1 criminal justice in america hendrix, criminal justice: core concepts 1/e

1 Criminal Justice in AmericaHendrix, Criminal Justice: Core Concepts 1/e

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Searching for Crime and Justice

• Criminal justice entails a broad spectrum of activities, actors, and outcomes▫ Activities depend on decision-making by professionals in

the field

▫ Professional discretion can result in a range of outcomes

• The criminal justice process is often seen as a machine▫ Inaccurate, unbalanced view; criminal justice much more

complex than TV dramas

▫Need to see beyond media-fed preconceptions and limitations

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Understanding Criminal Justice in America• Criminal justice: the structure, functions, and processes

of those agencies dealing with the management of crime• Criminology: scientific study of the nature and causes

of crime, rates of crime, punishment and rehabilitation of offenders, and prevention of crime

• Criminal law: branch of modern jurisprudence that deals with offenses committed against the safety and order of the state

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Understanding Criminal Justice in America• Criminal procedure: series of orderly steps and actions

used to determine whether a person accused of a crime is guilty or not guilty

• Constitutional law: focuses on legal rules and principles that define the nature and limits of governmental power and the duties and rights of individuals in relation to the state

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Understanding Criminal Justice in America• Criminology is over 100 years old• Legal studies have been in existence for thousands of

years• Criminal justice was not established as an academic

discipline until the end of the 1960s▫ Field developed as outgrowth of calls for “law and order”

during the Johnson presidency

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The Emergence of Criminal Justice as a Field of Study• 1960s: increased crime rates, race riots, anti-war

demonstrations, political assassinations▫ Led to calls for law and order from grassroots America

▫ Also saw trend toward nationalization of Bill of Rights Supreme Court began extending rights to state defendants

in 1960s Many interpreted these decisions as attempts to “handcuff”

police and “coddle” criminals

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President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice (1965)• Officially launched Johnson’s “war on crime”▫ Studied crime problem and machinery of criminal justice;

made recommendations for action

• Summary report helped shape direction of criminal justice for years to come▫ Targeted seven major objectives

▫Made over 200 specific recommendations

▫Many focused on poverty as a root cause of crime

▫Many scholars felt this was too simplistic

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Criminal Justice as a System

• President’s Crime Commission led to view of criminal justice as an integrated system

• Three separately organized parts: police, courts, corrections▫ Parts not independent—actions of each affects the work of

the others

• Called for extensive research and an upgrading of criminal justice personnel and practices▫Most visible impact of commission on criminal justice

in America

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The Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968• 1968: very significant year for criminal justice▫Riots, protests, assassinations

▫ Increasingly visible street crime

▫ Significant use of heroin and other illegal drugs

▫ President’s Crime Commission recommended attack on the “root causes” of crime

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The Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968• Passage of Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act

resulted from President Johnson’s proposals for war on crime▫ Very controversial piece of legislation—seemed more a

political maneuver than a reform bill

▫ Title II attempted to overturn Supreme Court decisions

▫ Title III empowered state/local law enforcement agencies to tap phones, eavesdrop even without a court order

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The Law Enforcement Assistance Administration• Created by Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets

Act, Title I• Part of Department of Justice▫ Develop new devices, techniques, approaches in law

enforcement

▫ Award discretionary grants

▫ Supply states and municipalities with funds for improving criminal justice, training/educating criminal justice personnel

• Significant portion of funds targeted for social programs and research, court reform, correctional programs

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Law Enforcement Education Program (LEEP)• During 1970s, LEAA provided over $40 million per year

for LEEP• LEEP charged with education of over 100,000 persons

employed in or preparing for career in criminal justice• Seen as one of LEAA’s most constructive and

successful efforts• LEEP initiated first academic programs in criminal justice

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Models of Criminal Justice

• Due process model▫ Stresses possibility of error in stages leading up to trial

▫ Emphasizes need to protect procedural rights

▫Warren Court

• Crime control model▫ Emphasizes efficiency

▫ Based on view that most important function of criminal justice process is repression of criminal conduct

▫Burger Court

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Models of Criminal Justice

• Other models▫Wedding cake model: depicts cases processed by

criminal justice system in four layers

▫ Funnel model: depicts diminishing number of cases processed by CJS as cases removed from system

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The War on Drugs

• Shaped policy since late 1960s• Led to criminal justice process that appears “drug driven”

in almost every respect▫ Laws passed to deter drug involvement, increase penalties

for drug-related crime

▫ Street-level drug enforcement initiatives expanded Led to increased number of drug-related arrests

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The War on Drugs

• Processes in both judicial and correctional sectors affected▫ Judicial sector: increase in drug-related cases led to

crowded dockets and courtrooms Creation of new drug courts

▫Correctional sector: higher incarceration rates led to increased crowding Establishment of liberal release policies Experimentation with prison-based drug-treatment programs

• Significant impact on state finances

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Gender, Crime, and Criminal Justice

• Increasing visibility of women in the traditionally male-dominated criminal justice system

• Since early 1970s, number of female offenders has risen▫Women’s role in criminal activity increasingly paralleling

those of men

• Proportion of women criminal justice personnel (police officers, judges, attorneys, corrections officers, etc.) also increasing

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The Criminal Justice “Nonsystem”

• Idea of criminal justice working as a system may not be accurate

• Competing perspectives of system organization▫Consensus/systems model argues that the organizations

making up the criminal justice system work cooperatively to produce justice

▫Conflict model/nonsystem perspective posits that branches of justice work competitively; segments rarely operate with full awareness of long-term implications of activities

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Victims and Justice

• Crime victims and families historically forgotten in processing of criminal offenders

• Victims have little opportunity to participate in judicial and correctional processes▫Historically, state (not individual) is officially the victim of

crime

▫ Victims seen as “getting in the way” during police investigations and judicial proceedings

▫ Victims seen as partial and impatient, unable to make objective contributions to process of justice

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Victims and Justice

• In 1960s, increasing recognition of the importance of involving crime victims in justice process

• Most significant changes implemented in 1980s• System also established victims’ advocacy programs

and restorative justice programs

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Criminal Justice and the Media

• Most serious crimes receive little public attention from local media▫ About 1% attract sustained state/local attention

▫ Very rare cases galvanize broad national attention

• Small number of famous cases become object of continuous attention, speculation, analysis▫Details of case and visibility of people involved

▫ Public curiosity

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Terrorism, Criminal Justice, and the Constitution• Impact of war on terrorism in criminal justice domain is

broad and complex▫ System responses to terrorist acts involve numerous levels

of government law enforcement and even cooperation of international agencies

• Terrorism: premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents

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Terrorism, Criminal Justice, and the Constitution• Attacks on 9/11 introduced a new era in U.S. criminal

justice, affecting every sector of the system• Changes affect law and due process as well as

operations of police, courts, corrections

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Studying and Working in Criminal Justice• Portrayal of criminal justice in TV/movies much more

exciting than what exists in real life• Academic field of criminal justice is the study of the

agencies and procedures set up to manage crime and the persons accused of violating the law▫One of the most popular undergraduate majors in the U.S.

▫ Programs draw from wide variety of academic disciplines

▫ Field experience is an integral component

• It is important to understand the reality of criminal justice careers, compared to the televised fantasy

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Conclusions: Guidelines for Critical Thinking1. Examine how terms are defined and how concepts are

measured2. Inspect the evidence3. Look for potential biases4. Ask whether the conclusions have been oversimplified5. Ask whether the conclusions have been

overgeneralized6. Consider other possible interpretations7. Consider who is offering the explanation8. Think through the topic

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1 criminal justice in america hendrix, criminal justice: core concepts 1/e

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