DEPARTMENTOFCRIMINOLOGYANDSECURITYSTUD

IES
COURSECODE:CSS108
COURSETITLE:INTRODUCTIONTOCRIMINALJUSTICE
ANDPROCEDURES

Perhapsweshouldstartthiscoursebyspellingoutwha
tasystemis?
Asystemisacollectionofinterconnectedcomponents
orelementsthatworktogethertoachieveaspecificfun
ctionortask.Itcanbeaphysicalorabstractentityandis
designedtohaveinputs,processes,andoutputs.Syste
mscanbefoundinvariousdomainssuchasengineering
,biology,computerscience,economics,andsocialscie
nces.Theyareoftendefinedbytheirboundaries,whic
hdeterminewhatisincludedwithinthesystemandwh
atisexcluded.Thecriminaljusticeisequallyasystemw
hichconsistsofthePolice,courtsandthecorrections.It
encompasseslaws,institutions,andproceduresputin
placetomaintainlawandorder,protectcitizens,ande
nsurejusticeisservedforcriminalactivities.
Whatiscrime?
AccordingtoPaulTappan(1947:100)crimeisdefineda
sanintentionalactoromissioninviolationofcriminalla
w(statutoryandcaselaw)committedwithoutdefense
orjustificationandsanctionedorpunishedbythestate
asafelonyormisdemeanor.
Withinthisdefinitiontherearesomesalientconceptst
hatweneedtospelloutclearlyforbetterunderstandin
gofthedefinition,theseare(i)intentionalact(ii)omissi
on(iii)statutorylaw(iv)caselaw(v)Felony(vi)Felony.
 Intentionalact:
Incriminology,anintentionalactreferstoabehavioror
actionthatisdeliberatelyintendedtocauseharmorac
hieveaspecificoutcome.Itinvolvesaconsciousdecisio
nandawarenessoftheconsequencesofone'sactions.
Anintentionalactdemonstratesalevelofpremeditati
onandpurpose,distinguishingitfromactionsthatmay
beaccidentalorunintentional.Criminologistsoftenan
alyzeintentionalactsinordertounderstandthemotiv
ations,thoughtprocesses,andpatternsofbehavioras
sociatedwithcriminal offenses.
 Omission
Incriminology,omissionreferstotheactoffailingtoact
orneglectingtotakeanecessaryorrequiredaction,wh
ichresultsinharmorinjurytoanotherpersonorproper
ty.Thiscanincludesituationswherethereisalegalduty
orresponsibilitytoact,butanindividualfailstofulfillth
isduty.Omissioncanbeconsideredacriminaloffensei
fitleadstothecommissionofacrime,suchasnotrepor
tingacrimeorfailingtopreventharmwhenthereisaleg
alobligationtodoso.
Incriminology,statutorylawandcaselawaretwomain
sourcesoflawthatgoverncriminalbehaviorandthecri
minaljusticesystem.
 Statutorylaw
Statutorylawreferstolawsthatareenactedbylegisla
tivebodies,suchasstateorfederalgovernments.Thes
elawsarewrittenandcodified,meaningtheyareform
allywrittendownandorganizedwithinalegalcodeors
tatute.Statutorylawdefinesspecificcriminaloffense
s,establishestheelementsofthoseoffenses,setsoutt
hepenaltiesforcommittingthoseoffenses,andprovi
desguidelinesforlegalproceduresandrequirements.
 Caselaw
Ontheotherhand,caselawreferstolawsthatarederiv
edfromjudicialdecisionsmadebycourts.Whenacour
tissuesarulingonaparticularcase,itcreatesalegalprec
edentthatbecomesbindingonfuturecaseswithsimila
rfactsorlegalissues.Thisbodyoflawiscollectivelykno
wnascaselaw.Judgesinterpretandapplystatutoryla
wtospecificcases,andtheirdecisionsbecomepartoft
heevolvingbodyofcaselaw.Courtsmayalsorelyonleg
alprinciplesanddoctrinesdevelopedthroughpreviou
scaselawtomaketheirdecisions.
Bothstatutorylawandcaselawplayimportantrolesin
shapingthecriminaljusticesystem.Statutorylawsets
outthefoundationalprinciplesandrulesthatdefinecri
minalactsandtheirpunishments,whilecaselawprovi
desguidanceandinterpretationonhowtheselawsare
appliedinreal-
lifesituations.Together,thesesourcesoflawestablish
andenforcethestandardsofconductwithinsocietyan
dguidethecriminaljusticesysteminitsadministration
ofjustice.

