welcome to this tutor to you sociology topic video looking at the role of the criminal justice system the criminal justice system is a collective term given to the agencies and institutions that are responsible for the enforcement of laws and the delivery of justice in the uk it comprises many different governmental departments which serve under the broad remit of protecting the public reducing offending punishing offenders and upholding the law of the land this incorporates all facets of law and order and not solely focused on specific forms of crime such as street crime the criminal justice system comprises many agencies including the police the police are responsible for protecting the public and enforcing the law and within police forces of the uk there are many different departments that deal with specific forms of criminality the ministry of justice is responsible for ensuring that criminals are punished for their offences and under their remit includes the courts prisons probation service and family courts that deal in issues such as divorce and annulment a further remit of the ministry of justice examines the role of parliament in ensuring that laws are passed and that they do not impede upon international law or constitutional laws in the uk the home office is the governmental department that is responsible for the organisation of the police but it also looks at laws and offences governing migration into the uk this includes services such as administering passports and asylum applications and it also has responsibility for tackling trafficking in into the uk and terrorism offences the courts are seen as distributing justice across england and wales with scotland and northern ireland operating independently of the crown court system magistrates courts deal with lesser offenses such as traffic offenses while youth courts operate separate to the crown court dealing with offences committed by those under the age of 17 for offences not deemed to be worthy of a crown court trial the function of the courts is to impose punishment when offenders are found guilty and this includes both custodial and non-custodial sentences the crown prosecution service refers to the agency responsible for processing offenders through the court system including making decisions on the severity of offenses and whether they should go to trial in a crown court or to a magistrates or a youth court they also represent the crown or the state in prosecutions against offenders the serious fraud office is the governmental department that deals with complaints in complex fraud cases including aspects of cyber crime and corporate crime the prison service is responsible for the incarceration and rehabilitation of offenders keeping the public safe from dangerous offenders in theory the criminal justice system serves all citizens of the uk in protecting them from crime and protecting their rights however there are different theoretical positions on the role of the criminal justice system functionalists argue that the criminal justice system is responsible for upholding the norms and values of society by punishing offenders and reaffirming society's commitment to the collective conscience on the other hand marxists would argue that many of the functions of the criminal justice system are enacted to serve the interests of the ruling class and the different departments within the criminal justice system on the other hand marxist would argue that many of the functions of the criminal justice system are enacted to serve the interests of the ruling class and that the different departments within the criminal justice system actively seek to defend those interests and this has become a topic of discussion through state crime corporate crime and the punishment of those that break away from bullying class control further critical views of the criminal justice system concern disparities in the treatment of citizens based upon their ethnicity phillips and bowling argue that the criminal justice system operates on processes and procedures that disadvantage many ethnic minority groups furthermore the mcpherson inquiry into the death of stephen lawrence found that the metropolitan police was institutionally racist for failing to follow correct procedures into the investigation of lawrence's murder by five white males more recently the lamy report in 2017 found that there was disproportionate representation of ethnic minority groups in custody in the uk with 25 percent of those in custody identifying as being from an ethnic minority against 14 of the population feminists would argue that the criminal justice system is based upon patriarchal ideas of justice and underestimates female criminality however in recent years with social changes women are increasingly being given harsher sentences for crimes particularly if they fall into the male domain for example assault and drug dealing however despite these criticisms in june 2020 less than five percent of the uk's prison population identified as female that concludes this cheetah to you sociology topic video on the role of the criminal justice system thanks for watching