Introduction to Criminal Justice System

Criminal Justice System – The machinery which the society uses in the prevention and
control of crimes. It may also refer to the totality of the activities of the law enforcers,
prosecutors, judges, and corrections personnel, as well as those of the mobilized
community in crime prevention and control.

In theory, Criminal Justice System is an integrated apparatus (ATTRIBUTES) that is concerned

with the following;
● apprehension,
● prosecution,
● trial,
● conviction,
● sentencing and
● rehabilitating or correcting criminal offenders.

1. Primary Goals
a. Maintenance of peace and order
b. Protect members of the society

2. Secondary Goals or Sub-goals

a. Prevention of crime
b. The review of the legality of preventive and suppressive measures.
c. The judicial determination of guilt or innocent of those apprehended.
d. The proper disposition of those who have been legally found guilty.
e. The correction by socially approved means of the behavior of those who violate
the criminal law.
f. The suppression of criminal conduct by apprehending offenders for whom
prevention is ineffective.

People involved in the system (Parties to the criminal case)

1. Accused = The most pampered party in a criminal case.
2. Victim/complainant = The forgotten party in a criminal case.
3. People of the Philippines = The actual offended party.

5 PILLARS OF CJS
• Law Enforcement • Prosecution • Courts • Corrections • Community

The first four as the so-called formal CJS. The Community is the informal pillar of the CJS

First Pillar: Law Enforcement

This pillar is responsible for the prevention and investigation of crimes, as well as the
apprehension of offenders.

Police- an official force whose job is to maintain public order, deal with crime, and make people
obey the law, or the members of this force.

Theories of Police Service

1. Home Rule - Policemen are considered as servants of the community.
2. Continental - Policemen are considered as servants of higher authority.
Concept of Police Service
1. Old Concept
-The yardstick of police efficiency is the number of arrests. Police is repressive machinery in
crime prevention.
2. Modern Concept
-The yardstick of police efficiency is the absence of crime crime/lesser
number of crimes committed.

Different Police Activities

1.Prevention of crime is intended to prevent root causes of crime.
2.Repression or suppression of crime is done to reduce the opportunity of committing a crime
like the act of conducting patrol.
3.Apprehending offenders is also known as arresting offenders.
4.Conduct search and seizure;
5.Investigation of crime; and
6.Protection of lives and property. In the Philippines, the law enforcement function
is spearheaded by the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Department
of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)
under the Department of Justice (DOJ).

<Philippine National Police (PNP)>

The Philippine National Police is a law enforcement agency under the DILG. It is under
administrative control and operational supervision of the National Police Commission. It is an
organization that is national in scope and civilian in character, as provided by Section 6, Article
16 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution:
“The state shall establish and maintain one police force which shall be national in scope and
civilian in character…”
The PNP is headed by the Chief, PNP, with the rank of Director General, appointed by the
President and who shall serve a term of office of four (4) years.
• National in Scope - means that the PNP is a nationwide government organization whose
jurisdiction covers the entire breadth of the Philippine archipelago. All uniformed and non-
uniformed personnel of the PNP are national government employees.
• Civilian in Character - means that that the PNP is not a part of the military, although it retains
some military attributes such as discipline.

POWER AND FUNCTION OF THE PNP (RA 6975)

1. Enforce all laws and ordinances relative to the protection of lives and properties.
2. Maintain peace and order and take all necessary steps to ensure public safety.
3. Investigate and prevent crimes, effect the arrest of criminal offenders, bring offenders to
justice, and assist
in their prosecution.
4. Exercise the general powers to make arrest, search and seizure in accordance with the
Constitution and
pertinent laws.
5. Detain and arrest person for a period not beyond what is prescribed by law (RPC), informing
the person
so detained of all his/her rights under the Constitution. (R.A.7438)
6. Issue licenses for the possession of firearms and explosives in accordance with law.
7. Supervise and control the training and operation of security agencies and issue licenses to
operate security
agencies, and to security guards and private detectives for the practice of their profession. (R.A.
5478)
8. Perform such other duties and exercises all other functions as may be provided by law.
<The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)>
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) saw its inception on November 13, 1936 upon
approval of
Commonwealth Act No. 181 by the legislature. Two personality was tasked with organizing
a Division of Investigation or DI patterned after the United States Federal Bureau of
Investigation were Thomas Dugan, a veteran American police captain from the New York
Police Department and Flaviano C. Guerrero, the only Filipino member of the United States
Federal Bureau of Investigation. On June 19, 1947, by virtue of Republic Act No. 157, it was
reorganized into the Bureau of Investigation. Later, it was amended by Executive Order No. 94
issued on October 4, 1947 renaming it to what it is presently known, the National Bureau of
Investigation (NBI). The NBI is a government entity that is civilian in character, and national in
scope which is under the Department of Justice.

POWER AND FUNCTION OF THE NBI

1. Investigate crimes and other offenses against the laws of the Philippines, both on its own
initiative and as public interest may require.
2. Assist, when officially requested in the investigation or detection of crimes and other offenses.
3. Act as national clearing house of criminal records and other information for use of all
prosecuting and law enforcement entities in the Philippines, of identification records of
identifying marks, characteristics and ownership or possession of all firearms and test bullets
fired there from.
4. Give technical help to all prosecuting and law enforcement offices, agencies of the
government, and courts which may ask for its services.
5. Extend its services in the investigation of cases of administrative or civil in nature in which the
government is interested.
6. Establish and maintain an up-to-date scientific crime laboratory and conduct research in
furtherance of scientific knowledge in criminal investigation.
7. Coordinate with other national or local agencies in the maintenance of peace and order.
8. Undertake the instruction and training of a representative number of city and municipal peace
officers at the request of their respective superiors along effective methods of crime
investigation and detection in order to insure greater efficiency in the discharge of their duties.
ARREST (WARRANT AND WARRANTLESS)
is the taking of a person into custody in order that he may be bound to
answer for the commission of an offense.

