THE FIVE PILLARS OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

 
I – THE COMMUNITY; II – THE LAW ENFORCEMENT; III – THE PROSECUTION;
IV – THE COURTS; and V – CORRECTIONS.
 
As we shall see, OUR CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IS COMPOSED OF FIVE
PILLARS THAT FUNCTION LIKE A CHAIN OF LINKS. ANY WEAKNESS IN ANY
OF THESE LINKS BREAKS THE CHAIN, RESULTING TO A BREAKDOWN OF
THE SYSTEM: INORDINATE DELAYS IN THE PROCEEDINGS, ACQUITTAL OF
THE GUILTY AND CONVICTION OF THE INNOCENT.
 
Such weakness can be caused by lack of concern on the part of people in the
community, or inefficiency and corruption on the part of the public officials composing
the four (4) other pillars.
 
I – THE COMMUNITY:
 
The Filipino community produces our law enforcers (policemen, traffic enforcers, NBI
agents, PDEA agents, COA auditors, Ombudsman fact-finding investigators, etc.);
prosecutors (DOJ and Ombudsman prosecutors/investigators); judges (Municipal
Trial Courts, Regional Trial Courts and Sharia Courts); justices (Sandiganbayan,
Court of Tax Appeals and the Supreme Court); and correction officials and personnel
(municipal jails, provincial jails, city jails, the Bureau of Corrections [Muntinlupa] and
other correctional facilities).
 
A rotten community will always produce rotten law enforcers, prosecutors, judges,
justices and correction officials. The spring cannot rise above its source.
 
Members of the community are also the victims of crimes, direct or indirect. They are
also the beneficiaries of an efficient and effective criminal justice system in the form
of a peaceful and fear-free environment.
 
The community is also the greatest source of information about the commission of a
crime. It is from the community that most witnesses come, including victims and
whistle blowers.
Most crimes against property (theft, robbery, etc.) are dismissed because the victim
does not testify in court, especially when the stolen property is recovered. Hence,
thieves and robbers are set free, free again to steal and rob!
 
II – THE LAW ENFORCEMENT:
 
To this group belong policemen, National Bureau of Investigation agents, Philippine
Drugs Enforcement Agency agents, the Military, Bureau of Customs police, Bureau
of Immigration officers, Bureau of Internal Revenue examiners, Commission on Audit
auditors, Ombudsman fact-finding investigators, Commission on Human Rights
investigators, Land Transportation Office and Traffic enforcers, etc.
 
They enforce the law by ensuring compliance therewith, conduct investigations to
uncover commissions of crimes and violations of laws, file criminal cases before the
prosecutor’s (fiscal’s) office (if the offender is not a government employee/official) or
the Office of the Ombudsman (if the offender is a government employee/official), and
testify in court if a criminal charge is lodged in Court by the prosecutor’s office or the
Office of the Ombudsman.
 
III – THE PROSECUTION:
 
To this group belong the City, Provincial and Regional State Prosecutors of the
Department of Justice, and the investigators and prosecutors of the Office of the
Ombudsman.
 
They conduct preliminary investigations (if the respondent was not caught in the act
of committing the crime) or inquest proceedings (if the respondent was caught in the
act of committing the crime) to determine whether or not there is probable cause
(reasonable ground) to prosecute the respondent in court. If they found probable
cause, they lodge a criminal charge against the respondent before the court.
Otherwise, they dismiss the case.
 
Once the criminal case is filed in court, the court issues a warrant of arrest against
the accused (if he was not caught in the act of committing the crime) or commitment
order (if the accused was caught in the act of committing the crime and he has not
yet posted bail or the offense is non-bailable because the crime is punishable by life
imprisonment, reclusion perpetua or death).
 
The prosecutor ([fiscal] from the DOJ for crimes committed by non-government
people, or from the Ombudsman for crimes committed by government people,
although the fiscals can prosecute criminal cases against government people under
the continuing authority of the Office of the Ombudsman) now stands as the lawyer
for the State (People of the Philippines) and prosecute the case. The victim, the law
enforcer (who investigated the crime) and other witnesses will now testify in court.
The defense counsel will defend the accused. After the trial, the court will now decide
whether or not the accused is guilty. If he is, then he shall be penalized (fine, or
imprisonment, or both). If he is not, he shall be acquitted (set free).
 
