Crime and Criminal Justice

Chapter 1

Define the Concept of Criminal JusticeCriminal justice refers to the agencies

that dispense justice and the process by which justice is carried out

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Define the Concept of Criminal JusticeCriminal justice refers to the agencies

that dispense justice and the process by which justice is carried out

Is Crime a Recent Development?Crime and violence have been

common since the nation was first formed Crime in the Old West Crime in the Cities

From 1900 to 1935, the nation experienced a sustained increase in criminal activity

First Police Agency – Not in the U.S. London Metropolitan Police

Creating Criminal JusticeChicago Crime Commission

Created in 1919 It was a professional association funded

by private contributions, which was integral in getting agencies of justice to work together, and getting the work of the criminal justice system recognized.

Creating Criminal JusticeFederal Involvement

The LEAA provided technical assistance and hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to state and local justice agencies between 1969 and 1982

Evidence-Based Justice Determining through the use of the

scientific method whether criminal justice programs actually reduce crime rates and offender recidivism

The Contemporary Criminal Justice SystemToday’s instrument of social control

Social control is a society’s ability to control individual behavior in order to serve the best interests and welfare of the society as a whole

Divided into three main components:① Law enforcement agencies (cops)

② Court system (courts)

③ Correctional system (corrections)

• Please introduce yourself

• How led you towards a career in law enforcement

• Why do you want to be a police officer

• What education do you have

• What do you do on a daily basis

• What are some of the skills/traits you need to be a good officer

• What skill/trait has helped you the most on the job

• Who do you try to have a positive impact on

• What was a exciting case you worked on

• What is a common issue or cause you see in your calls, give us an example of this in a call you have handled

• What advise do you have for people looking at a career in law enforcement

Video: Questions

Careers in Criminal Justice: Police Officer

Video: Police Officer – SFPD

How did what the officer said about his job as a police officer compare to your initial conceptions of police work?

Did anything said by the officer result in you thinking differently about police work?

Video: Discussion Questions

Scope of the System The contemporary criminal justice system in

the United States is monumental in size It now costs federal, state, and local governments

about $200 billion per year for civil and criminal justice

It is massive because it must process, treat, and care for millions of people Although the crime rate has declined in the past

decade, more than 13 million people are still being arrested each year

More than 7 million people are under some form of correctional supervision

Direct Expenditure By Level of Government

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Justice Expenditure and Employment Extracts, http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/glance/exptyp.cfm (accessed June 6, 2012).

Direct Expenditure by Criminal Justice Function

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Justice Expenditure and Employment Extracts, http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/glance/exptyp.cfm (accessed June 6, 2012).

The Formal Criminal Justice ProcessThe process consists of the actual

steps the offender takes from the initial investigation through trial, sentencing, and appeal The justice process contains 15 stages,

each of which is a decision point through which cases flow Extralegal factors such as the suspect’s

race, gender, class, and age may influence decision outcomes

Arraignment Bail/Detention Plea Bargaining Trial/Adjudication Sentencing/Disposition Appeal/Postconviction

Remedies Correctional Treatment Release Postrelease

Formal procedures: Initial Contact Investigation Arrest Custody

(first four are the role of police officers)

Charging Preliminary

Hearing/Grand Jury

The Formal Criminal Justice Process

The Formal Criminal Justice Process - MythsMiranda Warnings

There is a myth that Miranda Warnings must be read to all suspects In Custody Interrogation

Grand Juries Open to the public

Closed and secret Hard to indict

Indict a ham sandwich

The Criminal Justice Assembly Line - Herbert Packer

The criminal justice system can be viewed as an assembly-line conveyor belt, down which moves an endless stream of cases Each stage is a decision point through

which cases flow Each decision can have a critical effect on

the defendant, the justice system, and society If an error is made, an innocent person may

suffer or a dangerous individual may be released to continue to prey on society

The system acts as a “funnel”: Most people who commit crime escape

detention, and of those who do not, relatively few are bound over trial, convicted, and eventually sentenced to prison

(most people are NOT punished for their crimes)

The Criminal Justice Assembly Line

Criminal Justice Funnel

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The Informal Criminal Justice SystemCourtroom Work Group

