Summary
The American criminal justice system is an open-ended and complex system that continually processes offenders and in a way that purports to seek justice for all. It is amazing, on one hand, to think about the millions of people who pass along the so-called assembly line of justice and how that somehow, the system seems to function reasonably well. On the other hand, there is no doubt that disparities of treatment exist and we know that sometimes the innocent are found guilty while the guilty are never brought to justice. One thing is for certain; the costs associated with the system are tremendous and there will never be enough resources (police, probation/corrections officers, public defenders, treatment providers, etc.) to accommodate this massive system.
In the 21st century, there are new challenges with which the criminal justice system is faced. Terrorism, or acts of violence perpetrated on innocent people for political purposes, poses new threats and calls for more intense methods of combating the ruthless violence associated with it. After a report issued by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States in 2002, a director of national intelligence (DNI) was charged with coordinating data from the nation’s primary intelligence gathering agencies. The DNI advises both the President of the United States as well as the National Security Council. The Department of Homeland Security was established 2002 whose purpose it is to prevent terrorist attacks within the U.S. and reduce the country’s vulnerability to terrorism. The impact on local law enforcement is yet to be seen, but there is sufficient evidence to suggest that various efforts are in existence to train local police officers (as well as medical personnel) to guard against terrorist attacks as well as how to best respond to such acts.
A look back at the historical backdrop of crime and the evolution of the American criminal justice system points to one conclusion: the nature of crime itself evolves over time and the system adapts to the challenges with which it is faced.