MANNER OF CONDUCTING ARREST- An arrest is made by actual restraint of a person

to be arrested, or by his submission to the custody of the person making an arrest.

*WARRANT OF ARREST- Warrant of arrest is an order in writing issued in the name of

People of the Philippines, signed by the judge and directed to a peace officer,
commanding him to arrest a person or persons stated therein and deliver them
before the court.

The requisites of a valid warrant of arrest are the following:

a. It shall be issued upon probable cause;
b. The probable cause is determined personally by the judge upon examination
under oath or affirmation of the complainant and the witnesses he may produce; and
c. Particularly describing the person to be arrested. (Sec 2, Art 3 of the Philippine
Constitution)

LIFE SPAN OF WARRANT OF ARREST

As long as the person stated in the warrant of arrest is not arrested, it shall remain
valid even if several years already lapsed. However, the head of the office to whom
the warrant of arrest was delivered for execution shall cause the warrant to be
executed within ten (10) days from its receipt. Within ten (10) days after the expiration of the
period, the officer to whom it was assigned for execution shall make a report to
the judge who issued the warrant.
*WARRANTLESS ARREST

A peace officer or a private person may, without a warrant of arrest a person:

a. When, in his presence the person to be arrested has committed, is actually
committing or is attempting to commit an offense.
b. When an offense has in fact just been committed and he has personal knowledge
of facts indicating that the person to be arrested had committed it;
c. When the person to be arrested is a prisoner who has escaped from a penal
establishment or place where he is serving final judgment or temporarily confined
while his case is pending or has escaped while being transferred from one
confinement to another.

SEARCH and SEIZURE

Search- is defined as the act of looking into carefully in order to find some concealed
items.
Seizure- is to take into custody of something.

POWER TO CONDUCT SEARCH

General Rule: A warrant is needed before search. Validity of warrant is 10 days from
its date.

WARRANTLESS SEARCH
a. Search incidental to lawful arrest- A person lawfully arrested may be searched for
dangerous weapons or anything which may have been used or constitute proof in
the commission of an offense without search warrant.
b. Consented search- the right against unreasonable search and seizure may be
voluntarily waived by a person being searched
c. Plain view doctrine- illegal things at sight may be seized even without a warrant to
do so. The things must be readily seen without any effort of locating it.
d. Search conducted by Bureau of Customs
e. Search conducted by Security Guards on post
f. Search in moving vehicles/checkpoints- Under search in moving vehicle especially
in checkpoints, moving vehicles may be searched provided that it is limited to visual
search.

WHEN TO SERVE SEARCH WARRANT?

The search warrant must direct that it be served in the day time, unless the affidavit
asserts that the property is on the person or on the place ordered to be searched, in
which case, a direction may be inserted that it be served at any time of the day or
night.

CUSTODIAL INVESTIGATION or RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED

Custodial investigation is any questioning initiated by law enforcement officers after a
person has been taken into custody of otherwise deprived of his freedom of action in
any significant way.

What are the rights of persons under custodial investigation?

a) Right to be informed of his right to remain silent;
b) Right to have a competent and independent counsel preferably of his own
choice or to be provided with one;
c) Right against torture, force, violence, threat, and intimidation or any other
means which vitiates his free will;
d) Right not to be held in secret, solitary, incommunicado, or any other similar
forms of detention.

INTERVIEW vs INTERROGATION
INTERROGATION- An interrogation is a questioning of a person suspected of having
committed a crime or of a person who is reluctant to make a full disclosure of
information in his possession which is pertinent to investigation.
INTERVIEW- An interview is the questioning of a person who is believed to possess
knowledge that is of official interest to the investigator.

CONFESSION VS ADMISSION
CONFESSION Is the direct acknowledgement of guilt, while admission is the indirect
acknowledgement of guilt.

Police Discretion-It is the wise use of one’s judgment, personal experience and
common sense to decide a particular situation. Abuse of discretion resulting to injury
to persons or damage to property is punishable. So, the police must be guided by
some basic concepts such as COMMON SENSE, PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, and SOUND
JUDGMENT.

Relationship of the Law Enforcement Pillar with the Other Pillars

The Law Enforcement as the first pillar is considered to be the “initiator” or the “prime mover”
of the Criminal Justice System. It is considered as “the initiator of the actions” that other pillars
must act upon to attain its goal or objective.

Examples of police initiating action:

a. effecting an arrest
b. surveillance
c. crime investigation

Significance of the Role of the Law Enforcement in the CJS

Without law enforcement and our criminal justice system, there is a possibility of rampant havoc,
violence, theft, and danger everywhere we turn. Law enforcement professionals can take pride
and satisfaction in their work to keep society safe and those responsible for crimes accountable
for their actions.

Other Law Enforcement Agencies in the Philippines

PNP AFP MBI AMLC PCG PDEA NICA BI PPA BoC
OMB NTC BFP BIR BJMP SEC LTO DOLE