...Victims and Crime Evaluation Paper Victims and Crime Evaluation Paper This paper will describe roles and functions of individuals in the criminal justice system and how victimization affects each role. The roles that will be discussed are prosecutor, defense attorney, criminal, and the victim. Then discuss the goals of sentencing associated with each role and alternative sanctions. Finally, identify any recommendations that regarding victims’ rights. The criminal justice system protects individuals and their property from harm. It allows governments to collect taxes and provides a peaceful way for individuals and institutions to resolve conflicts. The criminal justice system also punishes offenders and attempts to rehabilitate them. A prosecutor is responsible for representing legal actions in criminal proceedings. The prosecutor works for the state and the local community regarding complaints against criminal defendants. The prosecutor must convince the jury that the evidence being presented is enough to find the defendant guilty of the crimes he or she has committed. Prosecutors are searching to give the guilty a ruthless sentence that they try to find the defendant guilty after the evidence is presented to the courts and are able to drop or reduce charges during the case (Prosecutor, 2012). A defense attorney is an attorney that the defendant can hire to represent them in a criminal preceding or a lawsuit. They represent the defendant in his or her interest. What...
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...Victims and Crime Evaluation CJA 354 April 17, 2012 Instructor name Introduction This evaluation paper will discuss the concept of victim, the evaluation will also address and explain the history and significance of victims’ assistance programs and the purpose of their functions as it applies to the criminal justice system. Also addressed will be the evaluation of problem solving courts and restorative justice and their affect on the criminal justice system , society, and victims. The definition of victim is described as any individual against whom an offense has been committed (Schmallager, et al, 2010). The concept of a victim is foreign to civil law, which speaks instead in terms of people who have been injured or wronged. According to Schmallager (2010), the word victim denotes someone who has been harmed through the kind of activity proscribed by the criminal law (Schmallager, et al, 2010). During the AD 400 era, the time known as "Golden Age of the victim" organized law enforcement agencies, judicial systems, and formal legal procedures were nonexistent. Individuals who were victimized by offenders would retaliate against the offender with the assistance of family members and friends. Once the offender was apprehended, the victim would hand out a punishment believed to be suitable for the crime committed and this type of behavior was accepted by a vast majority of society (Schmallager, et al, 2010). ...
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...Victims and Crime Evaluation paper Juan Martinez CJA/354 Criminal Law November 6, 2013 Alin Sahagian Victims and Crime Evaluation paper There are many different roles that take place in the criminal justice system some of those roles from the prosecutor, defense attorney, the criminal and of course the victim. The prosecutor presents the case against an offender to the court on behalf of the state. The prosecutor has a duty to tell the court about all the circumstances of the case and the facts of the offence. He will stand in front of the court and present to the judge explanations of harm committed to any victim of an offence. He provides the court with assistance on the sentencing range, and then he will identify relevant case laws and legislations that may apply to the case. The prosecutor can make submissions on an appropriate sentence and try to do everything reasonable to ensure the court is acting only on truthful information, and to protect the judge from making an error in sentencing that could lead to an appeal. Defense Attorney are there to perform an important role in the criminal justice system which is to ensure that their clients accused of a crime receive due process of law and enjoy every possible benefit from their talent that justice allows. The key participant to a defense attorney is the public morality that plays an essential characteristic of the criminal trial. The natures of the role require defense attorneys to perform a number of sometimes...
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...Running head: VICTIMS AND CRIME EVALUATION Victims and Crime Evaluation Paper Victims and Crime Evaluation Paper Experiencing the traumatic events of being victimized is something no one ever wants to experience. A victim is an individual, no matter what title they may hold be it doctor, police officer, parent or child, who has underwent a crime or wrong doing for a specific purpose in which the criminal acts upon. More often than none, victims can be close relatives if designated by the courts in the event the victim is either deceased or debilitated (University of Phoenix, 2011). There was a time way back in the AD 400 era, which was known as the “Golden Age of the victim” when the legal and law enforcement system was not even heard of. Families would take matters into their own hands by retaliating against anyone who victimized a family member or friend. Once they found the perpetrator who committed the act, the family would punish them in a way that society accepted doing that time period. This was the way victimization would be handled from AD 400 up until 1960s, a period that is better known in history as being the “Kings Peace” any wrong that was done against another individual was looked at as a crime against society. This caused society to forget about individual rights and only think about the society and states well being, luckily things would change with law enforcement agencies and a judicial system being developed. The development of these key acquisitions...
