Contemporary Integrative and Critical Theories- US criminal justice systems
The contemporary integrative and critical theories of criminology are increasingly being applied across different criminal justice jurisdictions. On the one hand, the critical theory challenges the criminal justice system to ignore the stereotypical reasons people offend. Critical theories encourage the jurors to instead examine social, economic, and other underlying factors that may have contributed to offending. Some of the common critical theories include left realism, power control theory, and feminist theory. On the other hand, the contemporary integrative theory combines more than one criminology theory to explain reasons for offending or delinquent behavior. Both theories link criminality to socioeconomic conditions, which force people to offend as a survival tactic.
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A broad body of literature strongly links the United States incarceration rates with socioeconomic segregation. Particularly, low-income minority communities, especially African Americans, are disproportionately affected by the high incarceration rates. Although this segment of the population is only 13% of the entire US population, they account for 35% of total incarcerations in the US (Tucker, 2014). These worrying figures have informed research on the pathways to offending for African Americans. Research shows that African Americans are susceptible to committing a crime due to economic hardship and tough policing biased against them (Tucker, 2014). To that end, the US justice system is adopting lesser punishment options other than incarceration to stop the apparent discrimination against African Americans and other minority groups.
According to Dunlop et al. (2022), one notable approach that shows the application of critical and contemporary integrative criminology theories is the transfer of drug offenders to treatment facilities instead of prison. A large number of incarcerated African American offenders are arrested for drug-related offenses (Tucker, 2014). These offenses may be directly linked to drugs, such as drug possession or drug use. There is also a strong link between prior drug use and offending. Instead of sending these offenders to prison, the critical theory avers that there is a contributing factor to such offending; hence helpful approaches will come in handy. Emerging neuroscience shows that addiction is a treatable disease; hence addicts should be referred to treatment centers. To that end, people arrested for minor drug-related offenses are sent to rehabilitation centers instead of jail term. This approach emphasizes the fundamentals of the legal justice system, which is to transform offenders and ensure societal protection instead of just punishment.
The contemporary theory of justice in the US has been applied in myriad areas of the US criminal justice system in the past 5-7 years. One of the approaches is the one mentioned above, where the judges look beyond the offender’s immediate offense. The judges examine the social, economic, historical, and psychological factors for offending. There has been a particular emphasis on social problems like drug use and medical issues like offenders’ mental states (Chandler et al., 2009). Lately, offenders are subjected to psychiatric tests, and those found to be of unsound mind are taken to medical centers and not the court. On the other hand, drug-related offenders are enrolled in social programs designed to transform them.
Decriminalizing some offenses will go a long way to help the criminal justice system achieve the critical and integrative contemporary theories of criminalization. Decriminalization refers to the legislative action to remove criminal sanctions for acts, omissions, articles, or behavior considered a crime (Grucza ET AL., 2018). An offender cannot be prosecuted for decriminalized offenses, although they remain illegal. Instead of prosecution and potential jail sentencing, offenders who commit decriminalized offenses are subjected to a civil fine or just going scot-free (Grucza et al., 2018). It is worth noting that decriminalization is different from legalization since the latter avers to the removal of criminal sanctions.
One of the approaches that illustrate decriminalization in the US is the decriminalization of marijuana possession. Marijuana remains illegal in these states, but those found in its possession for personal use will not be arrested or incarcerated (Grucza et al., 2018). Instead, those found in possession of the drug are sent to treatment centers or educational programs that provide knowledge on the negative impacts of drug use. However, producing and selling marijuana is still illegal, and offenders are prosecuted and incarcerated if found guilty (Grucza et al., 2018). It is worth noting that despite the state-level efforts to decriminalize the drug, its control, and regulation remain under the federal government’s purview. Most of those found possessing personal-use marijuana are unemployed, suggesting that their use could be a coping mechanism for economic hardships.
Reinforcements, punishment, and discriminative stimuli, which may be used to implement critical and contemporary integrative theories, refer to the techniques used to encourage desirable behavior. Firstly, reinforcement refers to the reward offered to encourage positive behavior. For instance, convicts who exhibit positive behavior while serving are likely to receive parole as positive reinforcement. On the other hand, punishment is the undesirable action taken against an individual to discourage negative behavior. For instance, a civil fine for drug offenders will go a long way to discourage offenders from repeating their crimes. Finally, discriminative stimuli refer to punishment stimuli whose presence means a particular behavior has been punished. For instance, drivers stop when the green traffic lights turn on but proceed once the light turns red. Reinforcements, punishment, and discriminative stimuli are relevant in implementing the integrative contemporary and critical criminology theories.
Law and power play a significant role in facilitating critical and contemporary integrative criminology theories. On the one hand, the law facilitates social interaction and mitigates social conflict (Dunlop et al., 2022). It is only through law and order that social interaction may occur. To that end, law enforcers get law offenders off the streets to transform them to facilitate healthy social interactions in the future. On the other hand, power derived from the exercise of law and order may be used to ensure critical and contemporary theories work. The justice system can infer alternative and lesser punishments for some offenders after considering their economic, social, and personal susceptibility to offend.
In summary, contemporary integrative and critical criminology theories are increasingly being adopted in the US judicial system. The new frameworks are informed by the theories means that the criminal justice system will not entirely judge criminals based on the traditional system that only looks at their offenses. Going forward, the criminal justice system will consider personal, economic, and social vulnerabilities that lead to offending. Adopting these theories will go a long way to solving America’s jail overcrowding problem, which has been linked to incarceration based on minor offenses. Also, these theories will go a long way to address America’s long history of discrimination against minority communities, specifically African Americans. Some discriminatory policies and subcultures are an extension of the slavery era, hence the need for change. Contemporary integrative and critical theories align with the fundamental objectives of the criminal justice system, which is to restore public order and transform offenders.
References
Chandler, R. K., Fletcher, B. W., & Volkow, N. D. (2009). Treating drug abuse and addiction in the criminal justice system: improving public health and safety. Jama, 301(2), 183-190.
Dunlop, W. L., Lind, M., & Hopwood, C. J. (2022). Synthesizing contemporary integrative interpersonal theory and the narrative identity approach to examine personality dynamics and regulatory processes. Journal of Personality.
Grucza, R. A., Vuolo, M., Krauss, M. J., Plunk, A. D., Agrawal, A., Chaloupka, F. J., & Bierut, L. J. (2018). Cannabis decriminalization: A study of recent policy change in five US states. International Journal of Drug Policy, 59, 67-75
Tucker Sr, R. B. (2014). The color of mass incarceration. Ethnic Studies Review, 37(1), 135-149.
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Question 
Explain how the US criminal justice system deals with offenders under contemporary integrative and critical theories.
What new initiatives or approaches within the 5-7 years has the US criminal justice system shifted to as a result of more contemporary theories of the process
Contemporary Integrative and Critical Theories- US criminal justice systems
In theoretical terms, discuss the decriminalization of crimes.
How do reinforcements, punishment, and discriminative stimuli work in everyday life?
Describe the role of law and power in contemporary integrative and critical theories.