Two Essays on Criminal Justice System

Resource Description

Introduction of two essays

Assess the role of discretion in the criminal justice system

Discretion is judgement exercised by applying principles, causes and facts, making it paramount in criminal justice system. Discretion acknowledges that the law is not always applicable to every case and thus allows individual circumstance to be taken into account when applying the law. It is considered a crucial element in the criminal justice system as it allows it to balance the rights of the community with the rights of individuals as well as the accused and the victims. Police officers exercise their discretion as they have discretionary powers during the event of an arrest in order to adequately exercise their powers and responsibilities when carrying out duties. This means that they are required to use their discretion to qualify specific amounts of reasonable force during the event of an arrest to ensure an appropriate amount of force is used on the offender at hand. On the other hand, police officers are able to balance the rights of the offenders, the victim and society through the use of reasonable force to ensure that justice is achieved. This is to ensure that police do not inflict offenders with excessive amounts of harm, whilst the protecting society by detaining an individual who has breached the law. The NSW police force are given legislative police powers in the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (NSW) and their code of behaviour is outlined in the Code of Practise for CRIME (Custody, Rights, Investigation, Management and Evidence).

Assess the extent to which the criminal justice system effectively balances the rights of victims, offenders and society The criminal justice system is mostly effective in balancing the rights of victims, offenders, and society, but is some what ineffective in the area of police powers. Balancing rights in the criminal justice system is crucial as all individuals are entitled to basic rights that must be adhered to in order for to attain justice. Through the upholding of individual rights, the criminal investigation process must be conducted correctly and lawfully to ensure balance. Police Powers are a crucial component of the criminal justice system as they enable police officers to investigate crime and breaches of law by arresting and detaining offenders. This ensure that justice is achieved for the victim making it a highly effective means of protecting the rights of society.