1. Criminal Justice Today

2. Crime: 1. Violates criminal law. 2. Is punishable by criminal sanctions.

3. 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.

4. An Integrated Definition: 1. Punishable under criminal law as defined by a society. 2. Considered an offense against society as a whole, not against the victim and his or her friends. 3. Punished by statutorily determined sanctions that bring about a loss of personal freedom.

5. Violent Crime:  Murder  Sexual assault/rape  Assault/battery  Robbery Property Crime:  Burglary  Larceny/theft  Motor vehicle theft  Arson

6. Public Order Crimes: Behavior that has been labeled criminal because it is contrary to shared social values, customs and norms (e.g. public drunkenness). White Collar Crimes: Illegal acts committed by an individual or business entity using some non-violent means to obtain a personal or business advantage (e.g. embezzlement).

8. High Tech Crime: Crimes directly related to the increased use of computers and technology by society. Organized Crime: Illegal crimes by illegal organizations, geared towards satisfying the public’s need for illegal goods and services.

10. Three General Goals of the Criminal Justice System:  To control crime  To prevent crime  To provide and maintain justice

11. Based on Federalism:  Law Enforcement  Local, State and Federal Agencies  Courts  Dual court system of State and Federal Courts  Corrections  Incarceration, Probation and Community Corrections

12. 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 System to an assembly-line.

14. Crime Control Model: A model of criminal justice that places primary emphasis on the rights of society to be protected from crime and violent offenders. Due Process Model: A model of the criminal justice system that places primary emphasis on the rights of the individual to be protected from the power of government.

15. Which model prevails today? Responding to terrorism, or the threat of violence to achieve political objectives.

16. Key issues in criminal justice today include:  Fear of crime  Increasing rates of crime  Gangs  Guns  Illegal drugs

17. Get tough on crime and tougher determinate sentencing laws have led to a growing prison population.

18. Agencies are seeking new strategies to help them become more efficient at fighting domestic and international crime. Strategies include:  Cooperation  Globalization  Militarization  DNA Profiling