Criminal Justice Ch.1 & 2

Crime

Conduct in violation of the criminal laws of a state, the federal government, or a local jurisdiction, for which there is no legally acceptable justification or excuse

Criminal Law

• protects the community and individuals from harm/injury and seeks punishment for those who harmed

• must specify

  • The undesired acts (the crime)

  • The methods by which the legal system can demonstrate that they occurred

  • At what point a specific person engaged in such acts

  • The punishment or sanctions for their commission

1800s

• Sought answers in the field of medicine, emerging academic and practical discipline of psychology, strange “sciences” such as physiognomy and phrenology.

1920s

• Law enforcement academic programs emerged

• August Vollmer (father of American policing, chief of police in California, developed the first crime lab in the U.S., had his police men have a 4yr degree)

1930s

• law schools and sociology departments began to view Criminology as

  • The scientific study of crime, criminals, and society’s response to both as an appropriate area of academic study

  • Before WWII, crime commissions and Congressional committees investigated corruption and organized crime

  • Created the first “public enemy” list in the 1930- became the “10 most wanted” in 1950s

  • Began tracking and reporting organized crime and street gangs and other statistics

1960s

• President Lydon B. Johnson established the Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice through an executive order

  • The commission’s goals included fighting crime and reducing injustice

  • Civil Rights, Women’s Rights, Children’s Rights and shift toward individual right protection

1980s

• Increase in sale and use of illicit drugs, President Reagan declared a “war on drugs”

1990s

• “Get tough on crime” era, especially juveniles, MANY new prisons were built

Early 2000s

• Focus on corporate and white-collar crime

• September 11, 2001 attacks- terrorism

• U.S.A. Patriot Act increases investigatory authority of federal, state, and local police agencies (today called USA Freedom Act)

• Society viewed offenders as dangerous social predators

2012-2018

• Declining rates of traditional crimes; epidemic of mass shootings, inner-city murders, random violence sweeps public venues across the US

• Offenders are also considered victims (mitigating circumstances- lessens the punishment)

2019-Present

• Cybercrimes threaten national security

• Most crimes, with the exception of violent crimes (murder/rape/agg assault) have decreased

Crime-control model

• Emphasizes the efficient arrest and convictions of offenders

• Presumes guilt of the accused

• Quantity justice

• Goal of crime suppression

Due Process model

• Emphasizes individual rights at all stages of the justice system processing

• Presumes innocence of the accused

• Goal of fairness

• Quality justice

• 5th Amendment- all people should be treated fairly, guaranteeing rights in legal cases, mainly that you can't be forced to testify against yourself

• 14th Amendment- equal rights, states must provide due process of law and equal protection of the laws to all citizens

5th Amendment

• all people should be treated fairly, guaranteeing rights in legal cases, mainly that you can't be forced to testify against yourself

14th Amendment

• equal rights, states must provide due process of law and equal protection of the laws to all citizens

4th Amendment

• search and seizures, must have probable cause, search warrant

Justice

• the principle of fairness the ideal of moral equity

Social Justice

• In a socially-just society, human rights are respected and discrimination is not allowed to flourish

• Linked to fundamental notions of fairness and to cultural beliefs about right and wrong

Civil Justice, Criminal Justice

• Concerned with fairness in relationships between citizens, government agencies, and businesses in private matters

• About the money

• concerned with violations of the criminal law

Administration of Justice

• The performance of basic activities within the criminal justice system

• Ex. A judge making a decision, inmate care, juries sitting

Core Components of the American Criminal Justice system

• Police

• Corrections

• Courts

Law Enforcement Process

• Investigation

  • Evidence collected, reconstruction of criminal event, attempts to identify suspects

• Arrest warrant

  • Issued by judge, provides legal basis for apprehension of suspects by police

• Arrest (4th)

  • Act of taking a person into custody

  • Arrestee’s freedom is limited

• Booking

  • Taking pictures, fingerprints, personal information from suspect

Process The Courts

• First Appearance (Informal Arraignment)

  • Suspects brought before a magistrate

  • Suspects are notified of the charges, advised of their rights, may have opportunity for bail (no plea is entered)

• Preliminary Hearing

  • Establishes “Prima Facie (first face, at face value)” whether there is sufficient evidence to continue the justice process gives prosecutor the opportunity to test the strength of the evidence

Process Information and Plea

• Information and Indictment

  • Information- filed by prosecutor seeking to continue the case (County prosecution in PA)

  • Indictment- returned by grand jury (State Prosecutions in PA)

• Arraignment

  • Defendant hears information or indictment, is advised of rights, and is asked to enter a plea; Guilty, Not Guilty, Nolo Contendre (No Contest, saying they will take responsibility but not saying they are guilty, can get a break often)

