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What Are The Components Of The Criminal Justice System

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Corrections and the Criminal Justice System The criminal justice system is made up of a set of agencies and processes established by the government to control crime and impose penalties on criminals who violate the law (The Criminal Justice System, 2012). The United States criminal justice system is broken down into different parts, however, each part may have a different focus on the law and handling criminal offenders during the different stages of the progress. While these components process suspects, defendants, and convicted offenders, they are interdependent because the decision of one will affect the other. Though together the goal of corrections, law enforcement, and courts is to prevent or deter crime by apprehending, trialing, and punishing criminal offenders.
Law Enforcement Law enforcement officers are responsible for upholding the law, investigating crime, and arresting criminals that break the law (Siegel, 2016). Within this component includes patrol officers, sheriffs and deputies, federal agents, game and park rangers, and detectives. Generally, this component consists of any individual who makes the first contact with criminals. Additionally, law enforcement officers must be knowledgeable of the individual rights of citizens and criminals, along with civil rights. The main purpose of law enforcement officers is to maintain order, enforce the criminal law, and provide services to prevent and control crime. Law enforcement agencies interact with courts

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