THE FIVE PILLARS OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

The first pillar is the COMMUNITY (e.g., People & People’s Organizations). It refers to institutions,
government, and non-government agencies and people’s organizations that provide care and assistance
to the victims or offended party, during and after the onset of victims’ rights case. The “community” has
a significant role to assume in all the phases of judicial involvement of offender as well as the protection
process: the prevention of abuse, cruelty, discrimination and exploitation, assistance of offenders who
enter the criminal justice system and the acceptance of the offenders upon his reintegration into the
community, after he goes out of Correctional.

The second pillar is LAW ENFORCEMENT (e.g. PNP, NBI, PDEA, etc.) It involves government agencies
charged with the enforcement of penal laws. It is primarily responsible for the investigation and
determination whether an offense has been committed, and where needed, the apprehension of
alleged offenders for further investigation of the third pillar, Prosecution Service.

The PROSECUTION SERVICE (Public Prosecutor or Fiscal) refers to the National Prosecution Service
(NPS). The NPS is mandated to investigate and prosecute penal violations. It collates, evaluates evidence
in the preliminary inquest investigation and dismisses or files the case in court as indicated. The Public
Attorney’s Office or private defense counsel, on the other hand, serves as the defender of offender who
is charged before the court and unable to hire the service of the retained lawyer.

The fourth pillar is the COURT (MTC, RTC)) which refers to the MTC and Regional Trial Courts designated
to handle and try the case and issue judgment after trial.

The fifth pillar is the CORRECTIONAL SYSTEM (NBP, CIW, and BJMP). It refers to institutions mandated
to administer both correctional and rehabilitation programs for the offenders. These programs develop
the offenders or convicts’ abilities and potentials and facilitate their re-integration into the community
and normal family life.

ARREST

An arrest is the act of apprehending a person and taking them into custody, usually because they have
been suspected of committing a crime. An arrest is a procedure in a criminal justice system.

Arrest: The suspect is apprehended.

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS

A criminal investigation is an undertaking that seeks, collects, and gathers evidence of a crime for a case
or specific purpose.

A criminal investigator looks for clues and evidence to determine whether a crime has taken place. If a
crime has been committed, investigators may look into the background of the accused and try to
uncover who committed the crime. Police agencies and law enforcement are committed to criminal
investigations of every kind, but a growing number of individuals are choosing to launch their own
criminal investigations with the help of professional investigators.

WHEN DO I NEED A CRIMINAL INVESTIGATOR?

-If law enforcement investigations produce little or no results

-When you need evidence gathered for criminal defense

-To collect evidence for a criminal case

-To find and interview other witnesses to a crime

-To gather impartial facts about a crime

-If you need surveillance or records searches to collect evidence

WHAT IS THE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION PROCESS?

Investigation: The investigation involves establishing that a crime was committed and whether an arrest
should be pursued. After confirming the crime, the evidence is gathered and a suspect identified. If
sufficient evidence is gathered, the suspect is arrested.

Arrest: The suspect is apprehended.

Court Proceedings: All the evidence gathered during the investigation is presented to the court and a
decision is made in regards to punishment.

TYPES OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION:

 Fraud investigations
 Crime scene investigations
 Sexual crime investigations
 Theft investigations
 Kidnapping investigations
 Assault investigations
 Homicide investigations
 Criminal defense investigations
ARTICLE III OF THE PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION IS THE BILL OF RIGHTS.

It establishes the relationship of the individual to the State and defines the rights of the individual by
limiting the lawful powers of the State. It is one of the most important political achievements of the
Filipinos.

The concept of a Bill of Rights, as such, is essentially an occidental product. For a number of centuries in
British, French, and American political thought, there has grown the conviction that the rights of the
individual must be preserved and safeguarded, not through the authority of an individual, not through
membership in a particular group or party, not through reliance upon force of arms, but rather through
the accepted processes of declared constitutional law.

BILL OF RIGHTS

A bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights, is a list of the most
important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose is to protect those rights against infringement
from public officials and private citizens.

Bills of rights may be entrenched or entrenched. An entrenched bill of rights cannot be amended or
repealed by a country's legislature through regular procedure, instead requiring a supermajority or
referendum; often it is part of a country's constitution, and therefore subject to special procedures
applicable to constitutional amendments. A bill of rights that is not entrenched is a normal statute law
and as such can be modified or repealed by the legislature at will.

In practice, not every jurisdiction enforces the protection of the rights articulated in its bill of rights.

CUSTODIAL INVESTIGATION

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

WHAT IS THE RIGHT OF A PERSON UNDER CUSTODIAL INVESTIGATION?

Article III, Section 12 of the 1987 Constitution (also known as the Bill of Rights) states that any person
under investigation for the commission of a crime or offense "shall have the right to be informed of his
right to remain silent and to have competent and independent counsel preferably of his own choice."