Goals of Criminal Justice 09 10 2014 Goals of criminal justice Crimes 1 Mala in se behaviors wrong in nature ex murder stealing 2 Mala prohibita laws that you have to check ex gambling U s President s commission on law enforcement and administration of justice 1967 law is fair and equal Goals Doing justice Controlling crime preventing crime Federalism and the justice system Federalism a system of g ment in which power is divided between central national g ment regional state g ment majority of criminal laws are enacted and enforced at the state level expansion since 60 s federal g ment expanded its role in dealing with crime funding increased to spec areas 9 11 creation of DHS budget prob have led to problems in our system reduced police dangerous prisoners released early Criminal justice system Police force and corrections 3 subsystems in criminal justice system interdependent because they all affect each other all related when one changes it affects the other what is an exchange Mutual transfer of resources Ex plea bargain ethical issues plea of guilt usually lesser sentence helps the system for less court cases Most cases never make it to court Characteristics of the criminal justice system Discretion police officers judges Resource dependence money from other places sequential tasks things occur in a certain order court before prison filtering not going through entire system American Criminal Justice System 3 major forces Police Force Corrections Police o Keeping the peace o Apprehending violators and combating crime o Preventing crime o Providing social services Courts o Dual court system o Courts are responsible for adjudication determining whether or not a defendant is guilty Corrections less than 30 are incarcerated 1 in every 33 are under supervision most are under community corrections most common form of punishment is probation The flow of decision making in criminal justice system 13 steps in the decision making process know order less than 10 of cases make it to trial The wedding cake model Four layers Layer one celebrated cases Layer 2 the serious felonies Layer 3 the lesser felonies Layer 4 the misdemeanors Crime control vs due process Crime control model speed efficiency finality Due process model adversarial process rights formal decision making disparity discrimination how do we explain these Do people of color commit more crime Is the criminal justice system racially biases Is America a racially biased society Crime and Crime Causation 09 10 2014 Mala in se murder morally wrong mala prohibita only know by checking varies by state Felony more severe offenses tougher punishment Misdemeanor Up to one year in prison Visible crime Street crime three categories a violent crimes b property crimes c public order crimes minor crimes Impact of the media significant role in our perception Sensationalism Present stories or events in a more exciting way to get audience attention regardless of all the info being true Moral Panic HIV AIDS War Crime Attitudes on punishment Police Effectiveness Major networks devote significant coverage time to crime Fear of crime contradicts with statistics 1990 1998 homicide rates declined by 33 homicide news coverage increased by 473 Corporate crime reported as business news Victims are typically depicted as white female and affluent o Young men of color experience the highest rates of victimization and white females report the lowest Occupation Crimes Committed within the context of a legal business or profession Usually respectable well to do people Larger impact than street crime Organized Crime A framework within which criminal acts are planned and committed Often provides goods that cannot be obtained legally Victimless Crime Offenses against morality Prostitution Gambling Drug sales and use Political Crime An act either by the g ment of against the g ment Ideological purposes Cyber Crimes Uses computers and the internet to commit acts against people property public order or morality Ex Cyber stalking Uniform Crime Reports Statistical summary of crimes reported to the police Part I offenses 8 crimes under part I rape o homicide o o assault robbery o o burglary o o car theft o arson o theft last four property crime first four violent crime Part II offenses All other crimes Unreported Crimes Dark figure of crime Alternatives to the Uniform Crime Report Nation Incident based report system National crime victimization surveys Both show higher crime rates than the UCR Crime trends however still show a decline in crime Victimology Examines the role the victim plays in a crime Examines the impact crime has on victims Costs of crime 09 10 2014 Chap 2 cont Causes of crime Classical and positivist theories Biological explanations Psychological explanations Sociological explanations Life course theories Classical and positivist theories The classical school o Rational choice they make the choice to do the crime o Punishment should be harsh Positivist criminology o Social biological and psychological factors Biological explanations Criminogenic o Born criminal criminal gene o Ex Parents are criminals Physical traits o Physical traits make you more likely to commit a crime o Genetics Psychological explanations Mental processes Personality o Freud Pioneer in psych Impulses o Intellect Sociological explanations Social structure theories o Social context Social process theories o Learning theories o Not a strong theory b c criminals can have high or low IQs Differential association people learn through interactions with others Learning from others parents o Control theories very strong Anyone can become criminal but most have social bonds things that matter to us ex Family school jobs beliefs Strong bonds less likely to commit a crime Don t commit crime b c don t want to those the bonds o Labeling theories not very strong Once an individual is labeled delinquent criminal you are more likely to continue crime based on that label Self fulfilling prophecy tell someone they are something enough times they will become that label Critical theories bigger picture more radical o Social conflict Law harming the poor Feminist theories o Explain why women create crimes o Explain why women commit less different crimes than men Life course theories Identifies factors that shape criminal careers o Review behavior during times in life Pathways to crime o Looking past childhood Turning points o Even if you have committed a criminal act there are things in your life
View Full Document
Unlocking...