Criminal Justice Essay

To chthonianstand contemporary policing in the States it is necessary to understand its antecedents we will gain a better understanding of this history by spirit at its three eras. The police, said, are to great extent, the prisoners of the past. Day-to-day practices are influenced by deeply ingrained traditions. another(prenominal) reason for analyzing historical develop custodyts and tr subverts is that several discrete legacies have been transmitters to modern police agencies. In view of the noteworthy historical impact on modern policing, it is necessary to turn back the clock to about A.D.900. Therefore, we demoralize with a brief history of the evolution of four-spot primary criminal nicety top executiverssheriff, constable, coroner, and justice of the tranquillityfrom early England to the twentieth century in America (Ken, 2006). side of meat and Colonial Officers the Law All four of the primary criminal justice officials of early English-the sheriff, constable, coron er, and justice of the peace there was a lack of formal practice in the United State. Accordingly, it is important to have a basic understanding of these offices, including their early run aways in England and, later, in America. Following is a brief discussion of each (Ken, 2006). SheriffThe word sheriff is derived from the term shire reeveshire meaning county and reeve meaning agent of the king. The shire reeve appeared in English beforehand the Norman conquest of 1066. His job was to maintain law and order in the tithing. They followed a brand of English common Law, although the sheriff was never a popular officer in England and since the nineteenth centenary sheriff has had no police powers. When the office began, the sheriff assisted the king in fiscal, military and judicial affairs and was referred to as the kings steward. The sheriffs principal duties were to enforce laws, collect taxes and oversee elections.CONSTABLE Like the sheriff, the constable can be trace back to An glo-Saxon times. The office began during the reign of Edward I when every parish or township had a constable. As the county police officer turns more and more to matter of defense, the constable alone chased felons snap in later the ancient custom of citizens rising aloud noisy and joining in pursuit of criminals lapsed into dis hold. During the middle Ages there was yet on high degree of specialization. The constable had a innovation of duties including collecting taxes, supervising highways, and serving as magistrate. The office soon became subject to election and was conferrer upon local men of prominence however, the creation of the wearing away grinding down office of the justice of the peace some 1200 quickly changed this trend forever soon the constable was limited to making arrests notwithstanding with warrants issued by a justice of the peace.As a result, the office deprived of social and civic prestige was no long-life attractive. It carried on salary and the duties were often dangerous. In addition there was heavy attrition in the office, so the constables term was limited to one year in an attempted attract officeholders in 1856 Parliament completely discarded the office The office of constable experienced a similar shape of disintegration in the colonies However, the American constables usually two in each town were give retard over the night watch. By the 1930s, State constitution in twenty-one states provided for the office of constable barely constable still received no pay and like their British colleagues they enjoyed little prestige or popularity after the early 1930s. The position fell into disfavor largely because most constables were untrained and was believe to be wholly inadequate as officials of the law (Ken, 2006).CORONER The office coroner is more difficult to describe. It has been use to fulfill more different roles throughout its history and has steadily changed over the centuries. There is no balance concerning the date when the coroner first appeared in England notwithstanding there is consensus that the office was functioning by the end of the twelfth century. From the beginning, the coroner was elect his duties included oversight of the interests of the crown, not only in criminal matters but also in fiscal matters as well. In felony cases, the corner could conduct a preliminary tryout and the sheriff often came to the coroners court to preside over the coroners jury. The coroners inquest provided another mean of power and prestige, determining the cause of death and the party responsible for it. Initially coroner was elect for life. Soon becoming unhappy with the absence of compensation however, eventually they were give right to arouse fees for their work (Ken 2006).As was true of sheriffs and constables at first the office of the coroner in America was only slightly different from what it had been in England. The office was slow in gaining recognition in America, as the sheriffs and justi ce of the peace were already performing many of the coroners duties. By 1933, the coroner was recognizing as a separate office in two-thirds of the states. Tenure was generally limited to two years. By then however, the office had been stripe of many of its original functions especially its fiscal roles. In many states, the coroner legally served as sheriff when the elected sheriff was disenable or disqualified however, since the early part of the twentieth century the coroner has performed a single function determining the cause of all deaths by violence or under suspicious circumstances. The coroner or her assistant is expect to determine the causes and effects of wounds, lesions, contusions, fractures, poisons, and more. The coroners inquest resembles a grand jury at which the coroner serves as a kind of presiding magistrate (ken, 2006).JUSTICE OF THE PEACE The justice of the peace (JP) can be trace back as far as 1195 in England. By 1264, the customs paces, or curator of the p eace, nominated by the king for each county, presided over criminal trials. Early JPs were wealthy landholders. They allowed constables to make arrests by issuing then warrants. Over time, this practice removed power from constables and sheriffs. By the sixteenth century, the office came under criticism because of the people holding it. Officeholders were often referral to as boobies and scum of the each. The only qualification necessary was macrocosm a wealthy landowner who was able to buy his way into office. By the early twentieth century, England had abolished the property-holding essential and many of the medieval functions of JPs office were remove. Thereafter the office possessed extensive but rigorously criminal legal power with on jurisdiction whatsoever in civil cases.This contrasts with the American system, which gives JPs limited jurisdiction in both criminal and civil cases. The JPs Office in the colonies was a distinct change from the position, as it existed in Engla nd. JPs was elect to office and given jurisdiction in both civil and criminal cases. By 1930, the office had constitutional status in all of the states. JPs have long been allows to collect fees for their services. As in England, it is typically not necessary to hold a law degree or to have pursued legal studies in order to be a JP in the United States. Perhaps the most one-sided justice of the peace was Roy Bean, popularized in film as the sole peace officer in a 35,000-square-mile area west of the Pecos River near Langtry Texas. Bean was knows to hold court in his shack where signs hung on the porch proclaimed, referee Roy Bean, Notary Public, Law West of the Pecos. and Beer Saloon. Cold beer and the law undoubtedly shared many quarters on the Western Frontier (Ken, 2006).