Conflict or Consensus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Conflict or Consensus - Essay Example he criminal code of justice, and the legal system in particular was meant to serve as a weapon that would enable everyone to do their duties in a rightful manner such that it would result in mutual prosperity. However, history is evidence to the fact that the society has not adhered it and has instead used it to lever advantage in their favor. This has been the case with people belonging to the powerful and the elite, who have bent the criminal code so that most of their illegal deeds went unnoticed. The conflict model of criminal justice, says that the organizations of a criminal justice system must work competitively as opposed to working in a cooperative manner. Issues such as fame, wealth and success have forced the criminal justice system to a conflict with itself. The conflict model has therefore suggested that there is no true legal system and that an adversarial approach has prevented legal instruments from communicating with each other. The supporters of the Conflict model argue that the conflict model is the reality of criminal justice. The conflict model, as pointed out by Jerome Skolnick says that powerful elements such as the police and lawyers appear to do their job, rather than doing their job in reality. Powerful people like the police and the wealthy have coerced innocent people into accepting that they have committed crimes such as theft or rape. In several cases, the wealthy have twisted the legal system by covering tracks of wrongdoings such as financial wrongdoings, eliminating competitors, implicating innocent people etc. they have grown a clout of loyal and corrupt police officials, lawyers and other legal entities, who, in reality, work for such powerful people rather than the state. The consensus model, opposes the conflict model by professing the argument that the constituents of a criminal justice system, work cooperatively and not competitively. It further goes on to says that organization of criminal law must and should work in