor'sdegree.Ifsomeonechoosesto

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becomeanFBIAgent,he/shewouldhavetobasicallyriskoneownslife,FBIagentsare
authorizedtocarryfirearmsandareoftencalledintoperformofficialbustsorcapturehigh
profilecriminals.Agentsmayfacedangeroussituations,workerratichoursandberequiredto
travelextensively.Thiscanincludesuddentravelingwithverylittlenoticeandjobrelocation
aroundthecountry(FBIAgent:JobDescription,DutiesandRequirements,2016).TheFederal
BureauofInvestigationhavesuchahugeresponsibilitycontrolledbythegovernment,andthey
mostdefinitelymaketheircriminalsystembetterandbettereachyear.Thedangerousthings
theyhavetogothroughareunexplainablebecauseofhowriskytheyare.WorkingfortheFBI
maynotbeasriskyasgoingtotheArmy,buttherearestillmanyagentswhorisktheirlives
savingpeoplewhiledoingtheirjob.Therearemanycaseswhereitispossiblethattherecanbe
gunfights.DeathandinjuryisdefinitelyaconwhenitcomestotheFBI:Lawenforcementis
oneoftheleadingcareersforinjuriesandfatalitiesfromeventslikeconfrontationswith
criminalsandvehiclepursuits(Dwyer,2016).Notonlydoesthisaffecttheagents,butitalso
affectstheoutsidepeople.Thisisbecausetheybelievethatifacriminalcankillanagent,then
anythingcanliterallyhappenandnothingwillstopthebadguy.
OneofthemostdifficultjobsthatanFBIAgentcaneverdoisworkundercover.This
meansthattheyworkundercovertorevealthebadguywhenitcomestoadrugindustryoran
assassinationthatisinprocess.AnFBIAgentnamedBobHamerhadtogoundercoverfora
NorthKoreanroleforaninternationaldrugtrade.Hehadtohelpfundagiantmethfactoryin
NorthKoreaandwasinterviewedfortheVICEchannels.Criminalscansmellfear,theycan
smellhatred,theyknowwhenyouaren'tacceptingoftheirlifestyle.Andasanundercoveragent,
you'vegottaunderstandtheminsomeway,beitthechildmolester,beitthedrugdealer,beitthe

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weaponsdealer(Hotham,2016),andbythistheycouldnotbackoutfromwhattheywere
gettingthemselvesintobecauseitcanplacetheirlivesintodanger.WhenundercoverFBI
Agentsworkunderdruguse,theylearnnewthingsaboutthedrugsandthenewwaysdrug
dealerspassthemaroundillegally.ThishelpstheFBIcatchthemandbecomesmarterwiththe
waytheymovearoundwiththeirdealing.Whenanagentgoesundercover,theirbiggestfearis
gettingcaughtbecausetheyareundercoverforareasonandtheyareonlytryingtogaintrust
fromthepeopletheyhavetoworkwith.AnundercoveragentnamedNickwasinterviewedon
TeenInkmagazineandwasaskedwhatwasthehardestpartofhisjob:Thehardestpartswere
probablygainingthetrustofthepeoplethestressofneverknowingwhowoulddiscovermy
identity(Oh,2016).Thecraziestthingaboutgoingundercoveristhatitcanlastmorethanjust
acoupleofyearsdependingonhowdifficultandseriousthecaseis.
AlthoughtheFBIisaveryriskyandhazardousjob,therearemanyjobbenefitsofbeing
anFBIinvestigator.Forexample,theygetpaidvacations,salaries,andretirement.Another
benefitisthevarietyofjobsthattheywanttodowhenbeinganFBIAgent.AsofJanuary2012,
thisbasicannualsalarywas$45,771(Locsin,2016),andifanFBIagentworksforabout50
hoursormoreeveryweek,theyreceiveasalaryof$70,733.Italsodependsonthetypeofjoba
personwouldhavewhentheyworkintheFederalBureauofInvestigation,forexampleifyou
areaprofiler,intelligenceorbehavioralanalyst,aviolentcrimeanalyst,alinguist,ora
surveillancespecialist(FBIJobDescription,2016).Forexample,ifsomeoneworksasaprofiler
inWashington,D.C.,theywillreceiveasalaryof$56,857dependingonhowmanyhoursper
weekofeveryyear.RetirementisoneofthebiggestbenefitsofbeinganFBIInvestigator.Once
anFBIAgentretiresfromtheirjob,theyreceiveanincomefromthreedifferenttypesof

