Question 1 Discuss the three leadership positions (supervisors, managers, and administrators) in criminal justice agencies. Include specific examples of each leadership position's roles and responsib

To do this, one of the main lea rning objectives in this course is to help you obtain an understanding of the role of a criminal justice administrator. Administrative positions in criminal justice include, but are not limited to, correctional leadership, police leadership, and court lead ership. Clear leadership skills and defined responsibilities contribute to a thriving and successful working environment for criminal justice professionals. UNIT I STUDY GUIDE Criminal Justice Administration Overview MCJ 5390, Critical Analysis of Criminal Justice Administration 2 UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title To help facilitate your understanding of successful leadership strategies, we must first define the roles and responsibilities of administrators within our American criminal justice agencies. Leadership Positions in Criminal Justice Leadership within criminal justice organizations can be broken down into three distinct roles: supervisors, managers, a nd administrators. In criminal justice, you may find yourself working up the line of ranks as you progress throughout your career. Let’s start with supervisors because this rank will probably be your first leadership role. Supervisors “occupy the lowest po sition of leadership in an organizational hierarchy, and typically plan, organize, and direct staff members in their daily activities ” (Peak & Giacomazzi, 2019, p. 4). An example of a supervisor in law enforcement would be a police detective. This individu al is often a seasoned law enforcement officer who has numerous years of experience on the job. Therefore, police detectives often understand how individuals function in the community they serve and protect. Police detectives typically have built a positiv e and honest line of communication with the community, which provides for an establishment of trust between police officers and the citizens. Next, we will move up the ranks to the next leadership role of managers. Peak and Giacomazzi (2019) define a man ager as a person in the intermediate level of management, responsible for carrying out the policies and directives of upper -level administrators and supervising subordinate managers and employees. This is the middle level individual who is often tasked wit h making sure the vision and mission of the administrator are adhered to and followed. Managers will implement new policies and procedures that were approved by the higher level of leadership. Finally, within the leadership ranks is the role of administr ators. These individuals are usually the highest - ranking individual within a particular criminal justice agency. An administrator is the person whose focus is on the overall organization, its mission, acquisition and use of resources, and agency relationsh ip with external organizations and groups (Peak & Giacomazzi, 2019). For those of you who are in the military, you will find police and correctional organizations are structured in a paramilitary style and also use a rank structure system of promotion. No matter which leadership position one may hold in criminal justice, a fundamental understanding of the criminal justice process must be examined and comprehended. This includes an understanding of how the process has changed over time. Understanding that the criminal justice process has adapted to keep in step with a changing society, new norms, and evolving technology is important. As you grasp the fundamental understanding of the process, seeing the evolution will make you better able to handle changes that inevitably will happen as more time passes. So, what is the criminal justice process? According to our textbook, the criminal justice process is “the decisions and actions taken by an institution, offender, victim or society that influence the offend er’s movement into, through or out of the justice system” (Peak & Giacomazzi, 2019, p. 6). There are many variables that could shift and influence which avenue the individual will take within the U.S. criminal justice system. Take a few minutes, and think of a few variables that could change the direction in which an offender takes in the U.S. criminal justice system. Here are a few variables to consider: age, offense, prior offenses, locality, laws, bias, and discretion of the criminal justice professional with whom the offender comes into contact. Further, although we are discussing the criminal justice system as a whole, we should remember that the U.S. criminal justice system is comprised of separate entities (corrections, police, and courts). Each entit y has its own unique and separate responsibilities. The Criminal Justice Model The U.S. criminal justice system and model is unique in how offenders are funneled and moved throughout the system. As you examine Figure 1 -1 on page 7 of your textbook, you will find various paths that the offender could take once an arrest is made. Be sure to fully review this figure in your textbook, as it explores the factors that might influence the avenues which an individual can take once an arrest is made by law enforc ement officers. The criminal justice process for each individual arrested is not the same. There are many factors to consider that include but are not limited to, the criteria below: MCJ 5390, Critical Analysis of Criminal Justice Administration 3 UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title  local and state laws,  the law enforcement’s discretion,  the judge’s di scretion, and  the offender’s previous convictions or arrests . No organization is without its faults or need for improvements. As mentioned above, there are three entities that make up the U.S. justice system (corrections, police, and courts). Although the overall common goal is protecting citizens and deterring futur e criminal activity, we will sometimes find that these criminal justice entities do not work well together in achieving the common goal. Peak and Giacomazzi (2019) argue the question of whether the criminal justice system in the United States is actually a criminal justice system or a criminal justice nonsystem. So, what does this actually mean? According to Peak and Giacomazzi (2019), a criminal justice nonsystem is the view that police, courts and corrections agencies do not function harmoniously, are not a coordinated structure, and are neither efficient nor fair enough to create fear of punishment or respect for their values. Spend some time asking yourself whether this is the case and why.

