Crime

1
Crime Justice In the United States

• Chapter One
• Introduction to Criminal Justice, Bohm Haley

2
Article

• Criminal Justice Logjam As Budgets
  Shrink, Cities See an Impact on Criminal Justice
  (Jun 7, 2003) Criminal Justice Failure (Aug 6,
  2002) Britain Plans Criminal Justice Changes to
  Favor the Victims (Jul 18, 2002) Find more
  related articles by selecting from the following
  topics   Criminology  Social Sciences  Track a
  subject by e-mail
• o the Editor
• It is disconcerting that the number of Americans
  under control of the criminal justice system - in
  prison, on probation or on parole - has risen
  once again, this year approaching nearly seven
  million ("U.S. 'Correctional Population' Hits New
  High," news article, July 26).
• Taxpayers spend more than 50 billion a year to
  incarcerate more than two million people, making
  America the world's No. 1 jailer. Yet the Bureau
  of Justice Statistics shows that two-thirds of
  inmates are back behind bars within three years
  of release.
• A better approach would be to lock up fewer
  people for shorter periods of time and use the
  cost savings to bolster academic, vocational and
  substance abuse programs behind bars. That way,
  ex-offenders will have the tools they need to
  lead law-abiding lives on the outside.
• Jennifer R. Wynn
• Adjunct Professor
• John Jay College of Criminal Justice
• Brooklyn, July 26, 2004

3
Objectives

• Identify institutions of social control and
  explain what makes criminal justice an
  institution of social control.
  
• Summarize how the criminal justice system
  responds to crime.
  
• Explain why criminal justice in the United States
  is sometimes considered a nonsystem.
  
• Point out the major differences between Packers
  crime control and due process models.

4
Objectives

• Describe the costs of criminal justice in the
  United States and compare those costs among
  federal, state, and local governments.
  
• Explain how myths about crime and criminal
  justice affect the criminal justice system.
  
• Describe how the type of crime presented by the
  media compares with crime routinely committed.

5
Institutions of Social Control

• An institution of social control is
• An organization that persuades people, through
  subtle and not-so-subtle means to abide by the
  dominant values of society. P.8

6
Institutions of Social Control

• Examples
• Organized Religion
• Laws Schools
• Family News

7
Institutions of Social Control

• Criminal Justice System is an institution of
  social control, but differs from others in two
  important ways
  
• Concerned only with behavior defined as criminal
  (limited behaviors),
  
• It is societys last line of defense against
  people who refuse to abide by dominant social
  values. Society turns to criminal justice when
  all else fails.

8
Criminal Justice The System

• Criminal justice in the US is administered by a
  loose confederation of more than 50,000 agencies,
  federal, state and local governments.
  
• This confederation is referred to as the
  criminal justice system
  
• p. 8

9
Criminal Justice System
Corrections
Police
Courts
10
Criminal Justice The System

• Jurisdiction
• A politically defined geographical area (where
  the specific CJS entity has authority)

11
Criminal Justice The SystemAn Overview

• WARNING The following is a brief overview of a
  typical criminal justice system. (It is often
  more complicated than what is described in the
  text)
• More detailed information will be covered later
  in the course.
  
• Refer to Figure 1.1 in your text, pp. 10-11

12
Moves Quickly
Arrest is made, booking, then warrant, (initial
appearance)
Police Receive a criminal Report
GA- Juvenile Services Take Over
13
Misdemeanor No arraignment Unless jailed SUMMAR
Y
TRIAL p.9
14
Synopsis of CJS

• Officer investigates then makes an ARREST.
• Offender becomes a DEFENDANT, then a BOOKING
  report (GA, AB), is completed listing charges
  and any personal property, etc.
  
• Prosecutor then reviews the facts and decides
  whether to charge, or pursue prosecution, then
  completes a charging document.

15
Charging Document

• Four (three) types
• A complaint a document specifying that an
  offense has been committed.
  