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payments:socialsecurity,thriftsavingsplan,andthepensionofhowlongtheyhaveworkedas
anFBIAgent.ThesocialsecurityisbasedonthebenefitsforeveryAmericancitizenagent
whichisequalpay.Thethriftsavingsplanisinvestingamajoramountofmoneyapersonwould
receivefrommonthlypaymentsofthejobthroughapensionbasedonyearsofserviceandthe
averageofthehighestpaidthreeyearsofearnings.Paymentsadjusteveryyearbasedonthecost
ofliving(Locsin,2016).ThiswasthethirdwayaretiredFBIAgentgetspaid.AnFBIAgent
canworkupto20to25yearsandreachuptotheageof65andthenhavetoretire.
OnequestionthathasbeenrecentlyaskedtotheFBIisWhathappenswhenamentally
illpersoncommitsaseriouscrime?.Crimesdontnecessarilyhappenwithjustpeoplewho
wantjusticeandequality,buttherearemanypeoplewhodonotfunctionproperlyandothersdo.
TheFBIhastoinvestigatewhatkindofproblemacertainpersonhaswhetheriftheyhave
mentalproblemsthatarereallybadornottoobad.ThentheFBIfindouttheirbackgrounds,
Crimescommittedagainstpeoplewithintellectualdisabilityareoftenlabeledasabuseand
neglect(ratherthanassault,rapeormurder),whichunderstatesthecriminalvictimization
problem(Davis,2016).Sincemostofthedisabledpeoplehavebeenthroughaverytoughpast,
thatistheonlywaytheylearnedhowtolive.Whoevertheycouldhavebeentakingcareof,they
learnfromthemandbelievethatwhatevertheydoistherightthingtodo.Whenadisabled
personcommitsacrime,theydonotnecessarilygetpunished,Onceinthecriminaljustice
system,theseindividualsarelesslikelytoreceiveprobationorparoleandtendtoservelonger
sentencesduetoaninabilitytounderstandoradapttoprisonrules(Davis,2016).Thesepeople
donotgetpunishedbecausetheydonotunderstandwhatisrightorwrong,andtheygetsome
sortoftherapytohelpthemunderstandwhattheyshoulddoandshouldnotdo.

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NomatterhowdangerousbeingintheFederalBureauofInvestigation(FBI)canbe,it
definitelyhelpstotryandreducecrimetoday.Everyyear,theyimproveontheirinvestigation
andcapturingthosewhodeservetobepunished.Thecriminaljusticesystemisaverydifficult
andcomplicatedprogramtomesswith,butitisawaytodeliverjusticeforallAmericancitizens
andprotectingtheinnocentpeople.Itmightbeimpossibletoreducecrimecompletely,butthe
criminaljusticesystemwillfindawaytofindpeaceandjusticeforpeople.

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References
Oh,Amy.(n.d.).UndercoverAgentNick.RetrievedMarch17,2016,from
http://www.teenink.com/nonfiction/interviews/article/5358/UndercoverAgentNick/
BureauofJusticeStatisticsCriminalJusticeSystemDescription.(n.d.).RetrievedMarch10,
2016,from

http://www.bjs.gov/content/justsys.cfm

Davis,L.A.(n.d.).Resources.RetrievedApril01,2016,from
http://www.thearc.org/whatwedo/resources/factsheets/criminaljustice
Dwyer,M.(n.d.).TheConsofBeinganFBIAgent.RetrievedMarch17,2016,from

http://work.chron.com/consbeingfbiagent25900.html
FBIAgent:JobDescription,DutiesandRequirements.(n.d.).RetrievedMarch17,2016,from

http://study.com/articles/FBI_Agent_Job_Description_Duties_and_Requirements.html
FBIJobDescription.(n.d.).RetrievedMay12,2016,fromhttp://www.fbiagentedu.org/careers/
Hotham,O.(n.d.).WhatIt'sLiketoBeanUndercoverFBIAgent|VICE|UnitedStates.
RetrievedMarch17,2016,from

http://www.vice.com/read/whatitsliketobeanundercoverfbiagent1113
Locsin,A.(n.d.).JobBenefitsofanFBIInvestigator.RetrievedMarch18,2016,from
http://work.chron.com/jobbenefitsfbiinvestigator16697.html
OurResponsibilityToProtectCivilLiberties.(2010).RetrievedMarch17,2016,from
https://www.fbi.gov/aboutus/intelligence/liberties
TheCriminalJusticeSystem.(2012).RetrievedMarch09,2016,from

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https://www.victimsofcrime.org/helpforcrimevictims/gethelpbulletinsforcrimevicti
ms/thecriminaljusticesystem
TheFBIFederalBureauofInvestigation.(2013).RetrievedMarch14,2016,from
https://www.fbi.gov/statsservices/victim_assistance/abriefdescriptionofthefederalcri
minaljusticeprocess