1. Essentials of Criminal Justice, Fifth Edition Larry J
Essentials of Criminal Justice, Fifth Edition Larry J. Siegel & Joseph J. Senna

2. Chapter 1 Crime and Criminal Justice

3. The Study of Criminal Justice
Criminal Justice: Studies the system of law enforcement, adjudication and correction that is directly involved in the apprehension, prosecution, and control of those charged with a criminal offense.
Criminology: Studies the etiology (origin), extent, and nature of crime in society.
Why are the two fields of study not mutually exclusive?

4. The Criminal Justice System
A loosely organized collection of agencies charged with protecting the public, maintaining order, enforcing the law, identifying transgressors, bringing the guilty to justice, and treating criminal behavior.

5. The Criminal Justice Process
The decision-making points from the initial investigation or arrest by police to the eventual release of the offender and his or her reentry into society; the various sequential criminal justice stages through which the offender passes.

6. Is Crime a Recent Development?
Crime and violence have been common since the nation was first formed.
Post-Civil War expansion to the west gave rise to famous criminals such as John Wesley Hardin, Billy the Kidd, and Johnny Ringo as well as famous law men such as Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson.
Crime rate may actually have been much higher in the 19th and 20th centuries than it is today.

7. Crime at the Turn of the Twentieth Century
1900 – 1935 we saw a sustained increase in criminal activity
Criminal gangs formed before the Civil War in urban slums became the forerunners of modern day organized crime families
Depression era outlaws

8. Developing the Criminal Justice System
1829 – London Metropolitan Police created
1919 – Establishment of the Chicago Crime Commission
1931 – National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement (Wickersham Commission) created by President Hoover

9. The Modern Era of Justice
The Modern Era of Justice can be traced to a series of research projects beginning in 1950s by the American Bar Foundation
For the first time the term criminal justice system began to be used
Focused on the criminal justice process
Examination of the use of discretion

10. Federal Involvement in Criminal Justice
1967 President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice
1968 Safe Streets Acts provided funding for the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA)
1979 National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice renamed the National Institute of Justice (NIJ)

11. The Criminal Justice System Today
Formal social control
Informal social control

12. Agencies of the Criminal Justice System
Over 55,000 public agencies employing over 2 million people serve as society’s instrument of social control
Three Major components
Law Enforcement (17,000 agencies)
Courts (17,000 courts; 8,000 prosecutorial agencies)
Corrections (6,000 institutions; 3,500 probation and parole departments)

13. Agencies of the Criminal Justice System (cont.)
System costs federal, state, and local governments approximately $165 billion per year for civil and criminal justice
Has increased more than 300 % since 1982

14. The Formal Criminal Justice Process
Initial contact
Investigation
Arrest
Custody
Charging
Preliminary hearing/grand jury
Arraignment
Bail/detention

15. The Formal Criminal Justice Process (continued)
Plea bargaining
Trial/adjudication
Sentencing/disposition
Appeal/postconviction remedies
Correctional treatment
Release
Postrelease

16. Figure 1.3 Critical Stages in the Justice Process

17. The Informal Criminal Justice Process
Courtroom Work Group
Prosecutor, defense attorney, judge and others
Function to streamline the process of justice through the extensive use of plea bargaining and other alternatives

18. Figure 1.4 The Criminal Justice Wedding Cake
Source: Based on
Samuel Walker,
Sense and
Nonsense About
Crime (Belmont,
Calif.: Wadsworth,
2001).

19. The Crime Control Perspective
Emphasizes the control of dangerous offenders and the protection of society. Its advocates call for harsh punishments as a deterrent to crime, such as the death penalty
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

20. The Rehabilitation Perspective
Primary purpose is to care for people who cannot manage themselves. Crime is an expression of frustration and anger created by social inequality that can be controlled by giving people the means to improve their lifestyle through conventional endeavors
In the long run, it is better to treat than punish
Criminals are society’s victims
Helping others is part of the American culture

21. The Due Process Perspective
Primary focus in 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
Illegally seized evidence must be suppressed even if the guilty go fee
Legal counsel should be provided at every stage of the process, regardless of cost, to prevent abuse

22. Nonintervention Perspective
The justice system should limit its involvement with criminal defendants so as to avoid the inevitable harmful and long-term negative effects
The justice system stigmatizes offenders
Stigma locks people into a criminal way of life
Less is better. Decriminalize, divert and deinstitutionalize whenever possible

23. Justice Perspective
The greatest challenge for the system is to dispense fair and equal justice to those who come before the law
Equal treatment for equal crimes
Structured justice
Reduced use of discretion
Inconsistent treatment produces disrespect for the system

24. Restorative Justice Perspective
True purpose of the criminal justice system should be to promote a peaceful and just society by engaging in peacemaking rather than punishment
Offenders should be reintegrated back into society
Coercive punishments are self-defeating
The justice system must become more humane

25. Perspectives in Perspective
Crime Control and Justice Models have dominated during the past decade
Rehabilitative efforts have not been abandoned
No single view is the right or correct one.

26. Ethics in Criminal Justice
Requires members of the system to apply equal and fair justice
Difficult because criminal justice often functions in an environment where moral ambiguity is the norm
Important because of the enormous power granted to criminal justice employees
Ethics in law enforcement
Ethics in the court process
Ethics in the corrections process