• Arrest Warrant another form of charging
  document often obtained by officers/investigators.
  
  
• An information a document that outlines the
  formal charge against a suspect.
  
• A grand jury indictment a written accusation by
  a grand jury that a person has committed a crime.

16
Offense Level

• Misdemeanor (includes ordinance violations)
  less serious crime generally punishable by a fine
  or by incarceration in jail for not more than 1
  year.
• Felony (does not include ordinance violations)
  serious offense punishable by confinement in
  prison for more than 1 year or by death. (May
  include fines)

17
Pretrial Stages

• After charges have been filed, the defendant is
  brought before a judge to hear the formal charges
  against them and to hear their constitutional
  rights. This is an initial appearance.
• Often, in several states, the defendant can enter
  a plea of guilty or not guilty at this stage.
  (Georgia)

18
Pretrial Stages

• In misdemeanor cases, the defendant will go to
  trial, or summary trial, (ordinance violations,
  traffic, etc.).
  
• In the case of a felony, a hearing is held to
  determine whether the defendant should be
  released or whether there is probable cause to
  hold the defendant for a preliminary hearing.
  Probable cause is
• A standard of proof that requires evidence
  sufficient to make
  
• a reasonable person believe that, more likely
  than not, the
  
• proposed action is justified.

19
Pretrial Stages

• If defendant is to be held, judge finds
  sufficient probable cause (evidence), then the
  judge may set bail (bond).
  
• Bail is usually a monetary guarantee deposited
  with the court to ensure that suspects or
  defendants will appear at a later stage in the
  criminal justice
• process.

20
Pretrial Stages

• A primary purpose of the grand jury is to
  determine whether there is probable cause to
  believe that the accused committed the crime with
  which the prosecutor has charged him/her with. A
  grand jury is
• A group of citizens who meet in closed sessions
  for
  
• a specified period to investigate charges coming
• from preliminary hearings and to fulfill
• other responsibilities.
• Defendant does not appear at Grand Jury
  hearings.
  

21
Pretrial Stages

• Defendants are then go to arraignment where they
  are allowed to plea.
  
• At this stage, a majority of cases are handled
  through an arrangement called plea bargaining.
  P.13
  
• The practice whereby a specific sentence is
  imposed if the accused pleads guilty to an
  agreed-upon charge or charges instead of going to
  trial.

22
Pretrial Stages

• 10 percent of criminal cases go to trial.
• 5 percent of criminal cases are decided in a
  bench trial.
  
• 5 percent of criminal cases are decided in a
  jury trial.
  
• 90 percent of cases are disposed of through plea
  bargaining.

23
Trial Stage

• If found NOT GUILTY, defendant is released. If
  found guilty, they are sentenced by a judge, and
  in some cases by the jury.

24
Corrections

• There 5 types of punishment used in the US
• Fines,
• Probation,
• Intermediate punishments,
• Imprisonment,
• Death

25
Corrections

• Parole defendant may be eligible after serving
  a portion of their sentence. Parole is
  
• The conditional release of prisoners before they
  have served their full sentences.

26
Criminal Justice The Non-System

• Non-System because
• Criminal Justice system is a loose confederation
  of many independent agencies.
  
• I.e. municipal courts, state courts, federal
  courts local, state, federal law enforcement

27
Criminal Justice The Non-System

• As a smoothly operating set of arrangements and
  institutions directed toward the achievement of
  common goals, criminal justice system is NOT.
  
• Often there are competing goals, objectives,
  overlaps in jurisdiction, politically directed
  emphasis, i.e. drunk driving.

28
Packers Two Models of Criminal Justice
29
Two Models of Criminal Justice

• Due Process Model p.18 Obstacle Justice
• Doctrine of legal guilt not guilty unless
  factual guilt is determined in a procedurally
  regular fashion. (Tends to Protect suspects)
  
• Attempts to overcome issues of intelligence of
  suspect, financial resources for representation.
  

