Canada and the United States have a very similar criminal justice system. Both systems have the same players: the criminal, the police, a prosecutor, and a judge. They also have similar steps in prosecuting a criminal, except with slightly different names. The basic steps in the United States criminal justice system are arrest, preliminary hearing to determine bail, preliminary arraignment to determine what crime was committed within jurisdiction in the court, arraignment to determine if the defendant will plead guilty or not guilty, trial to determine if the defendant is guilty, and sentencing by the judge to determine the punishment for the crime.
According to the Manitoba Department of Justice website, several of these steps are similar
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If you look at other parts of the world, for example Russia, you see that their system appears to work, but it is riddled with social inequalities. Canada does a good job of maintaining law and order and does it in an appropriate manner. Canada appears to be successful because we don’t hear any negative things about Canada’s criminal justice system.
Comparing the Canadian and American criminal justice systems is a prime example of social inequality as an institution. Our northern neighbors prisons are still largely government owned as opposed to the increasingly private American prison system. Private prisons are seen as a money-making investment and not a place of rehabilitation, and thus the prisoners needs are viewed in dollar signs.
Without laws and governmental overseeing, private prisons can restrict the amenities available to prisoners. Although prisoners still maintain the majority of rights that non-prisoners do according to the law, the quality of life in private prisons is strictly at the mercy of millionaires who are looking to maximize their profits (Tencer 2012). In order to maintain those max profits, the prisons must stay full. Private prisons often have stricter rules that result in extended sentences for what are usually minor