IV – THE COURTS:
 
To this group belongs the Municipal Trial Courts (for crimes punishable by
imprisonment not exceeding six (6) years), the Shari’a Circuit Courts in the ARMM
(for criminal violations of the Muslim Code), the Regional Trial Courts (for crimes
punishable by imprisonment of more than six years, and appeals from the decisions
of the Municipal Trial Courts), the Sandiganbayan (for crimes committed by
government officials with salary grade 27 and above regardless of the penalty
prescribed for the offense charged, and appeals from the decisions of the Regional
Trial Court in criminal cases against government employees below salary grade 27),
the Court of Appeals (for appeals from the decisions of the Regional Trial Courts in
criminal cases against non-government people), and the Supreme Court (for appeals
from the decisions of the Court of Appeals, Sandiganbayan and automatic review of
decisions of the Regional Trial Courts and the Sandiganbayan where the penalty
imposed is reclusion perpetua or death).
 
V – CORRECTIONS:
 
To this group belong the various Jails (Municipal, City and Provincial Jails), the
Bureau of Corrections (in Muntinlupa) and other correctional facilities. While the
criminal case is pending in court, the accused shall be detained at the Municipal, City
or Provincial Jail unless he posts a bail bond for his provisional liberty and if the
offense is bailable. After conviction, the convict will be sent to the Bureau of
Corrections to serve his sentence.
 
Our criminal justice being also a corrective one, the correction officials are mandated
to see to it that the convict is reformed and is able to re-integrate himself into the
community after serving his sentence.

Corrections is one of the imperatives, nay, pillars of criminal justice administration.

It is tasked to safe keep and to rehabilitate those convicted by the courts. It is
in corrections where the better part, which is the greater duration, of a sentenced
person as he spends the judicially prescribed penalty

Penology (from "penal", Latin poena, "punishment" and the Greek suffix -logia, "study of") is

a sub-component of criminology that deals with the philosophy and practice  of various
societies in their attempts to repress criminal activities, and satisfy public opinion via an
appropriate treatment regime for persons convicted of criminal offenses.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines penology as "the study of the punishment of crime
and prison management," and in this sense it is equivalent with corrections.
Penology is concerned with the effectiveness of those social processes devised and adopted
for the prevention of crime, via the repression or inhibition of criminal intent via the fear of
punishment. The study of penology therefore deals with the treatment of prisoners and the
subsequent rehabilitation of convicted criminals. It also encompasses aspects
of probation (rehabilitation of offenders in the community) as well as penitentiary science
relating to the secure detention and retraining of offenders committed to secure
institutions.
Penology concerns many topics and theories, including those concerning prisons (prison
reform, prisoner abuse, prisoners' rights, and recidivism), as well as theories of the purposes
of punishment (deterrence, retribution, incapacitation and rehabilitation). Contemporary
penology concerns itself mainly with criminal rehabilitation and prison management. The
word seldom applies to theories and practices of punishment in less formal environments
such as parenting, school and workplace correctional measures.

Criminology Simply put, Criminology is the study of crime. It deals with

understanding, explaining, preventing, and treating crime and criminal behaviour
from a simple shoplifting to mass murder. Criminology is the study of crime and
deviant behavior. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioral and
social sciences, which draws primarily upon the research of sociologists,
psychologists, philosophers, psychiatrists, biologists, social anthropologists, as well
as scholars of law.
Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have committed crimes.
The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions.
Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other crimes, and moral
support for victims. Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have
committed crimes. ... Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing
other crimes, and moral support for victims. The primary institutions of the criminal
justice system are the police, prosecution and defense lawyers, the courts and
prisons. The criminal justice system, essentially, is the system or process in the
community by which crimes are investigated, and the persons suspected thereof are
taken into custody, prosecuted in court and punished, if found guilty, provisions being
made for their correction and rehabilitation.

