The criminal justice system is a revolving everlasting entity that is consistently modified to shape the structure of today’s society. Public opinion polls have made known that the most important issue communities face are crime and the fear of crime rank. Urbanized communities have become war zones with the sounds of gun shots echoing through the night. Now more than ever communities are coordinating with law enforcement agencies to develop community policing programs and strategies. According to the U.S. Department of Justice (1995), “Indeed, communities that are suffering from crime are changing their interactions with the agencies of criminal justice system as the concepts of community policing, community prosecution, and community justice take on real meaning in cities and towns across the country” (p.1). Although the criminal justice system is ever changing, there are three distinct categories that remain the same in the criminal justice system. According to Nancy M. Ritter, writer/editor at the National Institute of Justice (2006), “Regardless of such coevolution across the wide range of crimes, ‘crime-fighting’, will continue to fall into three categories: reducing the opportunity for crime, changing the motivation of people who commit crimes, and altering people’s fundamental values” (para. 2). It is within these three categories that the criminal justice system will resolve contemporary issues and provide new trends to prevent crime.
Recent and Future Trends Continual advancement in technology has assisted law enforcement agencies to prevent, prosecute, and deter crime. Criminologists and criminal justice practitioners alike are using advanced technologies such as DNA analysis, wire taping and bugging, surveillance, tracking devices, etc. in order to combat crime. According to Ritter (2006), “Technological advances will also have a great influence on