How to Improve the Criminal Justice System
- 1). Vote: The election process is still one of the most powerful ways to change the system. Voting, however, without a sound understanding of the candidate will change little. Voting must be done from an educated prospective. Following candidate websites, doing computer searches of their policies and attitudes will help you determine if their stance is in line with your own.
- 2). Write: Lawmakers are concerned with what their constituents think. The strongest expression of opinion regarding a specific issue is generally the direction a vote takes. Bill proposals are complicated and lawmakers, unless they are on the specific committee that approves the bill for presentation to the general body, they general poorly informed as to the specifics or implications of a given bill. They seek opinions from colleges and the general public as to which course of action they should take. To change the system one must study the proposed bills and then share your educated opinion with both Federal and State legislators. State legislation often follows patterns established by their Federal equivalents.
- 3). Contact Judges and Prosecutors: While often limited in their application of the law by its requirements,(some crimes require specific periods of sentencing) are ultimately where prosecutions take place. Criminal prosecution will often be based on a prosecutor or judge's desire to get reelected. Crimes that are currently hot topics or which particularly insight public abhorrence are dealt with more harshly than others. When election time comes their opponents will use their record to detract votes. Writing or calling judges and prosecutors on their treatment of specific types of crime will influence their actions.
- 4). Express your opinion: Media influence plays a huge part in the public perception of criminals and how the justice system is working, which ultimately effects voting and performance of legislators, judges, prosecutors, and administrators. Expressing your knowledgeable opinion in the media through editorials, articles, and attendance at political events can do a lot to get the word out.
- 5). Create your own special interest group. The criminal justice system has become so entwined with capitalism that economic factors and the interests behind them often effect how laws are created, enforced, and administered. Groups who tend to profit from incarcerated individuals hire individuals to lobbyists. You can create your own special interest group and share your opinion.
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