MECANISMOS FINANCIEROS INNOVADORES EN ECUADOR

The criminal justice system in the United States of America has been in existence for about 200 years and is fully entrenched the American culture. In the United States, the criminal justice system is divided into three categories namely federal, state and military (Smith,2017). The criminal justice system in the U.S has been described at various times and in different ways but there are basic concepts that are common. For instance, the criminal justice system in America has been described as to mean a collection of federal, state and local public agencies. The criminal justice system is the set of agencies and processes established by governments to control crime and impose penalties on those who violate laws (National Center for Victims of Crime, 2008). Criminal justice system according to Senna & Siegel (2002:4) are the various stages through sequential stages through which offenders pass from the initial contact with the law to final disposition and the agencies charged with enforcing the law at each stage of these charges.

According to De Roche (2012), the criminal justice in America was created to keep communities safe, to respect and restore victims and to return offenders who leave prison to be self sufficient and law abiding. To carry out these responsibilities of the criminal justice system in America are three (3) main components namely, the law enforcement, the court system and the correctional system (Senna &Siegel, 2002:5). To corroborate the assertion of Senna & Siegel, Kappler (2012) submit that the criminal justice system in the U.S comprises of three primary and discernible components: police, courts, and corrections and it (the criminal justice) are sometimes referred to as sub - system. This suggests that the components of criminal justice systems in the U.S are interrelated, interdependent and they strive to achieve a unified goal of controlling crime in the U.S.

Furthermore, these agencies are to provide solutions to the problems of crime and to shape the direction of crime policy. Likewise, the loosely organised collection of agencies is charged with the responsibility of protecting the public, maintaining order, enforcing the law, identifying transgressors, bringing the guilty to justice and treating criminal behavior.

The first component of the criminal justice system in America is the law enforcement agencies. The law enforcement agencies are the first contact an offender has with the criminal justice

22 system (Kappler, 2012). Personnel of law enforcement agents includes police officers, sheriffs and deputies, federal agents, game and park rangers, detectives and other individuals that normally make the first contact with criminals. The responsibilities of law enforcement agents include upholding the law, investigating crime and apprehending the individual(s) that have committed any form of crime.

The second component of the criminal justice system in America is the court system. It is the courts that determine whether a suspect is guilty as charged or not. Major players in the court systems are judges, prosecutors, defense lawyers and jury members (Dunning, 2016).

A judge presides over the trial and has the responsibility to ensure the legality of the trial process. It is the duty of prosecutors to file a criminal charge(s) against the accused, provide witnesses and evidence to prove his case. City and county prosecutors try persons of breaking state laws in state courts while federal offenses are tried in federal courts. The defense attorneys who in most cases are private practice attorney are hired by the defendant. A judge ensures that the criminal trial is conducted in accordance with rule of law and procedure (Dunning, 2016). The third component of the criminal justice system in America is corrections. This component ensures that the convicted offender serves his or her sentence as determined by the courts (Dunning, 2016). The officers charged with these responsibilities are probation officers, parole officers, and correction officers. These officers see to it that convicted offenders serve their sentences as stipulated by the courts and supervise the convicts as they serve their sentence.

 Correction officers supervise inmates that are being housed and serving sentences in prison. Correction officers can be found in county and city jails where inmates serve sentences for misdemeanors or being detained during the trial.

 Probation officers supervise adult and juvenile offenders who are being monitored by the courts in lieu of serving a sentence in jail. In addition, they conduct a pre-sentence investigation for courts, giving recommendations for sentencing to a judge with a compilation of information.

 Parole officers provide supervision of individuals released from early on parole, conducting home visits, drug tests and enforcing adherence to parole terms, also making recommendations for revocation when terms are broken.

It needs to be mentioned that each of the three components of the criminal justice system is critical to the effective functioning of the larger system as a whole.

23 2.8.1 Formal criminal justice system process

The criminal justice system could be viewed as a process that takes in an offender through a series of decision points beginning with arrest and concluding with re-entry into the society. In the process, important decisions makers in the criminal justice system decide whether to maintain an offender in the system or to discharge the suspect without further action. The concept of formal justice process is important because it implies that every criminal defendant charged with a serious crime is entitled to the full range of rights under the law.

The formal criminal process in America includes:

 Initial contact: The initial and first contact with the criminal justice system takes place as a result of a police action. A case may be reported to the police or the police may observe an individual acting suspiciously. The reaction of the police is to visit the scene of the crime.

 Investigation: The aim of the investigating stage of the criminal justice process is to gather adequate or sufficient evidence, to identify the suspect and support a legal arrest. The nature of the crime or case will determine the duration of the investigation, for some, it could take some few minutes and some may take months.  Arrest: An arrest occurs when a person is taken into custody and believes that the

offender is not free to leave, at this stage the person is now a criminal suspect. An arrest is termed legal based on certain conditions namely one if the police officer believes that there is sufficient evidence; two, that a crime is committed and that the person who committed the offense.

