Criminal Justice

University of Duhok

Faculty of Humanities

Department of Sociology

Sat. March. 1st / 2014

Criminal Justice Presentation

Presenters : Under supervision of :

Helen Mohammed Taher Mrs. Samya Saeed KhalidJuliana Toma OdishoMatty Éspania YaqoRojyan Salih DawoodSandra Admon SawaVajeen Shawkat Tayib

Crime: is simply acts and behaviors that are contrary to the law.

Delinquency: is a concept generally referring to criminal and other deviant behaviors committed by children and adolescents who are not yet considered adults.

Criminal Justice: is a part of social justice. Is the system of practices and institutions of governments directed at creating and maintaining social stability and order by exercising control over those who violate and threaten to disturb them .

The criminal justice system is an expanding arena for social work .

Historically, a field of criminal justice was built on a law enforcement foundation, emphasizing punishment for criminal behavior. Although social workers acquired legitimacy in juvenile services early in the twentieth century, they have played a limited role in adult corrections.

Criminal Justice personnel often regarded social workers, because of their value orientation about people, as unwelcome professionals, considering them too soft to work in corrections. Some residual bias against social workers in law enforcements and criminal justice persist today.Social work leaders, such as Jane Addams and Sophonisba Breckenridge, spearheaded the move to separate juvenile from adult court system. Their efforts led to the establishment of Illinois juvenile court system, the first juvenile court in the united states.

This legislation articulated three distinctive features of the juvenile court movement: 1. The creation of a separated court of justice

for children because children are different.

2. The recognition that juvenile court is not a criminal court, but a civil court, emphasizing the rehabilitation and treatment of children, and

3.the creation of a system of probation. (Lathrop, 1917 as cited in Roush, 1996).

However, recently, social workers have expanded their roles to provide the following services :1. Community-based rehabilitation services : is a program of which the community is prepared to accept and deal normally with the offender after getting out of prison. It's also the way to try to build the human life again and to make him/her be able to participate in the community and be an active person inside the society. In this program the social worker role is making the difficulties seem easy to the prisoner.

2. Diversionary program ( Guidance program ): The guidance program is a pre-court diversionary program for first-time juvenile offenders who have committed minor offences such as stealing. These juveniles would be let off with police caution instead of being charged in Court for the offences committed. This unique initiative steers the juveniles away from the Court system, recognizing the viability of providing an alternative opportunity for the juvenile to make amends and resolve against re-offending in the future. The guidance program is voluntary six-month program that focuses on counseling and rehabilitation with the active involvement of the parents. It includes counseling sessions for the juvenile and his/her parents, group work, visits to the juvenile's home.It aims to help the juvenile to develop better self-control, take responsibility for his/her actions and acquire life skills. If the juvenile completes the Guidance program successfully, she/he will not be charged by the Police.

3. Supports for convict's reintegration into their community : Social or Community reintegration is often understood as the support given to the offenders during their reentry into society following imprisonment.

Before we get to talk about the services provided for the offenders to prepare them to reintegrate to their communities we have to understand that the challenges that confront offenders may be social, economic, or personal challenges .Some of these challenges are a result of the offender's past experiences, and some may result from the fact that he/she had been imprisoned and that transition from the prison back to community .Reentry programs are often based on case-management approach and cover a range of intervention. These interventions are designed to assist offenders in preparing for their release from confinement by helping them acquire the skill sets to succeed in the community, addressing personal challenges and the factors associated with their criminal behaviors, and establishing the necessary contacts and relationships in the community.

4.Counseling for prison inmates : counseling is a broad field, and professional to help individuals though a wide variety of situation occurring in life. In criminal justice field, social workers (counselors) provide assistance to prisoners to adjust to the life in the prison. They rehabilitate individuals, and develop specialized treatment plans, they conduct psychological assessment and they help individuals to adapt to their lives in prison.

5. Social services for families of criminals: studying the cases of the families of the criminals and present their findings to various destinations. Like association of social security for the disbursement of aid for their families.

6. Advocacy for victims of crime: social workers work as advocators, they do many things to assist victims including helping them recover from trauma. Assist victims in obtaining and understanding information about their rights (i.e: information about legal process, victim services,… ect)And empower victims by ensuring that their needs are being provided , offering practical information about the criminal justice process, emotional support, referrals for long-term support and caring.