Implies that all parties in the justice process work together in a cooperative effort to settle cases efficiently, rather than to engage in a true adversarial procedure Defense Attorney – Judge – Prosecutor

The Informal Criminal Justice System The Wedding Cake Model of Justice

In many instances, the criminal justice system works informally to expedite the disposal of cases Criminal acts that are very serious or notorious

may receive the full complement of criminal justice processes, from arrest to trial

Less serious cases are often settled when a bargain is reached between the prosecution and the defense

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Thinking Point• According to the wedding cake model,

high-profile cases receive the most attention from the justice system and the media.Discuss why you believe sexual offenses are

considered by the criminal justice system and the media to be high profile cases and therefore at the top of the wedding cake model?

Find an example of a recent sexual offense and discuss it in terms of the wedding cake model.

PART I

Video: Teen Charged with Killing Her Parents

In terms of the wedding cake model of informal justice, where do you believe this case would be located? Why?

What makes these types of cases of interest to the public?

Video: Discussion Questions

Perspectives on Justice The role of criminal justice can be

interpreted in many ways There are a number of different

perspectives on criminal justice People who study the field, or work in its

agencies, bring their own ideas and feelings to bear when they try to decide on the right course of action to take or recommend

Perspective on JusticeThe Crime Control Perspective

Oriented toward deterring criminal behavior and incapacitating serious criminal offenders

The Rehabilitation Perspective Views the justice system as a treatment

agency focused on helping offenders Counseling programs are stressed over

punishment and deterrence strategies

Perspectives on Justice The Due Process Perspective

Sees the justice system as a legal process The concern in this view is that every

defendant receive the full share of legal rights granted under law

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Perspective on JusticeThe Nonintervention Perspective

Concerned about stigma and helping defendants avoid a widening net of justice

These advocates call for the least intrusive methods possible

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Perspectives on Justice The Equal Justice Perspective

Concerned with making the system equitable The arrest, sentencing, and correctional process

should be structured so that every person is treated equally

The Restorative Justice Perspective Focuses on finding peaceful and

humanitarian solutions to crime

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Perspectives on Justice

Ethics in Criminal JusticeThe justice system must deal with

many ethical issues The challenge is to determine what is fair

and just, and balance that with the need to protect the public

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Thinking Points• Read the Evidence-Based Justice

box on page 30 of your text, regarding monitoring of sexual offendersDo you believe monitoring sex offenders

is an effective way to lower recidivism?

• Evidence suggests that these laws are not especially effective at lowering recidivismIf these studies are accurate, why does

such monitoring continue?

Ethics in Criminal JusticeEthics and Law Enforcement

Particularly important because police have the ability to deprive people of their liberty

Considerable discretion Various national organizations have

produced model codes of conduct for law enforcement that can serve as behavioral guides

Ethics in Criminal JusticeEthics and the Court Process

Prosecutorial ethics may be tested when the dual role of a prosecutor causes one to experience role conflict

The defense attorney, in a dual role of being both an advocate for defendants and an officer of the court, may experience conflicting obligations to client and profession

Ethics in Criminal Justice• Ethics and Corrections

Is it fair and ethical to execute a criminal? Can capital punishment ever be

considered as a moral choice?Should people be given different

punishments for the same criminal law violation?

Is it fair and just when some convicted murderers and rapists receive probation for their crimes while others are sentenced to prison for the same offense?

Ethics and Corrections

Video: Dead Men Talking

Is it ethically permissible to implement a punishment that cannot be undone should the defendant later be found not guilty?

Did the statistics provided in the video surprise you? Why or why not?

How can the system balance the need to implement a serious punishment with the concern for possible execution of innocent defendants?

Video: Discussion Questions

Discussion Question

Police officers must continually balance their need to protect public security with the ethical requirement that they protect citizens’ legal rights.

You are a police officer and you stop a car for a traffic violation. You realize that you conducted an illegal search of the vehicle and found a weapon that was used in a particularly heinous shooting in which three children were killed.

Would it be ethical for you to lie on the witness stand and say you noticed the gun on the car seat in plain sight (and hence subject to legal and proper seizure)? Or should you tell the truth and risk having the charges against the suspect dismissed, leaving the offender free to kill again?