One perspective presented in your textbook is the problematic is sue of system fragmentation. Simply put, system fragmentation proposes that there is too much discretion within criminal justice professions, thus preventing uniformity. Without uniformity, it is quite difficult for all entities to stay focused on the main goal of protecting citizens and deterring future criminal activity. Peak and Giacomazzi (2019) state that system fragmentation is the view that members of police, courts and correctional agencies have tremendous discretion and their own perception of the offender, resulting in goal conflict. Do you think this perspective has merit? As mentioned earlier, no system is without its faults. As leaders in your criminal justice field, you will be tasked to make, improve, and implement changes within your respect ive organizations. Sometimes these tasks for establishing improvements and change will be met with pushback from your employees. Your leadership style will and can dictate how individuals within your criminal justice organization will manage change. W hat a re some leadership styles and characteristics that you think will help you in your future leadership roles and positions? Criminal Justice as a Social Contract Let’s change direction for a bit, shall we? Do you consider yourself a rational individual? We ll, most people believe that they make (or at least try to make) rational and clear decisions. One of the historical aspects and reasons for the makeup of the U.S. criminal justice system is the perspective that humans are not rational in all occasions and decisions. Because we do not make rational decisions at all times, we must have a criminal justice system to police ourselves. Therefore, we have established a social contract concept. This social contract perspective has been present in our laws for more than 200 years. Let’s consider John Locke’s Second Treatise on Civil Government, which your textbook authors mention. According to Locke, in regard to the state of nature, people are free, equal, independent, and with inherent inalienable rights to life , liberty, and property (as cited in Peak & Giacomazzi, 2019). Therefore, all Americans have the right to protect themselves and their homes from anyone who would take and infringe upon these liberties and rights inherent to citizens. To avoid the possibil ity of such a brutal existence, “People joined together, forming governments to which they surrendered their right of self -protection” (Peak & Giacomazzi, 2019, p. 11). This is what is called a social contract . Think of contracts that you have signed in yo ur life. You are typically giving up one thing to gain another. Basically, this is also a social contract. American citizens are Are there any other factors you think will affect the criminal justice process for an individual who is arrested? (Iqoncept, n.d.) MCJ 5390, Critical Analysis of Criminal Justice Administration 4 UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title giving up some rights for the protection of government agencies (local, state, and federal). As crime changes and takes on diff erent forms, the social contract will shift according to the political and criminal climate in the United States. If we are examining domestic terrorism, we can see that our social contract changed with the passing of the USA Patriot Act of 2001, which gav e the federal government more authority and discretion. In return, Americans should reap greater protection against another domestic terrorist attack. Conclusion We have examined three specific leadership roles and responsibilities found in the U.S. cri minal justice system. We also explored the criminal justice model found on page 6 of your textbook. Please take a few minutes to review the criminal justice model. We explored the criminal justice system in relation to the criminal justice nonsystem. Lastl y, we learned about the historical social contract ideology that is present in our current criminal justice system and how this social contract evolves to be dependent on the criminal climate.

Edwin Sutherland’s social learning theory seems to support the social contract theory established by John Locke . Basically, the social learning theory suggests that all behaviors, whether good or bad, are learned through our social surroundings. As we move into Unit II, we will examine prominent theories that relate t o criminal justice administrators. References Iqoncept. (n.d.). What do you think survey poll question [Illustration]. Retrieved from https://www.dreamstime.com/royalty -free -stock -photo -what -do -you -think -survey -poll -question - image20602105 Peak, K. J., & Giacomazzi, A. L. (2019). Justice administration: Police, courts, and corrections management (9th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.