Process Ending

• Adjudication

  • Trial is an adversarial process before a judge and/or jury to decides guilty or innocence

  • Not held if defendant decides to enter a guilty plea

• Sentencing

  • Punishment determined by judge

  • Sentencing hearing may be held to allow both sides to present information to influence the judge’s decision

Aggravating Circumstance

things that make the sentencing harder

6th Amendment

• court is open to the public

8th Amendment

• reasonable bail or bond is guaranteed, no cruel or unusual punishment

Corrections and Reentry

• Period following sentencing, involves imposition of sentence imposed on the defendant

• Probation or Incarceration (80% of those sentenced are on probation)

  • Probation- instead of incarceration, go home, someone keeps an eye on you for a certain time, have to be on good behavior

• Following corrections, an offender may be returned to the community-Parole- after a period of incarceration, someone watches you for some time depending on how much of your sentence is left

Due Process

• is procedural fairness

• Underlies the Bill of Rights

• Specifically guaranteed by the 5th and 14th Amendments- all men are created equally

Defining Rights

• Rights are open to interpretation

• Modern rights would not exist in practice if Supreme Court had not recognized them in cases

• Supreme Court decisions have far-reaching consequences

• Become, in effect, the law of the land

• May carry as much weight as legislative action

Clearance Rate

Solve ability

Evidence Based Practice

• Crime fighting strategies that have been scientifically tested and are based on social science research

• A major element in the increasing professionalization of criminal justice

Multiculturalism and Diversity in Criminal Justice

• Diverse values, perspectives, and behaviors are characteristic of various groups in society that affect the justice system

• Cultural competence

  • Ability to interest effectively with people of different cultures

  • Helps ensure the needs of all community members are addressed

  • Necessary for anyone working in the justice system

3 major sources of crime stats

• Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR)- run by FBI

• National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)- run by the Bureau of Justice Statistics

• Offender self-reports

1930 UCR

• Began in 1930 when Congress designated the FBI to implement a national crime stats program

• In the first year, the FBI received reports from 400 cities in 43 states, covering 20 million people

• Today approximately 18,000 agencies provide information

• Participation is mandatory

• Uses standardized definitions of offenses to ensure uniformity in reporting

• Based on summaries of incidents- not many details, very basic

The National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)

• FBI began accepting crime data in NIBRS format in 1989

• Participation in the NIBRS is voluntary

• The NIBRS format has not been fully adopted, and changes continue to be made

• Major advantages

  • Sheer increase in volume of data collected

  • Ability to break down and combine crime offense data

  • Incident-driven, not summary-based

  • Gathers many more details about each criminal incident such as place of occurrence, personal characteristics, type of weapons used ect.

shifts in crime

• 1940s-due to the large number of young men who entered military service during WWII

• 1960-89- postwar baby boomers reaching crime age/vietnam war vets addicted to drugs, increase of crime

• 1990-2017- decrease in most major crimes, national effort to combat crimes, war on drugs

• today- economic uncertainty, incrase number of ex-convicts out, increased gang activity, mass shootings, inner city murders

UCR Part 1

• most serious violent crimes

• 4 personal crimes

  • murder

  • rape

  • robbery

  • aggravated assault

• 4 property crimes

  • burglary

  • larceny (theft)

  • motor vehicle theft

  • arson

Murder

• The unlawful killing of a human being

  • First degree- criminal homicide that is planned

  • Second degree- intentional killing but generally unplanned

    • Ex. Drug deal, one wants the others money but he pulls his gun and the one shoots kills him takes the money and runs, plan was to just get the money but ended up killing

    • Intent is not the same as planning, intent can happen in seconds

  • 3rd degree- if it doesn’t fit the first two then its 3rd

    • Used for plea bargains

  • Voluntary manslaughter (heat of passion crime)- emotions take over, unlawful killing without malice or deliberation

    • Ex). Babysitter assaulting your child and you see it and beat the babysitter and kill him

  • Involuntary manslaughter- no intent to kill someone but you kill someone, accidents

• Smallest numerical category in Part 1 offenses

• Most commonly committed using firearms, especially handguns

• Multiple Murders

  • Spree killings- killing two or more locations with almost no time break between murders

  • Mass murder- killing four or more victims at one location, within one event

  • Serial murder- killing several victims in three or more separate events

• Murder has the highest clearance rate of any major crime

Rape

• Unlawful sexual intercourse achieved through force and without consent

• UCR definition changed in 2012 to be gender-neutral

• Statistics include attempted rape by force or threat of force but not statutory rape

• Least reported of all violent crimes

• Most rapes committed by someone known to the victim

Robbery

• The unlawful taking or attempted taking of property that is in the immediate possession of another by force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear

