Introduction
Corruption is present in different areas in the governmental justice system, and these usually manifest in the misappropriation of funds and petty bribery. They have several impacts on the justice administration, implications on human rights, and the lives of the detainees. Several links show the presence of corrupt activities in the criminal justice system with licks present between the corruptions and the curtailing of human rights. Corruption is manifested in the criminal justice system through several ways. It has many impacts on the system leading to a reduction in legitimacy and a loss of public trust in the system.
Corruption is inherent at different stages in the criminal justice system. It can occur in different areas from the police stations, in prosecution offices, in the judiciary, and the prisons. It can be a reason that ensures that one is detained, and it may prevent one from getting justice and due process by curtailing their access to essential services and rights (Kleinig, 2019). When detained, corruption also curtails and prevents their ability to stay safe from harm.
In the justice system, several organizations are involved in corruption before the case is presented in court. These include prosecutors, lawyers, and police officers. After a judicial decision is established, several systems are tasked with enforcing the decisions made in court, such as the correctional facilities (Kleinig, 2019). In looking at the impacts of corruption, it is necessary to note the links present in the different bodies in the judicial system. Courts can be expensive and hard to get to mostly by the underprivileged in society. Additionally, they use procedures that are difficult to understand. Corruption in the criminal justice system real or perceived can negatively affect the situation, and this may reduce accessibility, legitimacy, and quality of the system (Kleinig, 2019).
The beginning of the chain presents police at the front of the chain, and they may misuse their powers for the extortion of money. After arrests, the bribes may be used as a way to prevent further torture or different abuses (Siregar, & Suharto, 2018). In criminal proceedings, victims and their families might have to pay bribes to the prosecutor or police to ensure their case progresses. Corruption is a critical factor that has been identified to slowing down the administration of the criminal justice system (Siregar, & Suharto, 2018).
Additionally, corruption in courts can allow guilty individuals to evade conviction. It is often seen that robbers are released to the public, and they end up being repeat offenders. Lack of conviction may also lead to a rise in the growth of illegal activities such as drug trade and corruption in the justice system (Brooks, 2019a). The justice system may also be affected when corruption taints the image of the system hence, reducing the legitimacy of the system, and this may, therefore, erode public confidence in the system. Similarly, citizens may be less likely to be convinced to obey the law if they realize that others such as leaders in government are doing illegal activities and getting away with them through disobeying the law and avoiding punishments and detention using corruption. Corruption in the justice system can also significantly affect legitimacy in different systems that are mostly held into account by the justice systems such as financial institutions and those that are linked with the reduction of corruption (Brooks, 2019a). For instance, if lawyers prosecute sensitive cases, this may be hindered if the offices handling such cases are tainted by corruption.
Further, corruption is a factor that can lead to incarceration beyond the necessary trial times. There are several documented cases of people that have been detained beyond the dates they were supposed to be released (Brooks, 2019b). Majorly this is because officials in prison prefer to hold these people for longer times to ensure that they can demand funds for the necessary release paperwork. In certain cases, judges can also work with juvenile detention centers where they earn funds from the detention centers in return to sending children to the detention centers that make profits using funding from the government.
Corruption also affects the rate at which people access hearings in court and appellate procedures. Detainees may even be made to pay transfer fees to move them to detention centers to courts for them to be able to attend their sessions in court (Brooks, 2019b). This can affect the court process significantly and can also affect prisoners where such information may move swiftly. With this information among prisoners where there is a minimal amount of money at hand, this may significantly affect their response to appellate hearings. It may make the people allow their appeals to move in their absence or not to appeal at all, both of which could greatly affect the results of the appeal.
Finally, prisons and correctional centers often have minimal public oversight and transparency. This allows them to be high-risk areas for corruption. In specific scenarios, detainees are mostly involved in corrupt practices, and they often initiate these among themselves. Certain prisons are often centers where large black markets operate (Siregar, & Suharto, 2018). These can allow operations of different criminal groups to run behind bars. Prisoners may cooperate with prison wardens due to corruption, enabling them to smuggle illegal goods such as drugs and cell phones, allow the thriving of gang culture, and this may dominate inside the prisons.
Corrupt practices such as these often have many effects that are more profound than the illegal activities they allow (Kleinig, 2019). The existence of these corruptions cases is usually possible because the laid down policies that allow for security and safety of all the prisoners and staff become overridden when the most ruthless of all are allowed to lead. This allows vulnerable in the community and those who avoid corrupt activities to be defenseless against exploitation and abuse.
Corrupt correctional centers often put prices in everything. Prisoners are made to pay for regular commodities that they are mostly entitled to, such as spaces for living, medical care, water, food, and even reception of family visits (Brooks, 2019b). Safety is a good that has the highest value in correctional centers, and money is often extorted in exchange for safety. Families, for instance, are often made to pay a lot of money for members of their family to be moved to different safe zones in the prisons that will protect them from sexual abuse and physical harm from fellow inmates and correctional officers.
Corruption in Correctional Centers
Corruption in correctional centers also affects the inmates' stay, and this can include solitary confinement as punishment (Brooks, 2019b). This is usually followed by charges to leave these confinements and removal of the incident from disciplinary records, and this is to avoid parole and negative impact on early release and parole.
For female inmates, mainly, sexual exploitation is usually one way through which corruption flourishes. Several reports illustrate that correctional officers often extort sexual favors from the inmates for essential services such as access to health and hygiene products, food, and a better sleeping place. Exchange of sexual favors often allows for preferential treatments, the absence of which torture is common (Brooks, 2019b). Disciplinary cases are often written up with a refusal to cooperate. Prisons use sexual favors to keep themselves protected and assisted, and this is often referred to as survival sex (Brooks, 2019b).
Corrupt practices also lead to forced labor, where prisoners are made to work in low wages and poor conditions. The jobs they often do are usually void of training or vocational value. The prisoners, on the other hand, may be very desperate to work, as this is the only way through which they can earn despite the poor working conditions (Brooks, 2019b). Additionally, refusal to take part in certain reprisals often leads to solitary confinements and punishments, such as the denial of visitation rights.
Embezzlement of funds is another issue brought about by corruption. Correctional centers usually have funds provided by the government. Corrupt individuals may divert these funds, and they may even be stolen. This may prevent essential goods from being purchased, and this may substantially affect the inmates and may also lead to malnutrition (Brooks, 2019b).
Away from human rights and the rule of law violations that come with corruption, corruption has more effects on the criminal justice system. Illegal opportunities to make profits often lead to the need to maintain the status quo, with the fund provided to ensure reforms not reaching the setup destinations (Kleinig, 2019). Violation of human rights and corruption deprives people of their rights, and these are often linked together. To ensure that the rights of people are protected, and the rule of law is upheld in the criminal justice system, there is a need to clamp down the practices that divert and pervert the justice course into a trade usually filled with impunity.
Conclusion
Corruption manifests in different ways in the justice system, and this greatly influences the ability of the system leading to illegitimacy and a reduction of trust in the system. There are several causes and types of corruption cases in the justice system, and they are linked between the different sectors in the economy. Several issues promote corruption in these public sectors, such as the lack of oversight and transparency in the systems. Corruption has several effects on the justice system, both directly and indirectly. An increase in corruption leads to a reduced ability to access services and increases the vulnerability of people to crime. People are also subjected to money extortion for the provisions of services; there is also increased victimization, intimidation, and threats. Additionally, the legitimacy of justice systems is lost, and organizations linked to these services lose their legibility.
