1. Chapter 1: Criminal Justice Today

2. What is Crime? Crime: Violates criminal law
Is punishable by criminal sanctions

3. Learning Objective 1
Describe the two most common models of how society determines which acts are criminal

4. Determining Criminal Behavior
Consensus Model:
Society, though diverse, shares the same moral value system
Crimes violate this value system and are deemed harmful to society
Conflict Model:
Society is diverse and constantly engaged in a power struggle
Dominant groups in society codify their values into law

5. Learning Objective 2
Define crime

6. An Integrated Definition of Crime
Punishable under criminal law as defined by the majority or a powerful minority
Considered an offense against society as a whole and prosecuted by public officials
Punished by statutorily determined sanctions such as fines, loss of liberty or life

7. Thinking Point
Discuss whether the following actions should be considered crimes:
Exchanging money for sex between two consenting adults
Taking a candy bar from a store without paying for it
Public drunkenness
An employee taking a ballpoint pen home from the office for personal use
Texting while driving
Notes for the Professor about this exercise: the purpose is to get students to explore their own perceptions about the definition of crimes and explore the moral/political issues underlying crime definitions…You should list these behaviors and ask class to immediately vote on each one (should/should not be a crime). Discuss each after the tally has been recorded.
Exchanging money for sex: when pressed to justify the criminalization of this behavior, some may initially say it is immoral. This raises the question of whether the law should reflect morality, and moreover, whose morality? And not all moral behavior is illegal (lying, except in certain circumstances). Others might say it should be criminalized due to associated harms (STDs, HIV, drug use, etc.). But in some places it is legal (Nevada) and this hasn’t been the case. There are also many other behaviors that can result in associated harms, but are legal – drinking, smoking, having sex without the exchange of money (one night stands even)….If few students say it should be criminal, press them for why it is a crime then – if the majority in the classroom don’t think it should be. Why haven’t they contacted their congressman to change the law? The point is that there is no significant political constituency to legalize prostitution. If they tried, their political career would be over. Highlights the role of politics and morality in crime definitions.
Taking a candy bar from a store without paying for it AND an employee taking a ballpoint pen home from the office for personal use: typically, students will be unanimous in characterizing the candy bar scenario as a criminal act but few students will define the ball point pen scenario in the same manner. But they are virtually identical situations – taking an object of modest value belonging to someone else for personal use without the owner’s permission (theft). Students will try to distinguish the situations by saying people take pens from the office inadvertently or that people return pens to their offices after using them at home. But these distinctions change the factual situation as given. Other rationalizations include the idea that (1) businesses expect employees to take pens or that (2) pens are of modest value. Effective counter arguments are (1) convenience stores expect to be robbed, but that doesn’t make robberies acceptable and (2) the aggregate value of a loss of employee pens to large corporations may represent huge costs that are passed to customers in higher prices for products. Furthermore, where does one draw the line on what is acceptable for employees to take? A box of envelopes? A computer? These two examples lead students to confront the question “Who is criminal?” Many students, who have probably taken a pen that doesn’t belong to them, can’t think of themselves as having committed theft. Yet when passing judgment on something that other people do, such as taking an item from a convenience store, it is easier to label “those people” as criminal.
Public drunkenness: Some will say this should be a crime – but the challenge for them is why? What harm caused by public drunkenness is not already covered by another criminal statute? If students say it is to protect drunken people from themselves, then, why not criminalize other behaviors that could cause us harm (drinking, smoking, driving, etc.). And if we follow their logic, is it better to “criminalize” behaviors if we are trying to protect individuals? (same argument could be made for suicide)… This example is useful for illustrating the existence of laws that give police broad discretion to maintain order and to protect the sensibilities of society’s dominant class. Who is more likely to be arrested for public drunkenness – a homeless person lying by the doorway to an expensive restaurant or a man in a tuxedo stumbling out of the same restaurant?
Texting while driving: Gets at influence of “common sense” in creating laws…texting while driving is dangerous, the idea behind the criminalization of this act…but it isn’t the most dangerous distraction when behind the wheel – it’s eating. So why not ban eating? Why not ban talking? Or driving without adequate sleep? Or driving when you have a cold? This is an example of a law with no scientific backing to the claims…

