Assignment Code: MSW-032/TMA/2022-23

Course Code: MSW-032

Assignment Name: Social Work and Criminal Justice

Year: 2022-2023

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

Answer any five of the following questions in about 300 words each:

Q1) What do you mean by offence? Classify offender for the purposes of different criminal justice process.

Ans) A violation of civil or criminal law is referred to as an offence in dictionaries. Because of the nature of this offence, the offender faces the possibility of serving time in prison as well as a financial penalty. The definitions of an offence vary depending on the judicial systems in existence in the various nations of the world. The important point to keep in mind is that a crime can only be punished by the law if it is cognizable.

This implies that for an offence to be brought before a court of law, it must violate some penal statutes. It is not an offence unless the conduct or behaviour is not mentioned in the law. Therefore, breaking a criminal statute is an offence, and offence, not crime, is what is defined in legal texts. The criminal justice system consists of three main parts, albeit having many moving pieces.

The following all contribute significantly to public safety:

1. Law Enforcement: Because it is the system that people first come into contact with when they break the law, law enforcement is the first pillar of the criminal justice system. Because we interact with law enforcement personnel every day, it is also the system that society sees the most. Police officers, sheriffs, deputies, criminal investigators, detectives, and government employees make up law enforcement, which is responsible for upholding the law and defending our communities.

2. Courts: The legal system decides whether a suspect is guilty or innocent of a specific offence and then grants justice to the individual in accordance with that decision. Within this structure, there are both state and federal courts. Local state courts deal with issues like traffic infractions, family conflicts, and local criminal cases, whereas federal courts might deal with more complicated situations that span numerous regions or rivers.

3. Correction: The third part of the criminal justice system is correctional, which is responsible for carrying out court-ordered sentences and punishments for criminals. The criminal justice system will isolate convicts from society when they are found guilty in court. Offenders may be placed on probation or parole, where they will be closely observed by committed officials.

Q2) Explain the sociological theories of criminal behaviour.

Ans) The sociological theories of criminal behaviour are as follows:

Durkheim, Anomie and Modernization

"One of the most recognised and one of the least understood significant social philosophers" is Emile Durkheim. Although Durkheim's theories are complicated, criminology has benefited greatly from them. In 1897, Durkheim introduced the idea of anomie, which he defined as the loss of personal affiliation with one's cultural group. Early in 1938, Merton had examined anomie as a possible cause of abnormal behaviour. In 1949, he postulated that any society's abnormal behaviour might be explained by the state of anomie. He expounded on anomie's role in juvenile criminality in 1955.

Crime as Normal in Mechanical Societies

The uniformity of people's lives, jobs, and beliefs is a hallmark of mechanical civilizations. Durkheim referred to the collective conscience as the "whole of social likeliness," or all of the uniformity that permeates a society. The collective consciousness can be present in every culture because all communities want its members to be somewhat uniform.

Anomie as a Pathological State in Organic Societies

If a society is mechanical, the demand for conformity against the diversity of its people is what gives it its sense of solidarity. A typical and essential component of this pressure is the criminalization of certain behaviours. However, to the extent that a society is biological, the purpose of law is to control how the diverse components of the whole interact. If this regulation is insufficient, a number of social ills, including criminality, may arise.

Anomie was Durkheim's term for the absence of sufficient regulation. According to Durkheim, society regulates not only how its various parts interact economically but also how each person views his or her own needs. Later theories of crime and several other abnormal behaviours have drawn on Durkheim's notion of anomie as their foundation.

Q3) Trace the evolution of the Criminal Justice System.

Ans) Since the beginning of time, humanity has developed a variety of strategies and tactics to uphold social order and rein in criminal impulses. The methods used to curb criminal behaviour vary from society to society and occasionally even within the same society. According to Pillai, there are three key stages in the development of criminal law: the strict liability stage, the moral wickedness stage, and the guilty mind stage. The criteria of foreknowledge of the consequences was added to the idea of moral evil.

The criminal justice system has a lengthy history. In England throughout the 12th century, the Crown increasingly took over the administration of justice; as a result, the Crown was to get recompense instead of the sufferer. Prior to the 18th century, the criminal justice system used informal methods. It is possible to identify some organised legal codes and state-mandated processes from the prehistoric period that outline how the criminal justice system operates now. The earliest known legal code was the Code of Hammurabi, created by King Hammurabi of Babylon in the 18th century B.C. It was intended for this law to govern a variety of human matters.

