Larry J. Siegel

Joe Morris • Northwestern State UniversityCherly Gary • North Central Texas College

Lisa Ann Zilney • Montclair State

www.cengage.com/cj/siegel

Chapter 1

Crime and Criminal Justice

Learning Objectives

• Define the concept of criminal justice.• Beware of the long history of crime in America.• Discuss the formation of the criminal justice system.• Name the three basic component agencies of

criminal justice.• Comprehend the size and scope of the

contemporary justice system.• Trace the formal criminal justice process.• Know what is meant by the term “criminal justice

assembly line.”• Discuss the “wedding cake” model of justice.• Be familiar with the various perspectives on justice.• Understand the ethical issues concerning ethics in

criminal justice.

The Criminal Justice System

• System of law enforcement, adjudication, and correction

• Directly involved in the apprehension, prosecution, and control of those charged with criminal offenses

The Criminal Justice System

Is Crime a Recent Development?

• Part of society for ages• Crime rate may actually have been much higher in

the 19th and 20th centuries

Crime at the Turn of the 20th Century

• 1900 – 1935 sustained increase in criminal activity• Criminal gangs formed before the Civil War in urban

slums, becoming the forerunners of modern day organized crime families

Developing the Criminal Justice System

• First police department - London Metropolitan Police 1829

• The Chicago Crime Commission - professional association which acted as a citizens’ advocate group

• The National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement - created by President Hoover; helped usher in the era of treatment and rehabilitation

The Modern Era of Justice

• Began in the 1950’s with a series of research projects

• Focus was on the criminal justice process

Federal Involvement

• 1967 – President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice• Practitioners, educators, and attorneys created a

comprehensive view of the CJ process and recommended reforms

The Contemporary CJS

• Social control • Formal social control• Informal social control

Components of the Criminal Justice System

The Criminal Justice System

• Costs federal, state, and local governments approximately $ 215 billion per year for civil and criminal justice• Has increased more than 300% since 1982

Adult Correctional Population

Direct expenditure by level of government, 1982-2004

$100

$80

$60

$40

$20

$01982 1993 2004

Bil

lio

ns

366%

480%

704%

Local

State

Federal

Percent change 1982-2004

Direct expenditure by criminal justice function, 1982-2006

$100

$80

$60

$40

$20

$01982 1990 1998 2006

Bil

lio

ns

420%

660%

503%

Police

Corrections

Judicial

Percent change 1982-2006

The Formal Criminal Justice Process

• Report of a crime• Initial contact of a

suspected offender • Investigation• Arrest• Custody• Charging• Preliminary

Hearing/Grand Jury• Arraignment

• Bail/Detention• Plea Bargaining• Trial/Adjudication• Sentencing/Disposition• Appeal/Post-conviction

remedies• Correctional treatment• Release• Post-release

Criminal Justice Assembly Line• Stages are decision points• Stages serve as checks and balances

The Criminal Justice Funnel

20adults

incarcerated

20adults

incarcerated

29sentenced

9placed on probation

27 plead guilty

2 found guilty

30 cases go

to trial

1acquitted

40 cases accepted for prosecution

10jump vail

or abscond

65 adults considered for

prosecution

35 juveniles go to juvenile

court

25cases dropped

30 put on probation or dismissed

100people arrested

500crimes reported

to police

400crimes unsolved

The Informal CJ Process

• Courtroom Work Group - prosecutor, defense attorney, judge, and others• Streamlines justice through extensive use of plea

bargaining and other alternatives

The “Wedding Cake” Model of Justice

ICelebrated cases

IISerious felonies

IVMisdemeanors

IIILess serious felonies

Perspectives on Justice

Crime control

Rehabilitation

Due process

Non-interventionist

Equal justice

Restorative justice

Crime Control Perspective

• Control of dangerous offenders and the protection of society

• Harsh punishments as a deterrent to crime• Purpose of the justice system is to deter crime

through the application of punishment• The more efficient the system, the greater its

effectiveness• The justice system is not equipped to treat people

but to investigate crimes, apprehend suspects, and punish the guilty

Rehabilitation Perspective

• Care for people who cannot manage themselves • It is better to treat than punish• Criminals are society’s victims• Helping others is part of the American culture

Due Process Perspective

• Focus on the defendant’s rights to prevent the wrongful conviction of an innocent person

• Need to preserve Constitutional rights and democratic ideals takes precedence over the need to punish the guilty

• Decisions must be carefully scrutinized to avoid errors

• Everyone must be treated equally and fairly

Nonintervention Perspective

• Justice system stigmatizes offenders• Stigma locks people into a criminal way of life• Decriminalize, divert, and deinstitutionalize

Equal Justice Perspective

• Equal justice to those who come before the law• Equal treatment for equal crimes• Structured justice, “just deserts”• Reduced and controlled use of discretion• Inconsistent treatment produces disrespect for the

system

Restorative Justice Perspective

• Peacemaking rather than punishment• Offenders should be reintegrated back into society• Coercive punishments are self-defeating• Justice system must become more humane

Perspectives in Perspective

• Crime Control and Justice Models have dominated• Rehabilitative efforts have not been abandoned

Ethics in Criminal Justice

• Justice personnel function in an environment where moral ambiguity is the norm

• Enormous power granted to criminal justice employees

• Ethics and law enforcement - officers have the authority to deprive people of their liberty

• Ethics and the courts - seek justice for all parties• Ethics and corrections - significant coercive

power over offenders