Book Description

This is a study of the duties, functions, qualifications, selection processes, and potential for advancement associated with law enforcement, courts, and correctional personnel. The specific roles and the personnel that comprise the operating criminal justice system are identified and analyzed in this study. Detailing not only duties and functions, but also qualifications, selection processes, and even potential for advancement, the work forms an unusual perspective of the field for students of law enforcement, police science, criminal law, criminology, and corrections. The study details over fifty-five distinct professions within the criminal justice system, and discusses the qualifications required and the tasks performed by each. A major section of the book is its examination of the prosecutorial function - the powers and duties, the major concepts and criticisms of the role of the prosecutor, and the multi-faceted role of the defense attorney, including his duties and professional responsibilities, as well as the function of court appointed counsels and public defenders. Law enforcement is viewed at every level from municipal through federal agencies, with a focus on police legal advisors, criminalists, and the numerous other individuals who comprise the total law enforcement complex. The function of the court is presented through the roles of the various court officers - judges, juries, grand juries, bailiffs, clerks, and reporters. Each is discussed in terms of qualifications, duties, and function in the mechanics of the courtroom procedure. A final section covers the corrections system - the custodial and institutional personnel, as well as the juvenile, probation and parole officers who work with offenders in the community.