Law for Criminal Justice Professionals

Law for criminal justice system involves arrays of rules practiced by an institution or a state to help it have good governance through upholding order in its system. These rules are vital in any society as they aid in mitigating or eradicating intended crime, sanctioning those who breach laws, and reforming the sentenced. In the realm of courts there exist two substantive laws namely civil laws and criminal law. Unlike civil laws that is concerned with settling disputes between individual citizen, criminal laws is pursued by the state as it is in-depth and concerns destructive actions to mass of people.

Effective and efficient criminal justice system compromises of three crucial parts namely; law enforcement agency that includes investigation officers and sheriffs, courts that arbitrates arising disagreement, and finally cells, prisons and parole where a convicts is helped to reform (Eronen, Tilhonen, & Hakola, 1996). Therefore, for a criminal law to be valid there must be vivid provisions of what make up an offense and prescriptions of the punishments to be effected upon that offense. To be fully armed with criminal justice law, a professional need to be thoroughly equipped with knowledge about mental illness and its impacts on an individuals. This will enable a judge to deliver fair judgment without fear or favor. This paper seeks to examine the relationship between mental illness and offending.

Criminal Offending

Mental disorder and criminal offending are delicate social problems that needs total control and prevention. Albeit presence of significant difference between them, carried out studies reveals that there exist elements of relationship between mental disorders and offending. Some of the found out circumstances that led a criminal to carry out his or her missions were found to be originating from mental illness that individual was suffering from. By using data borrowed from sibling study in Queensland, Australia which investigated delinquency. It was revealed that offending behaviors for young women escalate self-harm and depression. Many young women are highly affected by mental disorders that easily lead to offending. This may be as a result of marital problems and relationship dilemmas they face in this dynamic world. Majority of women who experience stress emanating from lover’s torture and negligence were found to be venerable to mental disorders especially those who pegged their life on their current gridlocked marriage.  This trend thus calls for urgent need for governments to craft and implement policies to provide mental health services to women offenders. However, low mental health characterized by confusion in life, low self-esteem and a poor vision was noted not having influenced offending for both sexes (Hafner, & Boker, 1992). Documented studies states that men have higher probability of committing a crime compared to women as they are naturally socialized to be aggressive against one another whilst women are socialized to express their misery internally.

Crime is a pressing social setback that drives a society backward as many residence of a crime prone area tends to migrate in search of security. Vast areas characterized by subsequent crime have been deserted by potential growth as agents of change disassociate themselves from such locations (Taylor, & Gunn, 1984). Government has tried much to distribute law enforcers to serve citizen effectively but populations outnumber them thus, loopholes are left where criminals takes their advantage.

Gender and Crime

Gender and age are the most significant factors used to predict crime. In 18th century most of the reported crime incidents, men are found to surpass women everywhere. Nonetheless women indicted were found to have mainly been involved in minor possessions crimes such as larceny. Social control was also shaped by dynamic economic structures that take out women from formal economy subjecting them to supervision from their working husbands. This proceedings although negative economically, socially it did sometimes more good than harm. First there was reduction of infidelity within woman marriage as most of formally working women were subject to sexual advances by their seniors in return for promotions and other favors. If the woman declined the offer and ill minded suggestion by her boss, she was shown the flip side of him as she was threatened by being fired or mistreated to give up her career. A woman who gave in to demands of those philandering types of seniors and abandon later was demoralized and deeply hearted by their betrayal. This reduction of self-worth, deception and betrayal was a recipe for disaster as often drove a woman to avenge by taking peril roots of murdering to satisfy her vengeance. Women criminals in this century were taken as feeble offenders who in the eyes of the police force were not bad but insane.

Gender and Mental Disorder

Mental disorder is a behavioral or psychological condition that causes memory, emotion and perception functional impairment. In the general rates of mental disorders there no proof of gender biases or skew-ness leaning on any gender. However, with regards to specific diagnosis women appears to have higher depression and anxiety prevalence rates compared to men. Men are found to dominate in antisocial disorders and substance abuse due to their role and responsibilities. These deviations in mental disorders in male and female are reinforced by the conventional beliefs that separate roles of women and men. Men are encouraged to externalize their sorrow through antisocial deeds while women are molded to be caring and responsive to tribulations of humanity within their contacts hence, the reason they internalize their distress (Melton,, Petrila, Poythress, & Slobogin, 1997). Contemporary societies are in trying as much as possible to provide means to reduce stress and substances that might drive an individual to insanity. Government has enhanced psychiatry education to promote mental health and understanding for a sound society. This nonetheless has not completely abolished gender favors in treating mental deficiency victims. Since, mentally ill female are exploited for their unsound state, many societies tends to care more about them than the way they treat their male counterparts.