 Felonyandmisdemeanoraretwocategoriesorcla
ssificationsofcriminaloffensesbasedontheirsev
erityandpotentialpenalties.
Afelonyisamoreseriouscrimethatistypicallypunis
hablebyaprisonsentenceofmorethanoneyear,and
insomecases,bythedeathpenalty.Examplesoffelo
niesincludemurder,rape,robbery,arson,andcertai
ndrugoffenses.Feloniesareoftencharacterizedbyt
heirimpactonindividualsorsociety,involvingsignifi
 cantharmtoothersorsignificantfinancialloss.Convi
ctionofafelonycanhavelong-
lastingconsequences,suchasthelossofcertaincivilr
ights,difficultyfindingemployment,andrestriction
sonprofessionallicenses.
 Misdemeanor
Ontheotherhand,amisdemeanorisalessseriousoffe
nsethatistypicallypunishablebyashorterperiodofi
mprisonment,usuallyuptooneyear,and/
orfines.Misdemeanorstypicallyinvolvelessharmto
othersorlowerlevelsofcriminalintent.Examplesof
misdemeanorsincludeminortheft,simpleassault,di
sorderlyconductandsometypesofdrugpossession.
Whilemisdemeanorsarelessseverethanfelonies,th
eycanstillhavenegativeimpactsonanindividual'srec
ordandmayresultinfines,probation,orotherpenalti
es.
Thedistinctionbetweenafelonyandamisdemeanorg
enerallydependsonthespecificcriminallawsofajuris
dictionandtheseverityoftheoffensecommitted.The
classificationofanoffenseasafelonyormisdemeanor
candeterminethelegalprocedures,potentialpenalti
es,andlong-termconsequencesfortheaccused.
Nowthatweunderstandwhatcrimeis,weshallmo,av
eforwardtounderstandcriminaljustice.
WhatiscriminalJustice?
Criminaljusticereferstothesystemofpractices,polici
es,andproceduresestablishedbygovernmentstoma
intainsocialorder,deterandmitigatecrime,andpunis
hindividualswhoviolatelaws.Itinvolvesvariouscom
ponents,suchaslawenforcement,courts,andcorrec
tions,thatworktogethertoupholdandadministerjus
ticewithinasociety.
Lawenforcementagencies,includingpolicedepartm
ents,areresponsibleforinvestigatingandpreventing
crime,apprehendingsuspects,andmaintainingpubli
csafety.Theygatherevidence,conductinterviews,an
denforcelaws.
Courtsplayacrucialroleinthecriminaljusticesystem.
Theyevaluateevidence,interpretlaws,andconducttr
ialstodeterminetheguiltorinnocenceofindividualsa
ccusedofcommittingcrimes.Judges,attorneys,andju
riesensuredueprocessandfairtreatmentwhilemaki
ngdecisionsbasedontheevidencepresented.

Correctionsfocusontherehabilitation,punishment,
andsupervisionofconvictedindividuals.Itincludesin
stitutionssuchasprisons,whereindividualsservethei
rsentences,aswellasprobationandparoleprograms,
whichmonitorandsupportindividualsreintegratingi
ntosocietyafterbeingreleased.
Criminaljusticealsoinvolvesrelatedprofessions,suc
hasforensicscience,crimesceneinvestigation,victim
advocacy,andlegalanalysis.Theoverallgoalofcrimin
aljusticeistomaintainsocialorder,protectindividualr
ights,andprovidejusticetovictims,offenders,andsoc
ietyasawhole.
1.LawEnforcement:
-
TheNigeriaPoliceForceisresponsibleformaintainingl
awandorder,conductinginvestigations,andarresting
suspects.
-
Therearealsootherlawenforcementagencies,suchas
theEconomicandFinancialCrimesCommission(EFCC)
,NigerianDrugLawEnforcementAgency(NDLEA),and
theNigeriaSecurityandCivilDefenseCorps(NSCDC),w
hichfocusonspecifictypesofcrimes.

2.ArrestandDetention:
-
Ifacrimeiscommitted,thepolicehavetheauthorityto
arrestasuspectbasedonreasonablesuspicion.
-
Afterthearrest,thepolicecandetainthesuspectforap
eriodof24to48hoursforinvestigation.Ifthereisaneed
forfurtherdetention,theymayobtainacourtorder.

3.Investigation:
-
Thepoliceconductinvestigationstocollectevidence,i
nterrogatewitnesses,andbuildacaseagainstthesusp
ect.
-
Asuspecthastherighttolegalrepresentationatthissta
ge.

4.ChargeorRelease:
-
Aftertheinvestigation,thepolicemustchargethesusp
ecttocourtwithinareasonabletimeorreleasethemift
hereisinsufficientevidence.
5.CourtProceedings:
-
CriminalcasesinNigeriaareheardbythecourtss,whic
haredividedintotwomainlevels:theMagistrateCourt
sandtheHighCourts.
-
TheMagistrateCourtshandlelessseriousoffenses,wh
iletheHighCourtsdealwithmoreseriouscrimes.
-
Theaccusedhastherighttolegalrepresentationandca
nchoosetoberepresentedbyalawyeroftheirchoice.

