Criminal Justice System: The Case Of Jack The Ripper

The criminal justice system exists to protect society while also punishing or rehabilitating offenders of the law. Progression in rehabilitating criminals and prevention of criminal activity has given rise to the study of criminal behavior. Where the focus is predicting who will commit violent or criminal acts and intervening to prevent repetitive or initial action. A great deal of knowledge of criminal behavior derives from the apprehension and study of criminal offenders. Though even some understanding can be gathered from offenders that to this day elude law enforcement, such as the case of Jack the Ripper.

Jack the Ripper was the moniker that terrorized east London in 1888 from August 7 to September 10, by killing and mutilating

Despite the length of time between murders, the victims were all linked due to a similar modus operandi coupled with similar though not exact signatures led to this conclusion. The truth of the matter however was that of the eleven victims, only six of the eleven victims realistically fell under the acts of Jack the Ripper. Regardless, over the span of just one year, the murders were able to show a repetitive pattern specific to the killer. This pattern was able to be analyzed by investigators and law enforcement of the time to take preventative measures to attempt to halt future offenses. Increasing the presence of constables in eastern London, while focusing on the investigative skills necessary to solve the spree of murders. The goal of understanding a criminal’s repetitive patterns is to not just understand the motives and behavior of a criminal but to put in place measures to stop their future criminal acts and those of similar criminals. This ties in directly into the analysis of behavior, specifically to the risk factors that lead to criminal behavior and repetitive actions. In the twenty-first-century risk factors cover family, school, community, and peer-related risks. Family risk factors can range from family history and conflict to poor supervision and discipline from patriarchal and matriarchal figures. School risk

It cannot be overlooked that developmental issues and life experiences play a major role as well. In the modern world, these issues and experiences are analyzed and studied by prevalent criminality and psychopathology fields within the criminal justice system. After all, trying to understand why individuals chose to commit crimes and break the law is necessary to prevent them and rehabilitate criminals. Since the nineteenth century, criminal defendants have used mental incapacity and insanity to excuse their criminal activity. This has resulted in the study of psychopathology and crime causation being of significant importance to criminal justice. Crime causation is the study of the reasons why individuals commit crimes and covers four main theories. The strain theory suggests individuals commit crimes to relieve psychological strain. The social learning theory that suggests individuals commit crimes as a product of their environment. Where control theory suggests that individuals chose an easier alternative to what their environment provides. Lastly, is the anomie theory, a social context where an individual commits a crime in response to alienation from society. Crime causation theories present society with a viewpoint, whereby criminal suspects are seen not for the crimes they