Criminal Justice

The Criminal Justice in America
The criminal justice system in America can be defined as a “set of agencies and processes established… to control crime and impose penalties on those who violatelaws” (Ncvc.org).  It is primarily made up of three major systems that include law enforcement, courts and correction systems in the United States.  The primary objective of the criminal justice system isto regulate and punish those in society who deviate from the “laws” the system dictates.  There are numerous perspectives centered on what is the best way to operate the criminal justice system.  Thisessay will examine the views of three different perspectives as they relate to the criminal justice. The three perspectives that will be examined are conflict theory, structural functionalism andsymbolic interaction. 
Conflict theory will first be examined.  According to the book “Soc” by, Nijole V. Benokraitis this theory “examines the ways in which groups disagree.” Conflict theory as itrelates to the criminal justice system focuses around socioeconomic factors between the poor and the rich.  For example, people with low income who live in dangerous neighborhoods like the projects may beperceived in society as inferior and rejected by upper class citizens. Unfortunately, lower class citizens are not raised with high moral standards and are surrounded with poor examples of what goodbehavior should be as the communities where they live are saturated with crime.  Ultimately, it becomes impossible for people in higher classes to associate with those in lower classes, as they do nothave anything in common.  Given that the majority of positive contributions to society will come from those in upper classes conflict theory suggest that the criminal justice system will side withthe rich and aim at protecting them from lower classes whom are prone to break laws.  Due this negative perception on lower classes often the legal rights of the poor may be ignored causing them to...