6.TrialProcess:
-Trialsofteninvolvepresentingevidence,cross-
examinationofwitnesses,andlegalargumentsbybot
htheprosecutionanddefense.
-
Ajudgeormagistratepresidesoverthetrialandensure
safairandimpartialprocess.

7.VerdictandSentencing:
-
Iftheaccusedisfoundguilty,thecourtdeliversaverdict
anddeterminesanappropriatesentencebasedonthel
aw.
-
Sentencescanrangefromfinestoimprisonment.Inso
mecases,thedeathpenaltymaybegivenforcertainoff
enses.

8.Appeals:
-
Anindividualconvictedofacrimehastherighttoappea
ltheverdictorsentencetoahighercourt.
-
Theappellatecourtreviewsthecaseforerrorsinthelo
wercourt'sdecisions.

Itisimportanttonotethatthisisageneraloverview,an
dspecificproceduresmayvaryslightlydependingonth
ejurisdictionwithinNigeria.Hencewewillrefertother
elevantlawsandregulationsforamorecomprehensiv
eunderstandingofthecourse
 SubsequentlywewilllookatCorrectionalCompon
entoftheCriminalJusticeSystem.Pleasecirculate
toallstudentsinthisclassplease.

CORRECTIONS
Thecorrectionalaspectofthecriminaljusticesystemr
eferstothevariousprocessesandinstitutionsinvolved
inthecustody,treatment,rehabilitatingandreintegra
tingoffendersbackintosociety.Itsprimarygoalistocor
rectcriminalbehavior,promotepublicsafety,andpre
ventfuturecriminalactivity.Herearesomekeyelemen
tsofthecorrectionalaspect:

1.Sentencing:Afterapersonisconvictedofacrime,the
courtdeterminesanappropriatepunishmentorsente
nce.Sentencingcanincludeincarceration(imprisonm
ent),probation,fines,communityservice,oracombin
ationofthesedependingontheoffenseandtheoffend
er'scircumstances.

2.PrisonsandCorrectionalFacilities:Offenderssenten
cedtoservetimeinacorrectionalfacilityareusuallysen
ttoaprison,jail,ordetentioncenter.Theseinstitutions
providehousing,security,andsupervisionforincarcer
atedindividualsduringtheirsentence.Thegoalofimpr
isonmentistoincapacitateoffenders,protectsociety,
andprovideanopportunityforrehabilitation.
3.RehabilitationPrograms:Correctionalfacilitiesem
ployvariousrehabilitationprogramstoaddressoffen
ders'needs,suchaseducation,vocationaltraining,sub
stanceabusetreatment,angermanagement,mental
healthservices,andlifeskillstraining.Theseprograms
aimtoequipoffenderswiththenecessarytoolstoreint
egratesuccessfullyintosocietyuponrelease.

4.ParoleandProbation:Paroleandprobationareform
sofsupervisedreleaseafteranoffenderhasservedapo
rtionoftheirsentenceincustodyorinsteadofincarcera
tion.Paroleisgrantedbyaparoleboard,whereasprob
ationistypicallyorderedbyajudge.Bothinvolvetheoff
enderbeingmonitored,meetingcertainconditions,a
ndreceivingsupportandguidancefromparoleorprob
ationofficers.

5.ReentryandAftercare:Thecorrectionalsystemprov
idesguidanceandsupporttooffenderstransitioningb
ackintosociety.Thismayinvolveassistancewithfindin
ghousing,employment,accesstohealthcare,substan
ceabusetreatment,andmentalhealthservices.Succe
ssfulreentryreducesthechancesofreoffending,incre
asespublicsafety,andhelpsformeroffendersreintegr
ateintotheircommunities.

6.RestorativeJustice:Somecorrectionalsystemsinco
rporaterestorativejusticeprinciples,whichfocusonr
epairingharmcausedbytheoffendertovictimsandco
mmunities.Thisprocessinvolvesdialogue,mediation
,andrestitution,allowingbothvictimsandoffenderst
obeactivelyinvolvedinfindingresolutionandrebuildi
ngrelationships.

Please,itisgoodandadvisabletonotethattheeffective
nessofthecorrectionalarmofthecriminaljusticesyste
mcanvary,andthereareongoingdebatesaboutthebe
stapproachestocorrectionalpractices.Reformefforts
oftenfocusonalternativestoincarceration,evidence-
basedrehabilitationprograms,andagreateremphasi
soncommunity-orientedstrategies.