Introduction
A society is a collection of individuals who always work for the community’s prosperity. For this purpose, the organization must have control over its members. Any individual who deviates from the established norms may threaten its welfare. This is possible through social Control and the criminal justice system.
Social Control is a mechanism through which a society maintains a normative social system.
The individual learns social norms, which become a part of his personality in the long run through socialization.
Socialization is a process by which a growing child learns the values of his group and other more prominent social groups. He also comes to know the proper ways to do something.
What is the Criminal Justice System?
The Criminal Justice System is a set of rules and principles applied to convicted persons when they commit an offence.
The purpose of the criminal justice system is to maintain peace, eradicate crimes from society, and deliver justice to the victims.
Features of the Criminal Justice System
The characteristics of the criminal justice system are the following;
- The criminal justice system is the most essential part of any society worldwide.
- The criminal justice system creates deterrence in society.
- The criminal justice system tells us the punishments for the offenders.
- The criminal justice system also illustrates the methods to punish criminals effectively.
Modern Criminal Justice System
The world’s criminal justice system comprises THREE central institutions in this modern era.
1. Police
2. Prosecution
3. Judiciary
Criminal Justice System in Pakistan
The criminal justice system of Pakistan is also based on the three institutions mentioned above.
If we talk about the past, there were only two institutions before 2007, namely the Police and judiciary. There was no separate Prosecution department in Pakistan. But after 2007, every province established its independent departments of Prosecution.
The prosecution department in Pakistan is still not performing its duty well.
Problems in Pakistan’s criminal justice system
The criminal justice system of Pakistan is facing severe problems nowadays. It has become outdated and ineffective. An influential and wealthy person quickly escapes from the Police after committing a crime. He can quickly get a clean chit from the court due to various loopholes in Pakistan’s Criminal Justice System.
This has resulted in the loss of confidence of the people, and they try to solve their disputes outside the police station.
1. Police
The Police or the Investigating Agency is the primary department in almost every world criminal justice system. In Pakistan, the criminal justice system also starts with the Police department.
The primary purpose of the Police department is to protect the interests of citizens. Its purpose is to provide security to the people of the country. Unfortunately, the police department is not performing its function as it should be.
The police department is one of the most corrupt departments in Pakistan. Due to this, an ordinary citizen hates and avoids going to the police station. They do not visit the police stations even if the matter is serious.
Thus, the primary root cause of the failure of Pakistan’s Criminal Justice system is the Police Department. The reason is that the Department of Police lacks a specialized and well-trained unit that can investigate the matter in a well-defined manner. The officers in the police department have low salaries; they are non-professional and non-trained. Due to this, there are maximum chances for evidence to be destroyed at the initial stage.
2. Prosecution
Before 2007, there were no separate Prosecution departments in Pakistan. However, a specific branch of Police performs the Prosecution functions on the state’s behalf. The Provincial Governments established prosecution departments that are non-functional, ineffective, and toothless.
Even a Prosecutor in Pakistan is unable to enjoy adequate powers. It has been considered that a Prosecutor is sandwiched between the country’s powerful and authoritative institutions. These two institutions are the Police and the Judiciary. These institutions are the most corrupt.
The reason is that he cannot give directions to the Investigating Officer to perform his duty during the investigation properly. He can only pass through the report once the investigation is completed. It is mentioned above that the investigating officer destroyed most of the evidence by that time.
The investigation officers must work without proper resources, so they cannot perform their duties well. It makes the prosecution department dull.
3. Judiciary
Judges are of great importance in the criminal justice system of a country. The Department of the Judiciary is highly paid in Pakistan, and it enjoys excellent resources as well. The government has spent a lot of money and resources on this branch.
It is to be noted that the acquittal rate in Pakistan is about 80%.
The reasons for the inefficiency of the Courts in Pakistan’s Criminal Justice System are the following.
- In most cases, evidence is destroyed by the investigation officer during the investigation.
- The Lawyer Bar Councils have so much power that the lawyers usually decide the case. They pressured the Judge to prolong the case even for months or years.
- A wealthy person can easily escape from the Police after committing a crime. Adopting different tactics, he can quickly get a clean chit from the courts.
Absence of Criminal Justice System
Society or any country cannot survive long without a proper criminal justice system.
Conclusion
The Criminal Justice System in Pakistan is inefficient and not working well. Due to this reason, it is losing the confidence of people.
The Criminal Justice System of Pakistan demands special attention from the government because, without resources, society or a country can survive, but without justice, it is impossible to stay.