8. Goals of the Criminal Justice System
To provide and maintain justice
To prevent crime
To control crime through punishment and rehabilitation
Support crime victims

9. Structure of the Criminal Justice System
Reflects Ideals of Federalism:
Form of government in which a written constitution provides for a division of powers between a central government and several regional governments
Three Main Institutions:
Law enforcement
Courts
Corrections

10. Learning Objective 3
Outline the three levels of law enforcement

11. The Structure of the Criminal Justice System
Local and county
Responsible for the “nuts and bolts” of law enforcement
State
Includes “state police” and “highway patrols”
Federal
Operates throughout the U.S.

12. Thinking Point
On January 8, 2011, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 18 others were shot during an open constituent meeting. Within the first hour, more than 75 fire, law enforcement, and EMS personnel were on scene; within the next few hours – well over Throughout the investigation, multiple law enforcement agencies were involved including the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, the Tucson Police Department, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Capitol Police.
What are some of the benefits and challenges in having multiple law enforcement agencies investigate a crime?
Can you think of any potential remedies to address these challenges?

13. Court Structure Dual court system:
Federal
Federal criminal law violations includes:
District courts
Circuit courts of appeals
U.S. Supreme Court
State
State criminal law violations includes:
Trial courts
Intermediate courts of appeals
State supreme court

14. Learning Objective 4
List the essential elements of the corrections system

15. The Structure of the Criminal Justice System
Probation
Serves sentence in community under supervision of a probation officer
Community-based corrections
Examples: Halfway houses, residential centers, work-release programs
Incarceration
Serves time behind bars in jail or prison

16. Learning Objective 5
Explain the difference between the formal and informal criminal justice processes

17. The Criminal Justice Process
Criminal justice as a “system”
An orderly progression of events through a process comprised of agencies working together
Herbert Packer compared the idealized criminal justice process to an assembly line

18. Formal v. Informal Criminal Justice
Each step in the assembly line is the result of a series of decisions made by CJS authorities
Decisions made within the rigid confines of formal rules and laws reflect a formal criminal justice system
Decisions based on personal judgment produces an informal criminal justice system

19. Learning Objective 6
Define ethics and describe the role that they play in discretionary decision making

20. The Importance of Ethics
The moral principles that guide individual perceptions of “right” and “wrong"
Closely related to the concept of justice
Influences discretionary decisions made by criminal justice actors
Make choices based on societal norms

21. Learning Objective 7
Contrast the crime control and due process models

22. Values of the Criminal Justice System
Model
Goal
Value
Process
Major decision point
Basis of decision
Due process
Preserve individual liberties
Reliability
Adversarial
Courtroom
Law
Crime control
Repress crime
Efficiency
Administrative
Police/Pretrial processes
Discretion

23. Thinking Point
The New York City Police Department recently implemented a “stop, question, and frisk” strategy in which officers seek to reduce crime in an area by stopping and searching individuals they consider suspicious. This approach has led to nearly 700,000 stops in 2011 alone. Proponents argue that this strategy has led to a decrease in crime rates. Critics argue that it unfairly targets black and Hispanic young men. Currently, There is a class action lawsuit filed by people who have been stopped and the Justice Department might investigate the city police department for targeting minorities.
Does this strategy reflect elements of the Due Process Model, the Crime Control Model or both? Elaborate.
What do you thin should be the outcome of the lawsuit? Is it fair for the Justice Department to step in and investigate the NYPD?

24. Learning Objective 8
List the major issues in criminal justice today

25. Criminal Justice Today
Crime
Gangs
Guns
Illegal drugs
Punishment
The prison population
The economics of incarceration
Homeland security and civil liberties
The Patriot Act
Technology: Fighting and fueling crime
DNA
Social media