Criminology is the study of crime and its prevention, as well as the exploration of
criminals and their treatment. Programs are available at both the bachelor's and
master's degree levels. Criminology students study the criminal justice system and
develop new theories for dealing with crime and its causes. Typical course topics in a
criminology program include deviance, juvenile delinquency, punishment,
criminological theory, and social research.
Criminalistics, also known as forensic science, is the application of scientific
principles to provide evidence in criminal cases. Students can earn either a
bachelor's or master's degree in this field. Trained physicians also study the topic
within fellowship programs in forensic pathology. Students in forensic science
programs learn how to collect crime scene evidence, prove the causes of accidents,
and test crime scene evidence in labs. General course topics include crime scene
investigation, drug analysis, genetics, physics, organic chemistry, criminal
procedures, and the U.S. criminal justice system.
The terms “forensic scientist” and “criminalist” refer to the same job, according to
the American Board of Criminalistic. Forensic professionals focus on gathering and
analyzing physical evidence to help solve crimes. They typically work at law
enforcement agencies, such as police departments and crime labs, and have
schedules that span evenings and nights.
While Criminal Justice aims to study the breadth of criminal activities and its control through
policing and corrections, Forensic Criminology explores the depth of crime, its causes and
criminal motivation to address legal and investigative questions. Forensic means the application
of science to the law.
Forensic science is a critical element of the criminal justice system. Forensic
scientists examine and analyze evidence from crime scenes and elsewhere to develop objective
findings that can assist in the investigation and prosecution of perpetrators of crime or absolve an
innocent person from suspicion.
Criminalistics can be defined as the application of scientific methods to the recognition, collection,
identification, and comparison of physical evidence generated by criminal or illegal civil activity. It
also involves the reconstruction of such events by evaluation of the physical evidence and the
crime scene. Physical Evidence
A successful crime investigation depends upon the collection and analysis of various kinds
of evidence . Forensic scientists classify evidence in different ways and have specific ways of
dealing with it. One major distinction is between physical and biological evidence. Physical
evidence refers to any item that comes from a nonliving origin, while biological evidence always
originates from a living being. The most important kinds of physical evidence are fingerprints, tire
marks, footprints, fibers , paint, and building materials . Biological evidence includes bloodstains
and DNA .
Criminalists, usually called “forensic scientists,” analyze evidence such as body fluids in order to
determine if DNA in those fluids matches blood found at a crime scene (see DNA fingerprinting).
Other forensic scientists may help identify, collect, and evaluate physical evidence at a crime
scene.
3 Types of Evidence
Corpus delicti: Since the corpus delicti is the fact of the commission of the crime, this Court
has ruled that even a single witness' uncorroborated testimony, if credible, may suffice to prove it
and warrant a conviction therefor. Corpus delicti may even be established by
circumstantial evidence.
Associative evidence: is something that may associate a victim or suspect with a scene or with
each other; e.g., personal belongings.
Tracing Evidence: The word 'trace' means small or minute. To a forensic scientist, trace
evidence refers to evidence that is transferred from one person to another person or place. In the
forensic world, this concept is known as Locard's Exchange Principle. The man running through
the woods may have taken precautions not to be seen by anyone, but there are several different
kinds of trace evidence that can be collected from a crime scene that could lead to his arrest.
Trace evidence types commonly collected from crime scenes include:
Hairs
Fibers
Glass
Plant material
Paint chips or transfers
Soil
Fingerprints

Nature of Criminology (S.A.N.D)

Social Science: Criminology is the systematic study of law making, law breaking, and law
enforcing. Criminology is a social science emphasizing systematic data collection,
theoretical‐methodological symmetry, and the accumulation of empirical evidence toward
the goal of understanding the nature and extent of crime in society.
Applied Science: Criminology is a science in itself when applied to law enforcement
and prevention of crimes under the following nature: 1. It is an applied science - in the
study of the causes of crimes, anthropology, zoology, psychology, sociology and other
natural sciences may be applied.
Nationalistic: the study of crime must be in elation to the existing criminal law within the
territory.
Dynamic: It is dynamic- criminology changes as social conditions changes. It is
concomitant with the advancement of other sciences that have been applied to it. 4. It is
nationalistic - the study of crimes must be in relation with existing criminal law within a
territory or country.