According to Dwivedi, the Vedic play law, which was regarded as ultimate in ancient India, dictated how the criminal justice system operated. The king had the authority to punish the criminal. The original Hindu law did not explicitly distinguish between criminal activity and civil wrong, but as society advanced and developed, the king began enacting laws and regulations that took into account the prevalent local traditions and usages. The system underwent moderate but extremely sluggish adjustments.

The Constitution, along with other important matters, deals with the rights and duties of both the state and the subjects. The Penal Code specifies crimes and criminal behaviour. The Criminal Procedure sets up the process for trials of offences. There are numerous other laws that specify offences, grant rights and obligations, and specify how to deal with particular violations. Additionally, courts have contributed to the interpretation of legal provisions. In actuality, judicial activism has significantly aided the expansion of the criminal justice system.

Q4) Enlist the various types of Courts in India.

Ans) The English judicial structure serves as the foundation for the hierarchy of the Indian Criminal Court. According to Section 6 of the Criminal Procedure Code of 1973, the hierarchy of the Courts shall be as follows, excluding High Courts and Courts established under any law other than the Code:

1) Court of Sessions.

a) Metropolitan Magistrate in any Metropolitan Area, and

b) Judicial Magistrate of First Class

2) Judicial Magistrate of the Second Class.

3) Executive Magistrate.

The Criminal Procedure Code established the courts previously mentioned. Special courts may also be established in accordance with unique legislation and the Juvenile Justice Act of 2000, which outlines the establishment of juvenile justice boards.

The law governing the administration of criminal justice is found in the Criminal Procedure Code of 1898, as occasionally updated. The important amendments were first included in the Central Legislation in 1923 and 1955. Numerous adjustments were made by these statutes in an effort to speed up the legal system and trials as much as possible. The proposed amendments could not have the desired effects because the fundamental, age-old Code remained unchanged. Parliamentarians and the legal profession generally agreed that the basics of the Code need considerable modifications.

The statutes governing the administration of Criminal Justice underwent a careful analysis by the Law Ministry. The Criminal Procedure Code underwent a thorough review by the Commission, which resulted in the publication of a report detailing all of its provisions. The government responded to several petitions for legislative change by enacting the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act of 2005, the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act of 2006, and the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act of 2008.

Q5) Discuss the process of the police to investigate cognizable and non-cognizable offences

Ans) The term "investigation of crime" refers to the methodical and procedural way that the police or any other authorised authority collect, compile, and understand the facts connected to a crime. Investigating crimes and providing the necessary support to the prosecution and judiciary so they can charge and punish offenders in accordance with the law is the police's primary responsibility.

The Police and Investigation of Cognizable Offences

Under Section 156 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the police have the authority to investigate crimes that are punishable by law. According to the clause, every cognizable matter reported under any active statute may be investigated by the officer-in-charge of a police station without the need for a magistrate's approval. The police are responsible for investigating crimes that are punishable by law. The judiciary isn't supposed to obstruct an investigation's orderly progress under normal circumstances.

According to Section 2(o) of the CrPC, police officers in a police station with the rank of head constable or higher may investigate cognizable cases. The Code of Criminal Procedure also allows for private investigations into offences that are cognizable. A Magistrate has the authority, under Section 202 (1) of the CrPC, to assign an inquiry to a private party for particular and unique circumstances. The Magistrate can only entrust the investigation of cognizable offences to a private individual when he has reason to lose confidence and faith in the investigating police.

The Police and Investigation of Non-cognizable Offences

According to Section 2(l) of the Criminal Procedure Code, a "non-cognizable offence" is one for which a police officer lacks the legal authority to make an arrest without a warrant. The ability of the police to look into a non-cognizable case rests on the competent magistrate's directive. According to Section 155(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, no police officer shall conduct an investigation into a non-cognizable case without the consent of a magistrate who has the authority to try the case or commit the case for trial.

The failure to comply with the mandatory requirements outlined in Section 155(2) may be a significant factor in tainting the final proceedings and may also be viewed as a violation of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution if a police officer investigates a non-cognizable case without a Magistrate's approval. As a result, the police should exercise extreme caution and awareness of their obligations, and they shouldn't leave room for such misadventures or allow themselves to become entangled in the legal system.