Conceptions of Overcriminalization Essay Example

Overcriminilization is a concept in the criminal justice system that continues to be studied over the years because of the rise of excessive criminalization. Outside of the common law, which are the punishment for crimes such as murder, rape, or arson and the like, the complexity of the law is cloudy, which allows for opinion and unlawful arrests and imprisonments to occur. Steadily rising in the criminal justice system are actions that are considered criminal, which has caused a negative impact on society. More and more non threatening crimes have been added to the criminal code which is expected to be carried out by law enforcement, even though other institutions could be better fit to handle the situation such as mental health cases. The rise of over criminalization has a negative effect for the average citizen. There are over 4,000 federal laws and codes by which citizens are expected to adhere, but it is impossible to be aware of this many. In many cases, citizens are detained and unaware that they were breaking a law. There are many people that believe the numerous laws and statues are vital to maintaining peace and freedom this country provides. Hence, I seek to discover if overcriminilization is a threat to democracy? Also, I will explore how can the current code be reformed? Finally, I want to get to the root of the issue and determine why force and stress the criminalization in the first place? Attempts have been made to eradicate duplicate and excessive regulations, but these are lengthy processes that some states simply ignore. Overcriminilization in the United States leads its citizen’s to feel as if their government is against them in this policed state of living. There are numerous cases of wrongful convictions and the unnecessary detaining of victimless acts. This could effect anyone. More importantly, it could save the lives of individuals who have been harassed by law enforcement for breaking a code such as walking in the street or standing outside a building. The aim of this research is to investigate duplicate and unnecessary criminal codes in order to eliminate increased policing and unwarranted arrests. By using data and statistics, this research will prove the necessity of a reform of the criminal code known today.