1. Chapter 2 Crime Control Perspectives

2. Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2 nd ed. Worral © 2008 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. 2 Operational Perspectives What are operational perspectives? They consists of views about how the justice system should operate or how it does operate

3. Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2 nd ed. Worral © 2008 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. 3 Due Process and Crime Control Two competing values have been put forth by Packer Due process Human freedom Quality over quantity Crime control Ends over means Swift justice

4. Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2 nd ed. Worral © 2008 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. 4 System and Non-system What is a system? Group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent entities Condition of harmonious, orderly action Is the criminal justice system really a system? Some feel it is a well-oiled machine Others feel it is a disorganized mess

5. Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2 nd ed. Worral © 2008 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. 5 The Funnel Model of Justice The funnel model of justice was put forth by the 1967 President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice The funnel model shows The attrition of criminal cases Large drop-off between the criminal event and police investigation The funnel model is characteristics of the system perspective just described

6. Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2 nd ed. Worral © 2008 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. 6 The Criminal Justice Wedding Cake Four layers to the wedding cake Top layer (celebrated cases) Second layer (serious felonies) Third layer (not-so-serious felonies) Fourth layer (misdemeanors) What decides whether a case lands in the 2 nd or 3 rd layer? Victim-offender relationship Offense seriousness Prior record

7. Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2 nd ed. Worral © 2008 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. 7 Political Perspectives There are various political perspectives on crime control in America Think in terms of a left-right continuum

8. Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2 nd ed. Worral © 2008 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. 8 Liberals and Conservatives The liberal perspective resembles the due process perspective The conservative perspective resembles the crime control perspective

9. Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2 nd ed. Worral © 2008 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. 9 Causes of Crime Conservatives believe Crime is a product of individual choice People weigh costs and benefits People make rational choices Deterrence is possible Hard-line liberals believe the exact opposite

10. Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2 nd ed. Worral © 2008 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. 10 Consequences of Crime for Society Conservatives think Crime offends moral fabric of society Several “victimless” crimes are amoral

11. Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2 nd ed. Worral © 2008 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. 11 What Should Be Done About Crime? Conservatives favor deterrence policies They also prefer Getting tough with criminals More criminal justice spending Tougher sanctions Putting many offenders behind bars Liberals favor the opposite Treatment Rehabilitation

12. Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2 nd ed. Worral © 2008 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. 12 Conflict/Radical Perspective Language of capitalism pervades conflict thinking Marxism Bourgeoisie (small controlling class) Proletariat (oppressed masses) Crime occurs because it is defined as such Crime deflects attention from real problems Conflict thinkers love socialism

13. Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2 nd ed. Worral © 2008 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. 13 Faith and Facts Some people prefer to make decisions based on myths, misinformation, and half-truths Others feel we “need the facts” Who cares? Much crime control has been put in place based on faith rather than facts

14. Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2 nd ed. Worral © 2008 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. 14 Crime Control and Revenue Generation Which is prioritized more by the criminal justice system, crime control or revenue generation? Why revenue generation might win out Many people enjoy their livelihood because of crime Private businesses benefit from crime Public agencies have to deal with resource limitations

15. Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2 nd ed. Worral © 2008 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. 15 Politics and Ivory Towers Policymakers think about Quick fixes Cost Political opposition Reelection and claiming credit Academics Think in terms of root causes Can offer suggestions that don’t have a prayer of succeeding in the real world (what do we do if crime is biologically determined?)

16. Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2 nd ed. Worral © 2008 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. 16 Goals of Crime Control People feel strongly that some goals are more important than others Goals of crime control include Deterrence Retribution Incapacitation Rehabilitation

17. Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2 nd ed. Worral © 2008 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. 17 Deterrence Deterrence is concerned with discouraging criminal behavior There are two methods of viewing deterrence General and specific Absolute and marginal

18. Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2 nd ed. Worral © 2008 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. 18 Retribution Retribution is concerned with Punishment Payback Giving offenders their “just deserts”

19. Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2 nd ed. Worral © 2008 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. 19 Incapacitation Incapacitation amounts to removing criminals from society Incapacitation can occur at two stages of the criminal process Pretrial Post-trial Incapacitation is synonymous with warehousing of criminal offenders

20. Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2 nd ed. Worral © 2008 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. 20 Rehabilitation Rehabilitation consists of a planned intervention intended to change behavior