AC 1.3

• AC 1.3 - Describe models of criminal justice
• Right realism

  • The primary perspective of right realism theory is that crime is a problem that affects the poor
  • Idea that poor people are essentially the reason for crime. Considers that economic factors, such as poverty or
  • Unemployment are the reason behind rising crime rates
  • Get tough on crime
  • Conservatives believe in tough control and punishment
• Left realism

  • Left realism suggests that crime lies in the inequalities created by a capitalist society
  • Capitalism encourages consumption but is unable to always deliver it, so some people are motivated by consumerism and materialism and turn to crime
  • Left realists believe that both practical measures to reduce crime and a long term change towards a more, equal, caring society are needed
• Civil liberties - Basic rights are freedoms given to citizens of a country under the law of that country. Includes things like freedom of speech
• Zero tolerance - A policy of giving the most severe punishment possible to every person who commits a crime or breaks a law
• Rule of law - The principle that all people and instituitions are subject to and accountable to law that is fairly applied and enforced; the principle of government by law
• Two models of criminal justice

  Herbert Packer described two constrasting sets of values which shape the way criminal justice system works:

  • Crime control Model of Justice (CCM)
  • Due process Model of Justice (DPM)
• Crime control Model (CCM)

  • Crime is a threat to people's freedom
  • Goal of the CCM is the suppression of crime
  • Prioritises catching and punishing offenders, detering and preventing them from committing further crimes
  • Starts with the presumption of guilt
• Crime control Model (CCM)

  • Trusts the police to be able to identify those who are guilty through their investigations and interviews
  • Police should be free from unecessary legal technicalities that prevent them investigating crime
• Crime control Model (CCM)

  • Favours a conveyor belt type justice system that speedily prosecutes, convicts and punishes the 'probably guilty'
  • If a few innocent people are convicted by mistake, that is the price you pay for convicting a large numbers of guilty people
  • Emphasis the rights of society and victims, rather than the rights of suspects
• Due process Model (DPM)

  • Power of the state is the greater threat to an individual's freedom
  • Goal of the DPM is to protect the accused from opression by the state and its agents (Police, CPS and judges)
  • Starts from a presumption of innocence
• Due process Model (DPM)

  • Has less faith in the police's ability to conduct satisfactory investigation
  • Suspect's/Defendant's rights need to be safeguarded by due process rules that investigations and trials must follow
• Due process model (DPM)

  • Rules from a necessary obstacle course that the prosecution have to overcome to secure a conviction
  • Means that the guilty sometime go free on a 'technicality' however lesser of the two evils
  • Emphasis the rights of the accused rather than those of the victim or society
• CCM - Right realism

  Right realism - CCM is a right - wing, conservative approach to justice and it has to have a lot in common with right realist theories of crime such as:

  • Zero tolerance policing strategies
  • Favours giving police greater powers to investigate and suppress crime
• CCM - Functionalism

  CCM also links with Durkheim's functionalist theory that punishment reinforces society's moral boundaries

  Main function of justice is to punish the guilty, which enables society to express its moral outrage and strengthen social cohesion
• DPM - Linking

  Labelling - DPM is a liberal approach. Aims to stop state agencies such as the police from oppressing people

  • People may be tempted to act illegally, harassing groups that they label negatively as 'typical criminals'
  • DPM officers protection from this by requiring the police to follow lawful procedures and not exceed their power
• Rules governing the working of the justice system

  • Many due process rules are in place to protect an individual's rights during an investigation and trial EG illegally obtained evidence may be ruled inadmissible by the court
  • Includes things such as a confession on obtained by using torture or degrading treatment
  • could be said to support the PPM, since it protects the defendant's right
• Ways the criminal justice system works in practice

  • Despite these rules, the judges has the power to admit illegally obtained evidence EG evidence obtained during a search without a warrant
  • Could be sold to support CCM, since it may lead to a conviction
• Examples of rules favouring due process:

  • Suspect's right to know why they are being arrested
  • Right to remain silent when questioned by police in court
  • Right not to be detained indefinetly without charge
• Examples of rules favouring crime control:

  • Police's right to stop, question, search and arrest
  • Court may draw negative inferences if the defendant remains silent
  • Evidence of bad character/previous convictions is permitted in certain circumstances
• DPM and CCM in practice

  • Police, prosecutors and judges respect the due process rights of the accused EG only a small proportion of Ds who are convicted of an offence to seek to appeal
  • Most are satisfied with the way their case was processed
• Miscarriages of justices

  Cases point to the fact that in practice the justice system does not always operate according to the principles of the DDM
• Miscarriages of Justice - Case examples

  Colin Stagg - Victim of attempted entrapment of the murder of Rachel Nickell. Having no evidence the police tried to use 'honey trap' trick him to confess to the murder
• Miscarriages of justice - Cases

  The West Midlands serious crime squad - Responsible for over 100 criminal cases. Including the Birmingham six. Including perjury and assaulting prisoners. Incriminating evidence on suspects