30
Two Models of Criminal Justice

• Crime Control Model p.17 assembly-line
  justice controlling criminal behavior is the
  most important function of criminal justice.
  
• Efficient process resulting in quick closure,
• Presumption of guilt

31
Due Process vs. Crime Control

• Since the mid-1970s the crime control model has
  dominated the practice of criminal and juvenile
  justice in the United States.
  
• But elements of the due process model remain
  evident in the process of justice.
  
• How long this present trend will continue is
  anybodys guess.
  

32
CJS Models Know the Difference?

• Criminal Justice Logjam As Budgets
  Shrink, Cities See an Impact on Criminal Justice
  (Jun 7, 2003) Criminal Justice Failure (Aug 6,
  2002) Britain Plans Criminal Justice Changes to
  Favor the Victims (Jul 18, 2002) Find more
  related articles by selecting from the following
  topics   Criminology  Social Sciences  Track a
  subject by e-mail
• o the Editor
• It is disconcerting that the number of Americans
  under control of the criminal justice system - in
  prison, on probation or on parole - has risen
  once again, this year approaching nearly seven
  million ("U.S. 'Correctional Population' Hits New
  High," news article, July 26).
• Taxpayers spend more than 50 billion a year to
  incarcerate more than two million people, making
  America the world's No. 1 jailer. Yet the Bureau
  of Justice Statistics shows that two-thirds of
  inmates are back behind bars within three years
  of release.
• A better approach would be to lock up fewer
  people for shorter periods of time and use the
  cost savings to bolster academic, vocational and
  substance abuse programs behind bars. That way,
  ex-offenders will have the tools they need to
  lead law-abiding lives on the outside.
• Jennifer R. Wynn
• Adjunct Professor
• John Jay College of Criminal Justice
• Brooklyn, July 26, 2004

33
Costs of Criminal Justice

• Each year in the United States an enormous amount
  of money is spent on criminal justice.
  
• In 1999, local, state, and federal governments
  spent a total of 146 billion in direct
  expenditures for the civil and criminal justice
  systems.
• That represents approximately 525 for every
  resident of the United Sates.
  
• See Table 1.2, p.20.

34
Costs of Criminal Justice

• Of all government expenditures, Criminal Justice
  only accounts for 8.
  
• Police Protection 70 local government
• Corrections States 63
• Judicial/Legal Services 35 States

35
Myths about Criminal Justice

• Our text concentrates on dispelling myths about
  the criminal justice system.
  
• What myths have we dispelled?
• Government budget allocations for CJS accounts
  for a bulk of all expenditures?

36
Media CJS
John Muhammad John Lee Malvo
O.J. Simpson, Martha Stewart
Georgia- Murder of Grandparents
37
Media CJS

• The sensational crimes reported by the media do
  not provide a very accurate picture of the crimes
  typically committed nor do they accurately depict
  the kinds of crime to which police respond on a
  daily basis.

38
Media CJS Discussion

• What did you learn from your project
  assignments?
  
• Do you feel that the crime related stories
  provided enough information for you to determine
  guilt or innocence?
  
• Does the news media provide clear, and accurate
  information?

39
Media CJS

• The media does not accurately reflect the typical
  calls that police respond to, nor does television
  coverage of trials, etc., accurately reflect the
  courts, (90 plea bargain)
• Does this media attention help or hurt the
  criminal justice system operation?

40
Review

• Institution of social control what is it? And
  know some examples.
  
• How does CJS differ from other institutions of
  social control (2 reasons)
  
• Know the Models of Criminal Justice
• Which one is the predominant today?
• Key differences

41
Review

• Media CJS
• Corrections 5 methods
• Costs of Criminal Justice
• Who pays most for police?
• Who pays most for corrections?
• Charging Documents
• Have a general knowledge of the CJS Process,
  chart in text, pp. 10-11.
  

42
Next Week

• Review the online materials related to Uniform
  Crime Reports,
  
• View the Department of Justice, FBI, Uniform
  Crime Reports web-site.