Introduction
Criminal justice covers a wide spectrum of cultural and political aspects of life in today’s complex world. There are many intersections of how the laws at the federal level intersect with state laws, for example. The governmental policies made in Washington D.C. provide the underlying foundational elements of every local community in the United States. Police enforcement agencies and local governments may find cause for debate on some issues; additionally, public citizens will have an important say in how the laws are carried out and the implications behind them. As our country has always been a place for many diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds, the legal issues and justice for all continue …show more content…
From a societal perspective, one of the main issues today is how the juvenile offender can best be served within the criminal justice system. Due to the long-range consequences of how the young person is handled, this topic has become increasingly significant as a measure of real justice within society. In order to minimize the detrimental effects of full indoctrination into a life of crime, many programs have specifically been designed and implemented to improve the outcomes. Although some programs are more effective than others, they all share similar goals of helping troubled youth find positive opportunities in life from the outset. Rather than to continue on a path of criminal behavior that will lead to further arrests and incarceration as an adult, societal approaches today provide the juvenile offender with better options. These methodologies can make such a significant difference in a person’s life, as well as the overall positive effect on society, that they are worth much more than a perfunctory glance. The opportunities for juveniles to learn more effective ways to deal with even the most difficult circumstances in their personal lives, including how the dominant culture may have discriminated against them due to racial or ethnic biases, will lead to the discovery of better options to attain their future …show more content…
The state of Arizona has been a region in the country where these laws attracted national attention due to controversial immigration policies introduced by Governor Jan Brewer in 2010. Arizona SB 1070 became a catalyst for open discussion as the intersection of racial discrimination and the law provided an example of complex issues. While the overt intentions of the law were meant to enforce the deportation of illegal immigrants in the state--primarily Latinos crossing the border from Mexico into southern Arizona—there were many subtle issues of prejudice and profiling anyone of Mexican descent for any reason. Apparently as a result of these concerns, there was a shift of confidence and lessened sense of