Crime and Criminal Justice

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Chapter 1
Crime and Criminal Justice
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Crime is not a recent phenomenon

• Crime has evolved with the nation
• The Civil War produced widespread business crime.
• From 1900 to 1935 the nation experienced
  sustained increases in criminal activity
  dominated by Depression-era criminals.

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Crime Commission Recommendations

• To deal more effectively with crime and
  criminals, the Criminal Justice system needs
  more
• Time
• Money
• People

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Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA)

• Gave 7.7 billion to states to deal with crime
• Contributed to increased numbers of people
  working in criminal justice
• Helped invent what is known as criminal justice

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The Criminal Justice System Size and Expense

• 55,000 different public agencies
• 150 billion annual budget
• 2 million employees
• 20,000 police agencies
• 17,000 courts

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Exhibit 1.1 Components of the Criminal Justice
System
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The Criminal Justice System Size and Expense

• 8,000 prosecutorial agencies
• 6,000 correctional institutions
• 3,500 probation and parole departments
• 15 million arrests per year
• Correctional population of more than 5 million

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Role of the Police

• Maintain order
• Enforce criminal traffic law
• Provide emergency service
• Create a sense of community safety

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Role of the Courts

• To seek truth obtain justice
• To adjudicate sentence
• Consists of
• lower courts
• superior courts
• appellate courts

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Prosecution and Defense

• Opponents in an adversarial system
• Prosecutor represents the people
• Defense represents the accused

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The Prosecutor

• Represents the government
• Usually a local attorney with jurisdiction
  limited to county or state
• Either elected or appointed position
• Presents the states case from defendants
  arrest through conviction and sentencing
• Screens cases to eliminate the obviously
  innocent or those lacking evidence

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The Defense Attorney

• Role involves two major functions
• Protecting the constitutional rights of the
  accused
• Presenting the best possible legal defense for
  the defendant

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Role of Corrections

• Community supervision
• Probation
• Confinement
• Parole

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Figure 1.4 The Criminal Justice Funnel
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Exhibit 1.4 The Interrelationship of the Criminal
Justice System and the Criminal Justice Process
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Figure 1.3 The Critical Stages of the Justice
Process
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Realities of Crime

• All crimes are not treated the same by the
  criminal justice system.
• All criminals are not treated the same by the
  criminal justice system.
• Much of the public has a distorted understanding
  about criminal justice processes.

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Figure 1.5 The Criminal Justice Wedding Cake
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Perspectives on Justice

• A perspective is a view point about a given
  subject. It normally reveals ones understanding
  about the relationship among various aspects of a
  subject, both to each other and to the topic as a
  whole. A perspective about the causes of crime,
  the nature of criminals, the functions of
  government, and the rights of victims is one of
  the foundations on which public policy is based.

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Figure 1.6 Perspectives on Justice Key Concerns
and Concepts
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Crime Control Perspective

• Proper role of criminal justice is to prevent
  crime through judicious use of sanctions.
• If criminal justice operated effectively,
  criminals would be deterred.
• The system could punish in such a way to make all
  believe that crime doesnt pay.
• Focus of justice should be on the victim.
• Crime control measures should be sure swift.

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Effects of the Crime Control Perspective

• Mandatory sentencing
• Three strikes and youre out
• Preventative detention
• Abolition of parole

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Rehabilitative Perspective

• The justice system should be a means of caring
  for and treating people who cannot manage
  themselves.
• Crime is an expression of frustration and anger
  created by social inequality.
• Crime can be controlled by giving people the
  means to improve their lives through conventional
  endeavors.

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Rehabilitative Perspective

• In contrast to the Crime Control Perspective,
  focus is on the offender.
• Societal conditions will breed new criminals.
• Pay now by treatment or later by more prisons.

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Effects of the Due Process Perspective

• Exclusionary rule
• Right to attorney at all stages of the process
• Due process rights given to juveniles
• Granting prison inmates fundamental legal
  entitlements

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Nonintervention Perspective

• Limit the involvement of the criminal justice
  system with defendants whenever possible.
• Long-term effects of involvement are harmful to
  the individual.

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Nonintervention Perspective and Net Widening

• Nonintervention Strategies
• Decriminalization of victimless crimes
• Deinstitutionalization of nonviolent offenders
• Pretrial Diversion for first time offenders

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Justice Perspective

• Combines
• Liberal Perspective
• Fairness, equality, and strict control of
  discretion
• Conservative Perspective
• Crime control

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How Does the Justice Perspective Limit Discretion?

• One of the major goals is to reduce sentencing
  disparity
• Advocates determinant sentencing
• Advocates use of sentencing guidelines
• Advocates abolition of parole

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Restorative Justice Perspective

• The true purpose of the criminal justice system
  is to promote a peaceful and just society.
• The justice system should aim for peacemaking,
  not punishment.

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Figure 1.7 Strategies for Controlling Drugs
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Restorative Justice Strategies

• Mediation and conflict resolution
• Financial and community restitution programs

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Nonintervention Strategies Legalization of Drugs

• Arguments for legalization
• Prohibition failed
• More die from legal drugs
• When drugs were legal, many managed to lead
  normal lives
• The Netherlands is relatively crime-free
• Arguments against legalization
• If it worked, it would only be short-term
• Long-term result would be more users
• Current users could increase intake
• Legalizing wont stop the problems, e.g., DWI

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Due Process Perspective

• Combines elements of the liberals concern for
  the individual with the concept of legal fairness
  guaranteed by the Constitution
• Provides fair and equitable treatment to those
  accused of crime
• Advocates strict monitoring of discretion by
  justice officials to ensure no one suffers
  racial, religious or ethnic discrimination