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...numerous evaluations carried out on the use of the VIS and VPS within the criminal justice process and the extent to which it serves to satisfy the victims’ experiences. An Evaluation of the Pilot Victim Statement Schemes in Scotland commissioned by the Scottish executive was carried out in 2007. Six different aspects of the Scheme was investigated which included the response rates of victims, their views on the pilot schemes, the criminal justice professionals’ views on the pilot schemes, the content of victim statements, the impact of the victim statement scheme on workload and court processes and the outcome of cases in which a victim statement was made. The research found that 61% of respondents felt better after making the statement even though more than half had no idea whether their statement was considered in court. Very few respondents made suggestions relating to the victim statement scheme itself and instead felt the desire to put their point of view across more generally. Another Research review requested by the Commissioner for Victim and Witnesses in England and Wales in 2011evaluated empirical research into the use of victim statements. The report was split into two parts where the first part contained general information about the scope of the VPS scheme in England and Wales while part 2 reviews empirical research into the use of victim statements at sentencing. The review found that there a common finding amongst several studies that victims were generally...
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...The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC) website states that “human trafficking is a crime against humanity. This crime involves an act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring or receiving a person through a use of force, coercion or other means, for the purpose of exploiting. (2011) Every year thousands of women, children and even men are victims of human trafficking. They are forced into sexual exploitation, prostitution, slavery, as well as organ removal. While these crimes are prevalent across the borders and within countries it has now reached the United States and President Obama has declared the month of January “Human Trafficking Prevention Month”. Once these victims have been removed from this crime and provided safety the hard work of re-introducing them socially begins. When service providers were asked what the needs of victim of human trafficking the most common response was “what don’t they need”. (2008). It is obvious that there are short-term and long-term needs for these victims and one of the most important evaluations is mental health. These evaluations are the corner stone of their recovery and most will need anger management, conflict resolution, psychiatric, and family counseling. Other needs victims have are the need for health screens to deal with possible STD’s, TB, as well dental and hygiene care. It is also important to make sure that victims are up to date on vaccines and immunizations as well as seeking...
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...Program Planning and Evaluation Paper The PEACE Domestic Violence Agency is an agency that serves the community of Portland. Oregon. This agency is one that thrives to break the cycle of both domestic and sexual abuse amongst men, women, and children. They are a nonprofit agency that depends on funding from two main sources, The Small Grants Program and The Investor Program. This agency depends on funding from outside sources in the form of grants, two to be precise. Now, because they use grants from these sources for financial assistance, they have to use program planning. Program planning is a multi-step process that generally begins with the definition of the problem and development of an evaluation plan. An evaluation plan is basically a part of a grant proposal that gives information to improve a project during development, in which funding is needed. Since this agency requires grants for funding, program evaluation is needed to collect and analyze information to answer questions about projects and policies about their effectiveness and efficiency. Program evaluation is a detailed assessment of the outcome of a program, against established measures or expected results to determine if it achieved its objectives. ("What is program evaluation? definition and meaning," n.d.) Both program planning and program evaluation are needed because they are both steps in the larger process of program development. Within this specific agency, program planning is defining the issue...
