CJ © 2011 Cengage Learning Chapter 1 Criminal Justice Today.

CJ

© 2011 Cengage Learning

Chapter 1Chapter 1

Criminal Justice Criminal Justice TodayToday

Learning Outcomes

LO1: Define crime and identify the different types of crime.

LO2: Outline the three levels of law enforcement.

LO3: List the essential elements of the corrections system.

LO4: Explain the difference between the formal and informal criminal justice processes.

LO5: Contrast the crime control and due process models.


1LO


Define crime and identify the different

types of crime.


Learning Outcome 1

• What is crime?– “a wrong against society proclaimed by

law and, if committed under certain circumstances, punishable by society.”

• Different societies can have vastly different ideas of what constitutes a crime.


Learning Outcome 1

• The Consensus Model– Assumes that a diverse group of

people have similar morals and share an ideal of what is “right” and “wrong.”

– Crime are acts that violate this shared value system and are deemed harmful to society.


Learning Outcome 1• The Conflict Model

– Assumes that society is so diverse that members do not share moral attitudes.

– The most politically powerful members of society have the most influence on criminal law and impose their value system on the rest of the community.

– Crimes are defined by whichever group holds power at a given time.


Learning Outcome 1• An Integrated Definition of Crime

– Punishable under criminal law, as determined by the majority, or in some cases, by a powerful minority.

– Considered an offense against society as a whole and prosecuted by public officials, not by victims and their relatives or friends.

– Punishable by statutorily determined sanctions that bring about the loss of personal freedom or life.


Learning Outcome 1• Criminal behavior can be grouped

into six categories:– Violent crime– Property crime– Public order crime– White collar crime– Organized crime– High-tech crime


Learning Outcome 1

• Violent Crime– Crimes against persons.– D our perspectives on crime.– Includes:

• Murder• Sexual assault• Assault and battery• Robbery


Learning Outcome 1• Property Crime

– The most common form of criminal activity.

– The goal of the offender is some form of economic gain or to damage property.

– Includes:• Larceny/theft• Burglary• Motor vehicle theft• Arson


ABC Video: Cape Cod Murder


Learning Outcome 1• Public Order Crimes

– Behavior that is outlawed because it violates shared social values.

– Also referred to as victimless crime.– Includes:

• Public drunkenness• Prostitution• Gambling• Illicit drug use


Learning Outcome 1

• White Collar Crime– Business related offenses.– Illegal act(s) committed to obtain

personal or business advantage. – White collar crime costs U.S.

businesses as much as $994 billion a year.


Learning Outcome 1• Organized Crime

– Illegal acts by illegal organizations (often violent.– Usually geared toward satisfying a public demand

for unlawful goods and services.– Implies a conspiratorial and illegal relationship

among a number of people engaged in unlawful acts.

– Includes:• Loan sharking• Gambling• Prostitution


ABC Video: US Tyco


Learning Outcome 1

• High-Tech Crime– Also referred to as cyber crimes.– Includes:

• Selling pornographic material online• Cyberstalking• Hacking


Learning Outcome 1

The Criminal Justice System

The interlocking network of law enforcement agencies, courts, and corrections institutions designed to

enforce criminal laws.


Learning Outcome 1

• The Purpose of the Criminal Justice System– To control crime– To prevent crime– To provide and maintain justice


The Structure of the Criminal Justice System

Federalism – government powers are shared by the

national government and the states.


ABC Video: Internet Crime

2LO


Outline the three levels of law enforcement.


Learning Outcome 2

• Local and County– County sheriff – chief law enforcement

officer of most counties. – Responsible for the “nuts and bolts”:

• Investigations• Patrol activities • Keeping the peace


Learning Outcome 2• State

– State police– Highway patrols– Fire marshals– Fish, game, wildcraft wardens

• Federal – Anti-terrorism– FBI– Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and

Explosives– Almost every federal agency has some kind of

police power.


Learning Outcome 2

• Courts– The US has a dual court system – two

independent judicial systems, one at federal level and one at state level.

– Criminal court responsible for determining guilt or innocence of suspects.

3LO


List the essential elements of the

corrections system.


Learning Outcome 3

• The Corrections systems includes:– Probation– Jails– Community-based corrections (halfway

houses, residential centers, work-release centers).

4LO


Explain the difference

between the formal and

informal criminal justice processes.


Learning Outcome 4

• The Formal Criminal Justice Process– Functions as an assembly-line– “a series of routinized operations

whose success is gauged primarily by their tendency to pass the case along to a successful conclusion.”


Learning Outcome 4• The informal criminal justice process

– Based on the use of discretion – the authority to choose between and among alternative courses of action.


The Wedding

Cake Model

5LO


Contrast the crime control and

due process models.


Learning Outcome 5

• The crime control model – Law enforcement is necessary to control

criminal activity.– Control is difficult and probably

impossible. – The system must be quick and efficient.– Police are in a better position than courts

to determine guilt.


Learning Outcome 5

• The due process model– Strives to make it difficult to prove

guilt. – Ultimate goal – fairness, not efficiency. – Rejects idea of a criminal justice

system with unlimited powers. – Criminal justice system should

recognize its own fallibility.– Relies heavily on courts.


Mastering Concepts

Crime Control Model versus Due Process Model


ABC Video: Crime In America


Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Correctional Populations in the United States, 1995 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, June 1997), Table 1.1, page 12; and Bureau of Justice Statistics, Prisoners in 2008 (Washington, D.C.; U.S. Department of Justice, 2009), 2.

CJ © 2011 Cengage Learning Chapter 1 Criminal Justice Today.

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