Chapter 1: Crime and the Criminal Justice System

Course Overview

  • This is an abbreviated course, covering a significant amount of material in a short time.
  • It is essential to read chapter one of the textbook to complement the lecture.
  • Tests will be based on both the textbook and lecture material, with the court system structure in the lecture differing from the book, especially concerning California.

Introduction to the Criminal Justice System

  • The lecture will cover:
    • The concept of the criminal justice system
    • Its history and formation
    • Three basic components
    • Scope of the contemporary justice system
    • The formal criminal justice process and the court system
    • The criminal justice assembly line concept
    • The wedding cake model for crime severity
    • Various perspectives on criminal justice
    • Ethics in the criminal justice system

Definition and Components of the Criminal Justice System

  • The criminal justice system includes the agencies that dispense justice and the process by which justice is carried out.
  • It is a loosely organized collection of agencies responsible for:
    • Protecting the public
    • Maintaining order
    • Enforcing the law
    • Identifying transgressors
    • Bringing the guilty to justice
    • Treating criminal behavior
  • The criminal justice system now addresses international and domestic terrorists, organized crime, and cybercriminals.
  • Three main components:
    • Law enforcement: Arrests individuals.
    • Courts: Prosecute and defend people.
    • Corrections: Incarcerates individuals and includes probation/parole with supervision and programs.

Impact of Technology on Crime

  • Advancements in technology have led to more sophisticated criminals.
  • Gangs and terrorists recruit through computers and social media.
  • Early law enforcement lacked computer technology; processes like search warrant creation and photo lineups were manual.
  • Technology has transformed these processes, allowing for computer-based search warrants and digital photo lineups.
  • Typing skills, once deemed unnecessary, have become crucial due to computer use.

Historical Context of Crime

  • Crime is not a recent development, with examples from the Old West (e.g., Billy the Kid, Jesse James).
  • Early justice was harsh, with offenses often resulting in immediate hanging.
  • Modern due process ensures innocence until proven guilty, the right to an attorney, and protection of rights via Miranda and the Fourth Amendment.

Crime in Urban Areas

  • Cities with higher populations tend to have more crime.
  • High-density areas with many people pushed into small spaces often experience higher crime rates.
  • The industrial age brought people to cities for jobs, increasing both potential victims and offenders.
  • From 1900 to 1935, the nation saw a sustained increase in criminal activity.

Federal Involvement in Law Enforcement

  • The Law Enforcement Assistant Administration (LEAA) provided technical assistance and funds to state and local justice agencies from 1969 to 1982.
  • The Safe Streets Act of 1968 distributed federal funds to state and local crime control efforts, subsidizing law enforcement, courts, and rehabilitation programs.
  • This helped restructure the justice system and funded the National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice to research the causes of crime.

Evidence-Based Justice

  • Uses the scientific method to determine if criminal justice programs reduce crime rates and recidivism.
  • The Safe Streets Act funded the LEAA, which ended in 1982.
  • Evidence-based justice evaluates whether money is allocated effectively and considers alternative resources (e.g., drug rehabs, anti-gang programs, offender reintegration programs).

Historical Development of Policing

  • In 1829, the London Metropolitan Police agency was created by Sir Robert Peel.
  • Sir Robert Peel pioneered policing with uniformed officers, structured hiring processes, and defined areas of responsibility.
  • The FBI was founded in 1908.
  • The Chicago Crime Commission, founded in 1919 by private contributions, evaluated federal funding for crime control.

Unifying Principles of Evidence-Based Criminal Justice

  • Five unifying principles:
    • Target Audience: Focus on high-risk offenders with the greatest probability of re-offending rather than low-risk offenders.
    • Randomized Experiments: Conduct experiments to assess the re-offending rates of experimental groups and the effectiveness of treatment methods.
    • Intervening Factors: Consider outside factors that enhance or impede program success, such as family responsibilities.
    • Measurement of Success: Develop realistic measures of success, setting achievable goals for offenders in programs (e.g., drug treatment).
    • Cost Effectiveness: Evaluate whether programs are worth the investment, considering if the money is being spent effectively.

Social Control

  • Social control: Society's ability to control individual behavior in the best interest and welfare of society.
  • Instruments of social control:
    • Police: Investigate crimes and apprehend suspects.
    • Court system: Charges, indicts, tries, and sentences offenders.
    • Correctional system: Incapacitates offenders through incarceration or rehabilitation programs.

Expanded Role of Police

  • Police responsibilities have expanded to include education, public outreach, and community meetings.
  • Police arrest offenders and compile cases for court.
  • Some individuals, particularly gang members, show no remorse for their actions and may come from multi-generational criminal families.

Court System

  • The district attorney reviews police reports to determine if there is sufficient evidence to file a case.
  • Police arrest based on probable cause, while the DA must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Correctional System

  • Corrections determine if offenders go to state prison (felony), county jail (felony or misdemeanor), or receive a combination of jail and probation/parole.

Three Branches of Government

  • Legislative: Makes the laws.
  • Executive: Carries out the laws.
  • Judicial: Evaluates the laws.

Scope and Cost of the Criminal Justice System

  • The contemporary criminal justice system in the United States is large and expensive.
  • Costs federal, state, and local governments over 260,000,000,000260,000,000,000 per year.
  • It processes, treats, and cares for millions of people.
  • Although crime rates have declined in recent years, more than 11,000,00011,000,000 people are still arrested each year.
  • Nearly 7,000,0007,000,000 people are under some form of correctional supervision.

