What is criminal justice-involvement?
Criminal justice-involvement is an umbrella term which covers the point of arrest, to the end of a sentence (see diagram below). This term can be confusing, but is one of the few terms that covers all the "contact points" (numbered 1-5 on the diagram) of the criminal justice system:
Arrest
Charge
Trial
Sentencing / serving a sentence
No longer serving a sentence / the end of criminal justice-involvement
The term criminal justice-involvement has issues:
It is a top down term that is usually seen in research or by other people in positions of power
the word involvement can imply a lot more power and agency for the person going through the criminal justice system.
Taken together this can be a confusing and dismissive way of speaking about what families go through when confronted with the criminal justice system.
To try to address this, the term criminal justice-involvement is used when a broad term, which does not focus on a specific part of the criminal justice process, is needed.
When talking about a persons experience with the criminal justice system, the phrase "going through the criminal justice system" has been used, as it respects the overwhelming power that systems have, and the women who so often describe there experience as happening at them, and not with them.
Project CAMEO welcomes mothers who have experienced all types of sentencing outcomes and who are no longer going through the criminal justice system.
Project CAMEO welcomes young people who have experienced and are still experiencing their parent(s) having gone through / still going through the criminal justice system.