The Criminal Justice System

CJS 200

University of Phoenix/Axia

The Criminal Justice System

The American criminal justice system is defined as a group of practices, policies, and courts for the purpose of upholding social responsibility, deterring crime, and penalizing those who violate the law. The criminal justice system has three main components, local and state law enforcement agencies, the courts, and corrections. These three components are broken down into progressive stages. The first stage is the initial stop of a suspect on suspicion of probable cause. If the stop yields evidence to substantiate the commission of a crime the suspect is arrested. At this stage the suspect is read his Miranda Rights, or Fifth Amendment protections.

When a suspect is arrested they are taken into...