When it is all said and done, the current criminal justice system is about as fair and effective as we can resonably expect

The incessant debate of whether the current criminal justice system is 'about as fair and effective as we

can reasonably expect' has yet again been addressed in this essay. It is argued throughout this essay

that the criminal justice system fails to meet with the protection and well being of the public by not

appropriately processing offenders. Six main arguments of this essay highlight weaknesses within the

system. The first argument of this essay exposes the time in which offenders spend in remand prior to

their trial. The second, debates whether bail over remand is being used appropriately. The third shows

how lenient judges sentencing decisions are, and in addition to this, the fourth argument shows what

effect the media has on the courts decisions. Then finally the fifth researches the rate of offenders re-

offending. This essay concludes that the criminal justice system is not using it's ability to the fullest to

stop these offenders from re-offending within our community.

U.S. Supreme Court building.

English: Timeline of yearly U.S criminal justice s...

City of Surrey Pretrial Centre

The first argument in the weaknesses of the criminal justice system addresses the time an offender

spends in remand, in the wait of their trial date. The length remandees are spending in custody is far too

extensive, and more action needs to be done to trounce this problem within our system. When a person

is placed in remand it is believed the main factors are; so that they actually show up for their hearing, to

protect witnesses, or anyone else if they re-offend, and in some cases the accused themselves need the

protection (Sarre et al 1999). Biles (1990) documents that the annual prison census conducted in 1990

shows us that out of 1,843 remandees, 4.3 per cent spent over one year in custody and 13.3 per cent of

those served between six to twelve months. Due to this...