• Robbery is of a person, burglary is of a property

• Strong arm robbery occurs through intimidation, rather than with a weapon

• Street/highway robbery occurs outdoors

• Most common targets are individuals

• Carjacking is a robbery because it involves violence, it is not a theft

Aggravated Assault

• Two types of assault

  • Simple (misdemeanor)- bodily injury

  • Aggravated (felony)- involves weapon (can be hands) or victim requires medical assistance, serious bodily injury or permanent disfiguration

• Mostly committed using blunt objects or with hands, feet, and fits

• Assailants often known to victims, making this crime relatively easy to solve

Burglary

• The unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or theft

• Enter where you don’t belong

• Considered a property crime although it may involve personal confrontation

• UCR/NIBRS uses three classifications

  • Forcible entry

  • Unlawful entry where no force is used

  • Attempted forcible entry

  • Clearance rate low

Larceny-Theft

• The unlawful taking or attempted taking of property from the possession of another

• Most frequently reported Part 1 offense

• May be the most underreported crime category because small thefts rarely come to the attention of the police

• Identity theft- fastest-growing type of crime in America, Involves obtaining credit, merchandise, or services by fraudulent personal representation

• Not in immediate possession

Motor vehicle theft

• The theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle, which includes any self-propelled vehicle that runs on land and not on rails

• Very highly reported because insurance companies usually require police reports before reimbursing car owners

• Low clearance rate

• Unauthorized use of a vehicle- takes vehicle but intent to bring it back

Arson

• Any willful or malicious burning with or without intent to defraud a dwelling, public building, motor vehicle, etc.

• Not all agencies submit arson data and many provide incomplete information

• Arson data only includes fires known to have been willfully or maliciously set

• Clearance rate low

Part 2 Offenses

• Generally, less serious than Part 1

• Includes a number of social order (victimless) crimes

• UCR stats only include recorded arrests, not crimes reported to the police

• Prostitution, gambling, disorderly conduct, simple assault, fraud, vandalism

The National Crime Victimization Survey

• Based on victim self-reports

• First conducted in 1972

• Designed to uncover info on the dark figure of crime-crimes that are not reported to the police and that are unknown to officials

• Early victim self-report data showed that crimes of all types were more prevalent that UCR stats indicated

• Involves a survey of a nationally representative sample of about 90,000 households for three yrs

• Only individuals aged 12+ are interviewed

• Collects data on crimes against individuals and households

• Inmates are prohibited from participating

• Includes data on rape, sexual assault, robbery, assault, burglary, personal and household larceny, motor vehicle theft- definitions similar to those used by UCR/NIBRS

Crime Typology

• A classification of crimes along a particular dimension

• Used in the study and description of criminal behavior

• Social relevance is a central distinguishing feature of any meaningful typology

• Categories may be related to age, gender, religion, race, or ethnicity

Crime Against Women

• Women less frequently victimized in all personal crime categories except rape

  • Women more likely to be injured during violent victimization

  • More likely to modify the way they live because of threat of crime

• Major issues include date rape, familial incest, spousal abuse, stalking, and exploitation through social-order offenses such as prostitution and pornography

Crime Against Elderly

• Criminal victimization declines with age

• Older people 65+ generally experience the lowest rate of victimization of any age group

• The elderly face special kinds of victimization that rarely affect younger adults

• Riak of abuse and neglect by caregivers

• More often targeted by con artists

Hate Crimes

• A criminal offense motivated by the offender’s bias against race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity/national origin

• Most common motivation is racial bias, most common offense is intimidation

• Shepard and Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act- expanded federal definition to include crimes based on gender identity or disability

• Sometimes called bias crimes

Corporate and White-Collar Crime

• Corporate crime

  • A violation of criminal statue by a corporate entity or by its executives, employees, or agents for the benefit of the corporation

• White collar crime

  • Financially motivated nonviolent crime committed by business and government professionals

• Sarbanes-Oxley Act

  • Federal law creating tough provisions designed to deter and punish corporate fraud and corruption

Cybercrime

• Crimes committed using computers and computer technology

• Many computer crimes are traditional offenses that use technology rather than new forms of offending

• Key concerns include malware such as computer viruses, spam and phishing

Terrorism

• A violent act or an act dangerous to human life in violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any state, committed to intimidate or coerce a government the civilian population or any segment thereof in furtherance of political or social objectives

• Became a primary concern after the attacks on 9/11

• Types

  • Domestic

    • Offenders based within the United States acts directed against U.S. government or population

  • International

    • Offenders have connection with foreign power or activities transcend national boundaries

  • Cyberterrorism

    • Using high technology to plan and carry out terrorist attacks