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...Victims and Crime Evaluation Omar Diaz CJA354 March 17, 2015 Mr. Dale Jenereaux Victims and Crime Evaluation Victims of crimes often suffer from various aspects of the criminal acts that were committed against them. The criminal justice system can also contribute to victimization against victims. Lipmann (2010) noted, victims also suffer post crime or secondary victimization. This includes but it not limited to loss of wages, medical expenses, property loss, disability and/or the need to relocate due to safety issues and/or inhabitable living quarters after the crime (Lippman, 2010). Over the year’s inauguration of victim’s rights and victim’s assistance, victims can often relive the horrible experiences that they went through by either having to testify in court or something as simple as nightmares. This is commonly known as pain and suffering. In the adversarial criminal justice system, the prosecution develops a case against the defendant by usually working with the local district attorney’s office. The evidence presented in a case inevitably involves the victim through law enforcement investigations, the identification of the defendant, medical examinations and victim reports. Both the prosecution and the defense have certain obligations to the victim. Each party within the criminal justice system can contribute to victimization. The defense has the responsibility to prove that their client was innocence and did not commit the crime. This can portray that the...
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...I am choosing to write summative projective-wide evaluation plan; which looks at the short-term to long-term outcomes of an intervention on the target group. This evaluations will look at information such as community needs, activities and or services, desired results, indicators, method of measurement, type of instrument, minimum level of success, steps, etc. The evaluation will analyse the process and outcome of the program. The evaluation will also discuss the goals and how they are measured.What are the measurement tools you would use? I chose to evaluate the Peace Domestic Violence Agency which is located in the Portland metropolitan area working with families affected by domestic abuse. Peace Domestic Violence Agency is a non-profit organization with in the major metropolitan of Portland. This agency is set up to help the abused, the family and the abuser. Peace’s mission states to reduce victims of trauma, empower survivors, and through direct services promote recovery. They also are committed through education to reduce sexual assault and domestic violence and to stop individual form condoning the behavior and stop making it the norm. According to the city of Portland domestic violence and youth violence assault and road rage have grown in the last five years. The National Foundation’s funding program strives to fulfill the following objectives. To help the young men, women, and children whose lives have been affected by violence whether domestic, or any other types...
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...reporting domestic violence incidents, from urban decay communities across the nation yearly. The minimalist versus maximalist theory’s has been the primary discussion for victimization in criminology where one perspective decides to look at more variations for the violence, and the other takes the crimes to the necessary degree to provide of government legislatures (NCVC, 2010). With today’s society modernized through time, Americans understand the existing problems of sexual exploitation and violence that is an ineluctable dilemma in society. The cases of domestic violence increase to more than fifty thousand lives which are from violent episode reports. Many victims are in urban communities that have subsidized housing that endure the abuse of their significant other to avoid being evicted if the landlord is alerted of any disturbances involving the tenant. This is a requirement of the public housing assistance program that women receive with low income called Section 8. These women fear reporting the violence against them because there are not many places to go, so they stay and, endure the domestic violence. For the women who do have the strength and courage to report these crimes they are forced to search for refuge in local homeless shelters for temporary shelter (NCVC, 2010). These sexual assault and domestic disturbances for urban communities increased by twenty five percent, and there needs to be newly adopted ways to assists these individuals and families...
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...to discuss the Victim of Violent Crimes Program also referred to as Victim Witness Assistance Program. The office of the District Attorney is dedicated to assisting crime victims and forcefully defending individual's civil liberties. Since 1977, VWAP has been giving essential services to victims and witnesses of crimes of viciousness or threat of ferocity in the region (Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, 2014). This program is mandated to relieve trauma and the continually demoralizing effects of crimes of viciousness on the lives of victims, bystanders and their relations. Representatives for this program work in courthouses and police stations throughout Los Angeles County providing a multitude of services to help victims become survivors. There are many sites within the jurisdiction of our county, victims of crime and their families are referred to offices in their area (Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, 2014). Crime victims have statutory and constitutional rights. Any individual who undergoes direct or threatened physical, emotional or monetary harm as a direct outcome of a crime is commonly known as a victim. Family or next of kin is also considered a victim. Victims have rights they are to be treated with self-respect, be protected from the defendant, not have confidential information divulged , be informed of all proceedings and most of all be given restitution. Victims are protected under these rights by, Victims Bill of Rights...
