Sociological Imagination In The Criminal Justice System

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The criminal justice system is in place to keep everything safe and fair. Criminal justice is concerned with directly addressing criminal behavior and crime in society. These systems and programs include the police, courts, probation and parole systems and correction institutions. To be successful in this career field individuals must observe the world through the prism of sociological imagination.
Sociological imagination is the relationship between large social forces that are the reasoning for an individual’s troubles. The intent of sociological imagination was to get away from the normal daily routine thinking and start looking at things differently to see the bigger picture. Thinking outside of the box help an individual gain a deeper understanding of the society in which they live by moving away from the reality and looking beyond the picture itself. The sociological imagination requires individuals to take on the studies of an individual’s biography and history in which that individual lives. By recognizing the relationship between
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Sociology analyzes social interactions between individuals, groups, social institutions, while criminal justice searches for all the connections between crime and punishment in society. When an individual in the criminal justice system observes society through the prism of sociological imagination their career is affected in several important ways. First, they grow a deeper understanding and awareness of cultural differences. With the United States becoming increasingly diverse it is becoming clear that in order to build a successful community that can work together to defeat crime we need a large amount of people working together. Working together as a society and understanding each other’s differences will help the criminal justice system prevent racial and ethnic divisions. Second, individuals are better able to assess result of public policy initiatives.