Formal Criminal Justice Process

  • The process includes steps from initial investigation through trial, sentencing, and appeal, consisting of 15 stages.
  • Legal factors such as the seriousness of charges, available evidence, and prior records influence decision-making during sentencing.
  • Extra-legal factors, such as the suspect’s race, gender, class, and age, may also influence outcomes.

California Criminal Justice Process

  • Initial Contact: Police contact an individual, such as during a dispatch or witnessing a crime.
    • Example: An officer observes someone staggering on the sidewalk and suspects public intoxication (647F PC).
    • Detention: If there's articulable suspicion, the officer can detain the person to investigate.
    • Arrest: Probable cause is required for an arrest. In the example, if the person has an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and cannot stand, the officer has probable cause to arrest them.
  • Investigation: Detectives or investigators gather evidence and witnesses to prepare the case for court.
  • Arrest: Restricting a person's freedom to leave with probable cause. The person is informed of the charges and taken into custody.
  • Charging: The police report is reviewed by a supervisor and sent to the district attorney (DA), who decides whether to file charges based on the evidence.
  • Arraignment: The defendant appears in court to be advised of the charges and enters a plea of guilty, not guilty, or no contest.
    • Bail hearings and motions (discovery, suppress evidence) may occur.
    • Plea bargains may be offered to expedite the court process.
  • Preliminary Hearings: In California, prelims are for felony cases only. The DA presents minimal evidence before a judge to determine if there's enough probable cause the defendant committed the crime.
    • If the judge finds sufficient evidence, the case proceeds to trial (bench or jury).

Grand Jury vs. Preliminary Hearing

  • East Coast federal courts may use a grand jury instead of a preliminary hearing.
  • A grand jury involves jurors determining if there is enough probable cause to go to trial.
  • The grand jury does not hear anything from the defense.
  • Grand juries can protect undercover officers' identities when buying narcotics.

Miranda Rights

  • Two prongs to Miranda:
    • The person is in custody.
    • The police want to interrogate them.
  • If both conditions are met, Miranda rights must be read.

Criminal Justice Assembly Line

  • The criminal justice system can be viewed as an assembly line. Each stage is a decision point that has a critical impact on the defendant, the justice system, and society.
  • Plea deals are commonly made either before or after a preliminary hearing.
  • If the judge in preliminary hearing says that there's enough probable cause to show the crime was commited, like mention before a jury trial or court trial will follow to establish the guiltiness of the accused.
  • Jury selection involves both sides picking juries. The process includes preemptory challenges (voire dire).

Trial Process

  • Opening Statements: Attorneys present their claims and evidence. Direct examination and cross-examination of witnesses take place.
  • Closing Arguments: Attorneys present their claims before the jury or judge.
  • Jury Deliberation: Jurors decide if the person is guilty or not guilty.
  • Hung Jury: If all 12 jurors cannot agree, it results in a mistrial.
  • Verdicts: Either guilty or not guilty. If guilty, there is a sentencing phase (jail, prison, alternative sentencing).
  • Appeals: In many guilty cases, the defendant may appeal the case on certain grounds.

The Wedding Cake Model of the Criminal Justice System

  • Visual representation of how crimes are handled.
    • Level 1: Celebrated Cases: High-profile cases that get the most resources and media attention. Often involve famous people and good attorneys.
    • Level 2: Serious Felonies: Experienced offenders and re-offenders convicted of serious crimes like murder, assault with a deadly weapon, or rape. Full jury trials and severe prison sentences.
    • Level 3: Less Serious Felonies: Often time offenders committing crimes like possession of brass knuckles. Handled with plea bargains, reduction in charges, probation, or restitution.
    • Level 4: Misdemeanors: Low-level crimes like disorderly conduct, shoplifting, drunk in public, or minor assault. Typically handled with small fines or plea bargains.

Perspectives on Justice

  • There is no single view that dominates the field of criminal justice.
    • Perspectives cross over into different perspectives.
  • Six recognized perspectives:
    • Crime Control Perspective: Emphasizes harsh punishment and protection of society as a deterrent to crime.
    • Rehabilitation Perspective: Views crime as an expression of frustration and anger caused by social inequality. Focuses on counseling and programs to improve lifestyles.
    • Due Process Perspective: Emphasizes individual rights and constitutional safeguards against arbitrary or unfair judicial or administrative proceedings.
    • Nonintervention Perspective: Favors the least intrusive treatment possible (diversion, decriminalization). Concerned about stigma and avoiding a winding net of justice.
    • Equal Justice Perspective: Concerned with making the system equitable. The arrest, sentencing, and correctional process should be structured so every person is treated equally.
    • Restorative Justice Perspective: Focuses on peacemaking and humanitarian solutions to crime. An example where a car was vandalized and the suspect was proposed with a solution.

Ethical Issues in Criminal Justice

  • Police: Involve discretion in whom to investigate, how far the investigation should go, and how much effort is required. Issues may involve the consideration of race.
  • The Court Process: Pros and cons between Prosecuting and the Public, there can be an ethical dilemma.
  • Letter of the law v. Spirit of the law will impact a decision making.
  • Corrections: May involve coercive power. Should give the same or a similar treatment?
    -Should the officers show discretion or not in the process?