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...Criminal Justice Trends Evaluation Jazmine I. James CJA 394 April, 07, 2014 Marilyn West Criminal Justice Trends Evaluation There are many trends; future and past in the interfaces between components of the criminal justice system and criminal justice connections with surrounding society. It is very important to understand past, present and future trends throughout the criminal justice system in order to better handle and address them better. Some trends have been known to affect the criminal justice system in a negative way instead of in a positive way. For many the criminal justice system plays a major role in how society changes and how society values criminal justice in this era. The purpose of criminal justice and the law is to protect society from harm and ensure their safety as well as to protect the innocent and punish those guilty of committing a crime but at the same time doing so without violating their rights. As the world evolves, new laws have to be set in place to keep up with the evolution of criminal justice and crimes. New trends and contemporary issues can develop in society and can also have a direct impact on the criminal justice system. Technology is one of the biggest trends in the world that continues to improve on a daily basis and make life easier but complex at the same time. Technology affects the criminal justice system and will continue to do so every day because it creates a new category of crimes that can and are being committed...
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...AND EVALUATION by John Eck University of Cincinnati Abstract: Advancement of problem-oriented policing has been stymied by over-attention to police organizations and under-attention to police problems. This paper develops a research agenda for understanding police problems by addressing four fundamental questions: What are problems? What causes problems? How can we find effective solutions to problems? And how can we learn from problem solving? For each question a possible direction for theory, research, or evaluation is suggested. The variety of police problems, their non-linear feedback systems, the diversity of responses that can be applied to problems, and the difficulty of learning from problem-solving experiences highlight the complexity of police problems. The paper closes with a list of research questions designed to improve the science and practice of problem analysis and solution. WHAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH POLICE RESEARCH? Problem-oriented policing has become the victim of the disease it was meant to cure, the "means over ends syndrome." Symptoms of this disease include studies examining the internal workings of police organizations implementing problem-oriented policing, confusing problem-oriented policing with community policing, and generally failing to recognize that a new approach to policing requires a different approach to research. Though the number of police agencies applying problem solving has grown rapidly, particularly since 1987, Crime Prevention...
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...Crime Scene Reconstruction Devry University Kemisha Askew October 20, 2012 The topic I am writing about is Crime Scene Reconstruction. Crime Scene Reconstruction is the use of scientific methods, physical evidence, deductive reasoning and their interrelationships to gain explicit knowledge of the series of events that surround the commission of a crime. Crime Scene Reconstruction looks at the physical evidence and attempts to determine “What Happened? And how did it happen?” The reason why I have selected this topic is because I find it intriguing how physical evidence is broken down, evaluated, and reconstructed to actual tell how a crime occurred and what happened in the process. There are many television shows I watch daily that portray the crime scene investigation process in a certain light this is another reason why I chose this topic. I’d like to find out firsthand what actually goes on in the reconstruction process versus fictional exploitations of it on television. Crime Scene Reconstruction looks at the physical evidence and attempts to determine “What Happened? And how did it happen?” A similar method that is used is Criminal Profiling. Criminal Profiling is the application of psychological theory to the analysis and reconstruction of the forensic evidence that relates to an offender’s crime scenes, victims and behaviours. Crime Scene Reconstruction is the use of scientific methods, physical evidence, deductive reasoning and their interrelationships to...
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...publications, newspaper articles and videos, is to critically examine the position of the victim in the criminal justice system. The paper looks at the role of political interests in establishing victimfocus policies and the direction towards their placement at the heart of the justice system. This includes the managerialistic values, modernization of the Government and covering-up of punitive measures taken against the offender that all point to the political rhetoric around the centeredness of the victim. Furthermore, the view of traditional justice is accounted for in order to get a grasp of the many underlying factors that can be attributed to the so called rebirth and the consequent concentration on the victim. The paper firstly discusses characteristics of victims, the impact of crime on victims and also their needs for a better understanding of who they are and what can be done to help them. Particular attention is drawn to stereotypes associated with victims and constructions of the ideal victim. Secondly, the adversarial nature of English justice and implications for victims are discussed, as well as some tensions between the interests of the offender and the victim, and the opposed nature of the two. Procedural and service rights especially play an important role in defining whether victims are given appropriate attention. Many new initiatives favour the victim and pledge for its better treatment, but it will be shown that there are conflicts as to what...
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