Chapter 1 - Criminal Justice Today Lecture Outline
I. What Is Crime?
Learning Objective 1: Describe the two most common models of how society determines which acts are criminal.
Learning Objective 2: Defining crime
A. An act that violates criminal law and is punishable by criminal sanctions.
B. Determining crime: Two common models
1. Consensus model
i. Assumes that as people gather together to form a society, its members will naturally come to a basic agreement with regard to shared norms and values
ii. Assumes, to a certain extent, that a diverse group of people can have similar morals or principals practiced by individuals or society depicting right and wrong behavior
2. Conflict model
i. Assumes that different segments of society, separated by social class, income, age, and race, will inevitably have different value systems and shared norms, and are engaged in a constant struggle with one another for control of society
ii. What is deemed criminal activity is determined by whichever group happens to be holding power at any given time
C. An integrated definition of crime
1. Takes into consideration both the consensus and conflict models
2. Constructs a definition of crime in that it is any action or activity that includes the following:
i. Is punishable under criminal law, as determined by the majority of society, or in some
cases, a powerful minority
ii. Is considered an offense against society as a whole and prosecuted by public officials, not
by victims or relatives
iii. Is punishable by statutorily defined sanctions that bring about a loss of freedom
iv. Must recognize the differences between crime and deviance
a. Deviance is behavior that is considered to go against the norms established by society
b. Deviance is a subjective concept, meaning it may differ by society
c. Deviant acts become crimes only when a majority is willing to accept that those acts should be punished
d. Not all crimes are considered particularly deviant
e. Criminal law reflects acts that we all agree are so unacceptable that steps must be taken
to prevent them from occurring\
D. Types of crimes
1. Crimes are classified according to their seriousness
2. Federal, state, and local legislation provide classification and punishments
3. In general there are six categories of criminal behavior
i. Violent crime
a. Crimes against persons, which dominate our perspectives about crime
b. Four general categories
i. Murder
ii. Sexual assault
iii. Assault and battery
iv. Robbery
c. These acts are further classified by degree, depending on the circumstances surrounding the criminal act
i. Intent of the person committing the act
ii. Whether a weapon was used
iii. The level of pain experienced by the victim
ii. Property crime
a. Most common form of criminal activity during which the goal of the offender is some form of economic gain or damaging of the property
b. Four general categories
i. Larceny / Theft
ii. Burglary
iii. Motor vehicle theft
iv. Arson
II. The Purpose of the Criminal Justice System
Learning Objective 3: Outline the three levels of law enforcement.
A. Maintaining justice
1. The goal of the criminal justice system is to provide justice to all members of society
2. Justice means:
i. All individuals are equal before the law
ii. All individuals are free from arbitrary arrest or seizure
iii. All laws should be carried out to be fair
B. Protecting Society
1. Four specific goals of the criminal justice system
i. To protect society from potential crimes
ii. To determine when an offense has been committed and levy the appropriate punishment
iii. To rehabilitate offenders in order to return them to society
iv. To support crime victims and attempt to return them to their pre-crime status
2. The goals are difficult to maintain (see chapter example pg. 11)
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III. The Structure of the Criminal Justice System
Learning Objective 4: List the essential elements of the corrections system.
A. The importance of Federalism
B. Federalism implies that government powers are shared by the national (federal) government and the states
C. The system was chosen by the framers of the U.S. Constitution who feared tyranny
D. Allows for a strong national government which allows state and local governments traditional powers as well
E. Division of powers allows states to create their own police power enacting whatever laws are necessary to protect health and welfare of citizens.
1. Law enforcement
i. Local law enforcement
a. Duties are split between counties and municipalities
b. Chief law enforcement officer of the county is the sheriff
c. Bulk of local police officers are employed at the local level
ii. State law enforcement
a. Only state without a state law enforcement agency is Hawaii
b. Two general types of state law enforcement agencies: State Police and Highway Patrol
c. Other state law enforcers include fire marshals and fish, game, and watercraft wardens
iii. Federal law enforcement
a. Federal law enforcement has expanded over the past forty years due to anti-terrorism, drug, gun, and violent crime laws
b. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) combines 24 federal agencies
c. Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI)
d. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
e. U. S. Secret Service
f. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF)
g. Unlike local and state, federal agencies operate throughout the United States
2. The courts
i. Dual court system with two independent judicial systems
a. Federal level
b. State level
ii. Fifty-two different court systems
a. One for each of the fifty different states
b. One federal court system
c. One court for the District of Columbia system
iii. Criminal court workgroups (judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys) are charged with responsibility of determining innocence or guilt of criminal suspects
3. Corrections
i. Once the court system convicts an sentences an offender, he or she is delegated to the corrections system
ii. Offenders may be placed on probation, incarcerated, or transferred to community-based corrections facilities once they have been delegated to the corrections system
a. Probation is the most common correctional treatment allowing the offender to return to the community under supervision
b. Incarceration may include jails or prisons
c. Community-based corrections include halfway houses, residential centers, and work-release centers
d. The most frequent type of release from jail or prison is parole
V. Criminal Justice Today
A. Crime and justice today
1. Crime control model
i. The most important function of the criminal justice system is to punish and repress criminal conduct
ii. The criminal justice system should function quickly and efficiently, as an assembly line
iii. The system must place few restrictions on the ability of law enforcement officers to make discretionary decisions
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2. Due process model
i. Focuses on protecting the rights of the accused through legal constraints on police, courts, and corrections
ii. The due process model relies on the courts to uphold the legal procedures of establishing guilt
iii. The due process model relies on the formality of the criminal justice system and it is better that 99% of criminals go free than one innocent person convicted
B. Crime and law enforcement: The bottom line
1. Smarter policing
i. The belief is law enforcement has become smarter and more disciplined over the last two decades which has resulted in a decline in crime
ii. Proactive policing promotes more rigorous enforcement of minor offenses with an eye toward preventing serious offenses
iii. Hot-spot policing has officers focusing on high crime areas and using their resources effectively
2. Identifying criminals
i. Technology has played a significant role
a. DNA profiling
b. Biometrics