CHAPTER ONE Goals of Criminal Justice System Doing Justice Controlling Crime and Preventing Crime Doing Justice Forms the basis of rules procedures and institutions of criminal justice Requires upholding the rights of individuals and pushing those who Offenders held fully accountable for their actions Rights of persons who have contact with the system will be system violate the law protected Like offenses will be treated alike and officials will take into account relevant differences among offenders and offenses repeat v first offenders Controlling Crime Prosecuting Convicting Punishing those who disobey the law Arresting Criminal law defines what Is illegal but also outlines the rights of citizens and the procedures officials must use to achieve the system s goals Must also try to prevent crimes Preventing Crimes Deterrent effect police and corrections Punish those who violate the law and also provide examples that will likely keep others from committing wrongful acts Prevention depends on the actions of criminal justice officials and citizens who enforce the law Stop crime before it happens Criminal Justice in a Federal System and a regional state governments Two Justice Systems Federalism power is divided between a central national government Both systems state and national enforce laws try criminal cases and punish offenders but their action Far more offenders break state laws than federal laws Expansion of Federal Involvement Federal government has expanded its role in dealing with crime in states National Stolen Property Act example of a situation that allows FBI to investigate local situations 5000 stolen property being transported across state lines National government is involved in enforcement of federal criminal laws Expansion of criminal activities across state borders and the war on terrorism caused federal involvement in criminal justice to expand Criminal Justice as a Social System System a complex whole made up of interdependent parts whose actions are directed towards foals and influenced by the environment in which they function Subsystems police courts corrections Have their own goals but are also interdependent on each other Exchange the mutual transfer of resources and a balance of benefits and deficits that flow from behavior based on decisions about the values and costs of alternatives Decisions are the products of interactions among individuals and the subsystems are tied together by the decision makers Examples Plea Bargain example of an exchange relationship A defendants plea of guilty to the charge with the reasonable expectation of receiving something in return from the state like a reduction of the charge Defendants ultimate goal is a lighter penalty Prosecutor courts defense lawyers police Characteristics of the Criminal Justice System Composed of Interdependent parts Discretion Resource Dependence Sequential Tasks Filtering Discretion Officials freedom to act according to their own judgement and conscience police prosecutors judges corrections officers Needed Because the system lacks the resources to treat every case the same way cost efficiency Many officials believe that discretion permits them to achieve greater justice than rigid rules would produce Resource Dependence Depend on agencies for funding and maintaining positive images and relationships elected officials and media Sequential Tasks Police must arrest a person before the case is passed to the prosecutor to then determine if charges should be brought which then determines the workload of the courts Key to the exchange relationships among the justice system decision makers who depend on each other to achieve goals INTERDEPENDENT Filtering Filtering Process a screening operation Process by which criminal justice officials screen out some cases while advancing others to the next level of decision making Some cases go free because police determine that a crime has not been committed or evidence is not strong enough People can be acquitted or plead guilty or charges can be dismissed Funnel Process many cases enter the system but only few result in conviction and punishment Operations of Criminal Justice Agencies Police Keeping the Peace protection of rights and persons in situations Apprehending violators and combating crime Preventing Crime educating the public about the threat of crime and by reducing the number of situations in which crimes are likely to be committed Providing Social Services recover stolen property direct traffic and aid people medically and in other ways Courts Dual Court System separate judicial system for each state in addition to a national system Each case is tried in a court of the same jurisdiction as where the laws were broken Adjudication process of determining whether a person is guilty trial acquittal plea Corrections the community Supervisors in state and federal corrections systems as well as within Prisons jails probation intermediate sanctions are the major programs and facilities Public nonprofit and for profit agencies carry out these programs The Flow of Decision Making in the Criminal Justice System Each agency is responsible for a part of the decision making process hence why the police prosecutors courts and correction are bound together through the exchange relationships Factors can alter the outcomes for individuals Discretion police pressure release Steps in Decision Making Process 1 Investigation begins when the police believe a crime has been committed 2 Arrest involves physically taking a person into custody pending a court proceeding after gaining enough evidence 3 Booking after an arrest the suspect is usually transported to a police station for booking and where a record is made of the arrest 4 Charging Prosecuting attorneys link the police and the courts and consider the case facts to determine if there is reasonable cause and adjudication of the case 5 Initial Appearance suspect brought before a judge where they are given formal notice of the charges advised of their rights and if allowed post bail Bail permit the accused to be released while awaiting trial and to ensure that he will show up when they are supposed to Money or bond 6 Preliminary Hearing Grand Jury decision is made if there is enough evidence to proceed with the case If there is then the accused is bound for arraignment on an information a document charging an individual with a specific crime and prepared by the prosecutor and presented at the preliminary hearing 7
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