Components of the Criminal Justice System
Byron S. Salter
03/03/12
CJA/204 Introduction to Criminal Justice
Michael Paris

The three major components of the criminal justice system are policing, corrections, and the courts system. They all work together to prevent crime and to punish those who have committed crime, but they can also work as individual units to make self service gains. This paper will go into detail the components of the criminal justice system; define what crime is and its relationship to the law, and the government structure as it applies to the criminal justice system.
Essentially, crime is an offensive act that can be punishable by law. Once a law is in the books, if it has been violated, offended, or broken, a crime is committed. The police are the first points of contact with dealing with the criminal justice system. They are the ones that are initially involved with enforce the law, maintain public order, collecting evidence and investigating when a crime occurs. Once an investigation is conducted, and evidence is collected, an arrest is made and corrections gets involved. Corrections is considered the prison and jail systems, parole, and probation. Corrections begin sentences carried by the court systems, rehabilitate and reform prisoners. The last component of the criminal justice system would be the courts. This is where an indictment is handed down, make sure due process is carried out, as well as sentencing. “The level of the offense or crime will usually be set in proportion to the severity of the crime” (FreeAdvice Staff, 1995). The ultimate goals of the justice system are to detain, incapacitate, rehabilitate, restoration, and retribution. They all attempt to work together, but they all have an individual goal and purpose to make the system runs smoothly. Law enforcement needs more trained officers on the streets, while