Unit 4 1.3

• There are 2 main models of the values surrounding criminal justice

  1. crime control model
  2. due process model
• Due Process Model focuses more on protecting individual rights than controlling crime
• Crime Control Model is based on the idea that crime causes fear, so it must be controlled by any means necessary
• The Crime Control Model emphasizes punishment as a way to deter future crimes.
• The crime control model: crime threatens people’s freedoms so the goal is to suppress crime

  the model starts with the presumption of guilt
• The crime control model prioritises catching and punishing offenders, deterring and preventing them from committing further crime
• The crime control model advocates a lot of freedom/authority to the police, trusting that they are able to identify those who are probably guilty through investigation/interrogation
• The crime control model can be referred to as an efficient conveyor belt as it focuses on processing suspects through as quickly/easily as possible
• The crime control model is a right realist approach
• The crime control model has been criticised by left realists because it does not address underlying causes of crime (social factors)
• the crime control model takes a zero tolerance approach. This means that tougher punishments will be given out, even for smaller crimes
• right realists believe that tight knit communities and social bonds help prevent crime

  they believe that tough control/punishments are the only way to stop criminal trends
• Realists look at solutions to crime
• How does the zero tolerance approach link to the crime control model

  The tougher sentences act as a deterrent to crime
• one of the right realist policies is penal populism. This is a media driven political process where politicians compete with each other to impose tougher prison sentences on offenders based off of perceptions that crime was out of control
• functionalism takes a similar approach to right realists
• Herbert packer: a Stamford scholar who defined the two models
• functionalism states that crime provides a function for society in four ways:

  1. warning light - it warns us that something is going wrong
  2. safety valve - it allows us to fix the problem before it gets out of hand
  3. social change - people band together to promote changes e.g.: protests
  4. strengthens values - it reminds people of why laws are there and why they don’t commit crime
• the functionalist link to crime is similar to right realists in which when a crime occurs and people are punished, it becomes clear to the rest of society that the particular action is unacceptable. the media helps support this through “story telling”
• How do realists differ to other theorists

  Instead of only looking at the causes of crime, they also look at the solutions
• The due process model states that the individual (offender) requires protection from powers of authority that might try oppress them.
• the due process model sets up a kind of “obstacle course“ for the prosecution as they must prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt
• Innocent until proven guilty means that the accused person is presumed innocent unless evidence proves otherwise. This principle ensures that the burden of proof lies with the state or prosecution rather than on the defendant. The standard of proof required by law is ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’.
• Left realists look at the social factors being the causes of crime:

  1. relative deprivation
  2. subcultures
  3. marginalisation
• relative deprivation: this is where someone feels as if they are deprived in luxuries compared to other people
• subcultures: these are also known as gangs, they are groups of people who share a common interest or lifestyle,
• marginalisation: this is where someone feels as if they are being treated like they’re insignificant due to something they can’t control
• left realist solutions:

  • Intervention programmes: this moves people away from the criminal label, making them less likely to reoffend
  • improving policing: improve the relationship between the police and the public so that people are able to go to them more about issues
• labelling theory: believes that when a person is given a label, they internalise it and live up to it
• deviant amplification spiral: people go from committing smaller crimes to larger ones
• self - fulfilling prophecy: we internalise the label we are given and live up to it
• primary deviance: behaviour that is not illegal but is considered deviant by society
• secondary deviance: larger forms of deviance, often a label is given
• anomie: breakdown of norms and values leading to increased levels of crime