 Custody: The moment an arrest is made; the detained suspect is considered in the police custody. At this point, the police may visit to search the suspect for weapons or contraband, interrogate the suspect in order to gain more information, find out if the person has accomplices or even encourage the suspect to confess the crime. Police would take every necessary step to obtain further evidence. Personal information of the suspect such as name, address, fingerprints, and photos.

 Charging: If the arresting officers and or their superior believe that sufficient evidence exists to charge a person with a crime, the case will be turned over to the prosecutor's office. Minor crimes (misdemeanors) are generally handled with a complaint being filed before the court that will try the case. For serious crimes

24 (felonies), the prosecutor must decide whether the case is to be for a preliminary hearing or grand jury. The decision to charge the suspect with a specific criminal act involves many factors which include evidence sufficiency, crime seriousness, case pressure and political issues as well as personal factors such as prosecutor's specific interests and biases.

 Preliminary hearing/grand jury: Before the commencement of a trial, the government must prove that there is a probable cause that the accused committed the crime which he/she is being charged for. The decision is rendered by a group of citizens brought together to form a grand jury, which considers the merit of the case in a closed hearing at which only the prosecutor present evidence. If the evidence is sufficient, the grand jury will issue a bill of indictment, which specifies the charges on which the accused must stand trial.

 Arraignment: Before the trial begins, the defendant will be arranged or brought before the court that will hear the case. Formal charges are read, the defendant of his /her constitutional rights (for example the right to be represented by legal counsel, an initial plea entered in the case (guilty or not guilty), a trial date set and the issue of bail is discussed.

 Bail/detention: Bail is a money bond levied to ensure the return of a criminal defendant for trial while allowing the person pre-trial freedom to prepare his or her defence. Defendants who do not show up for trial loses their bail. Those who cannot afford to put up the bail or who cannot borrow sufficient funds for it will remain in custody for the period of the trial.

 Plea bargaining: Soon after arraignment, if not before, defence counsel will hold a meeting with the prosecutor to explore the possibility of bringing the case to a close without trial. In some case, it could entail filing the case in court while the defendants participate in a community-based program for substance abuse or receive psychiatric care. Most commonly, the defence and prosecutor will discuss a plea bargain or agree to a request for a more lenient sentence. Almost 90% of cases end in plea bargain rather than a criminal trial (Senne & Siegel, 2002).  Trial/adjudication: If an agreement cannot be reached, or if the prosecution does

not wish to arrange a negotiated settlement of the case, a criminal trial will be held before a judge or a jury who will decide whether the prosecution evidence against the defendant is sufficient to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If a jury is

25 deadlocked, that is it cannot reach a unanimous decision, the case remains unresolved, leaving the prosecutor to decide whether it should be retired at another date. .

 Sentencing: If after a criminal trial, the accused is found guilty as charged, he or she will be returned to court for sentencing. Possible disposition may be a fine, probation, a period of incarceration in a penal institution or even death penalty.  Appeal/post- conviction remedies: After conviction, the defence counsel can ask

the trial judge to set aside the jury's verdict because he or she believes there has been a mistake in the law. An appeal may be filed if after conviction the defendant believes that he or she he or she did not receive fair treatment or that his or her constitutional rights were violated. Appellate courts review such issues as whether the evidence was used properly, whether a judge conducted the trial in an approved fashion, whether jury selection was properly done and whether jury selection was properly done and whether the attorneys in the case acted appropriately. If the court rules that the appeal has merit, it can hold that the defendant is given a new trial or in instances order his or her outright release.

 Correctional treatment: After sentencing, offenders are placed under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities. They may serve a probationary term, be placed in a community correctional facility, serve a term in county jail or be housed in a prison. During this stage of the criminal justice system, offenders may be asked to participate in rehabilitation programs designed to help make a successful readjustment into the society.

 Release: Upon completion of the sentences and period of correction, the offender will be free to return to the society. Most inmates do not serve the full term of their sentence but are freed through early release mechanisms such as parole or pardon or by earning good behavior. Offenders sentenced to community supervision simply finish their term and resume their lives in the community.

 Post-release: After termination of their correctional treatment, offenders may be asked to spend some time in a community correctional center which acts as a bridge between a secure facility and absolute freedom. Offenders may find out that their conviction has cost them some personal privileges such as the right to hold certain kind of employment. This may, however, be reversed for offenders that have proven their trustworthiness and willingness to adjust to society's rule.

26 From the above exposition on the workings of the criminal justice system in America, it could be concluded that there is an interplay and interdependence of the various agencies of the criminal justice system. In addition, whatever happens in one of the agencies has an effect on other agencies. For instance, if police do not arrest, investigate and file charges against a suspect, there will be no suspects to prosecute, no criminal trial and no one for the judge to sentence and no sentence for the corrections system to enforce and supervise.