Criminal Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 5

Criminal Justice - Essay Example These are common examples of crime. However, a precise meaning of criminal offence is defined by various laws of each country. Some of these countries have a catalogue of crime, and it is referred to as the criminal code. Some countries have a comprehensive statute, which outlines the various crimes that are against the state. There are three major classification of crime, namely, misdemeanor, felony, and treason. The major difference that exists between a felony and a misdemeanor is on the penalty an individual receives for the offence (Burke, 279). A misdemeanor refers to a crime whose punishment is identified by the law. However, this punishment should not be death or imprisonment. The state or the government has the authority and power to restrict the liberty of an individual who is involved in committing a crime. To limit this liability, the state must follow a criminal procedure that culminates into an investigation, to a trial. It is only after the guilt of an individual is ascertained, that an offender may receive a punishment. This punishment can be imprisonment, community service, or even death, depending on the nature of crime. The natural law and the labeling theory effectively explain this concept of crime. According to the labeling theory, crime is an activity that causes injury to the society. The people, who apply this concept of labeling, normally assert the hegemony of a population that is dominant (Burke, 279). Furthermore, labeling a particular activity as a crime is a reflection of a general consensus that condemns the behavior. Natural law theory recognizes the power of the state to enforce laws, and prevent a crime. The state normally uses the police for purposes of enforcing law and order. The police have an important role in promoting justice (Justice and T, 160). Through the power vested upon them in the constitution, the police have the authority of arresting any suspected individual.

The Urban Thought of Jane Jacobs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Urban Thought of Jane Jacobs - Essay Example These books presented an in dept look into the perspective urban economics, growth of open ended methods and the basic essentiality of dynamism in the thought process. In 1992 she published another book named Systems of Survival that looked into the aspects of political philosophy and the interpretation of political philosophies but here also the theme remained attached to the functionality of urbanization and development related to urbanization and its ultimate consequences. The method of Jane Jacobs is quite different from her contemporaries who indulge into the aspects of thought process related to the facet of urban planning. Her basic mode of operation is a combination of different subjects like sociology, journalism and literature here the ultimate result is a well written book the looks at the parameters of a city from the perspective of the street-corners or sidewalks. He is not a person whose perspective or notion about a city develops from the cushion and air conditioned chambered point of view but she is more of a down to earth person when it comes to determining the nature of a city with its vibe and day to day affairs. Jane Jacobs believes that the basic health of a city depends on several variables. According to belief a healthy city must be serendipitous, spontaneous, messy and organic in nature. But at the same time she indicates that the cities to be really healthy they must formulate a planning where there would be use of mixed lands and not just a compilation of concrete structures that have just office parks and business plazas. She believes that the city must have human diversity, a good economic infrastructure and should have an agricultural mode. There should not be only office structure that replace densely populated neighborhoods for city beautification or slum clearance but should be targeted towards redevelopment plan that focus on diversity and well being. In her words "it (cities) should be like itself. Every city has differences, from its history, from its site, and so on. These are important. One of the most dismal things is when you go to a city and it's like 12 others you've se en. That's not interesting, and it's not really truthful." (Steigerwald, 1) It should be remembered in this context that Jane Jacobs never had the luxury of professional training in city planning. In fact the only qualification she had was her diploma from high school. This is an extraordinary feat considering the fact that her radical ideas as published in The Death and Life of Great American Cities reveals the freshness of a mind that indulges deeply into the solution statements of deep rooted problems associated with city planning and improvement. Thus her ideas of the variables to make a city more livable became very popular among many segments of thinkers of the subject and few even started to consider her writing as fundamental as the Bible. However, it should be remembered that the popularity of Jacobs also depended on the activities that she was involved outside the parameters of writing books and her active participation with civic activism and New York protection wings made her yet more popular. It should also be noted that though she was born in S cranton, Pennsylvania she later moved to Toronto and lived there till her last breath. There is however an