You are a peace officer trainee assigned to your first post of duty. Your supervisor calls you into his office and tells you that he needs you to prepare content for a presentation at a local university for students in a criminal justice program. He explains that the public information officer (PIO), the individual previously assigned to give this presentation, is testifying in court and cannot leave. He further informs you that you will need to put the content together from scratch as he has never done this before.
Please answer the following questions and requirement to write your 4-6 page paper. As you answer each question you must provide support or evidence that will enhance and empirically prove your answers.Academic criminal justice articles or real-life criminal justice findings that are found in journals or other academic sources must be used in supporting your answers.Please use APA style for all cited sources including your resource page.
The content is to be an overview of the criminal justice system and a description of these roles:
- police officer or federal agent
- district attorney's office or the United States Attorney's Office
- defense counsel
- federal, state, and local judges/magistrates
Discuss the stages (investigative, prosecutorial) at which each of the above interacts with a criminal defendant. Specify the roles of each and explain the process by which a suspect becomes a criminal defendant. Consider the following questions for your paper:
- When do you think the prosecutor's office should become involved in a case (prearrest or postarrest)?
- Do you think involvement by a prosecutor in the original stages of an investigation is a good idea?
- Can a defense attorney ever become involved in a case prior to indictment or arrest?
- When does a judge or magistrate's function begin? In addition, briefly discuss the sources of criminal law.