AC 1.3

• What are the two models of criminal justice?

  • In 1968 Herbert Packer, an American professor of law and criminology, outlined two different values that shape the criminal justice system, these are summed up through two models of criminal justice:

  1. The crime control model
  2. The due process model
• The Crime Control Model:

  • The aim of this is suppression of crime, but through this it is a threat to people’s freedom. It prioritises catching and punishing offenders, deterring and preventing them from committing further crime. 
  • This starts with a presumption of guilt. It trusts the police to be able to identify those who are probably guilty through their investigations and interrogations. 
  • Police should be free to do what they want and should not be held back by any legal technicalities that prevent them from investigating and preventing crime. 
  • There is no innocence until proven guilty, someone simply needs to be ‘probably guilty’ they enter the converter belt of justice (speedy prosecution and convicting people quickly). 
  • Favours innocent people being in prison to guilty people not. Emphasises rights for people to have to not be a victim of crime. 
• The Due Process Model:

  • This assumes that the greatest threat to people’s freedom is the state and that this model should be used to protect people from oppression. 
  • This starts with a presumption of innocence “innocent until proven guilty” until found not during a fair trial. 
  • It has much less trust in the police’s ability to conduct satisfactory investigations and argues they are incompetent and dishonest which is why defendants and suspects rights must be protected. This involves having rules about arrests, questioning, custody, admissibility, disclosure of evidence etc. 
  • Rather than a conveyor belt there must be obstacles that prosecutors have to follow to secure a conviction. 
  • This means the guilty must go free in some situations e.g when part of the process hasn’t been followed correctly, evidence was obtained illegally. This is lesser then convicting the innocent. 
• What criminological theories link to the crime control model?

  Right Realism: This is a right wing, conservative approach to justice. Zero tolerance policing strategies. It favours giving the police greater powers to investigate and reduce crime.

  Functionalism: Durkheim theory is that punishment reinforces society’s moral boundaries. As the main function of justice is to punish the guilty, this enables society to express its moral outrage.
• What theories link with the due process model of crime?

  Labelling Theory: This is more of a liberal approach, it aims to stop state agencies from pressing people. The police may be tempted to act illegally, harassing groups that they view as criminals.

  Left Realism: Oppressive ‘militaristic policing’ of poor areas triggers confrontations and makes residents unwilling to assist the police. Police must act lawfully to fight crime effectively.
• What are some rules we have in the UK that favours the due process model?

  Suspects have the right to:

  • Know they are being arrested
  • Legal representation
  • Remain silent when being questioned
  • To a fair trial by a jury of peers
  • Rehabilitation
  • To appeal against a conviction
• What rules do we have in the UK that favours the crime control model of crime?

  Police have the right to stop and search someone without any reason if they are looking for something.

  • Draw negative inference from a defendants silence while being questioned.
  • Legal aid is restricted
  • Jury trials are only for serious cases
  • Extended police detention (48 hours, 96 for terrorism)
  • Evidence of bad character is sometimes allowed
  • You don't get an automatic appeal in crown court.
• What miscarrage of justice took place with Colin Stag?

  Colin Stagg- He was the victim of an attempted entrapment following the murder of Rachel Nickel. There wasn’t much evidence against him but the police were convinced he was the killer so they tried to honey trap him into confession. 
• What miscarrage of justice took place with Sally Clark?

  Sally Clark- She was wrongfully jailed for the murder of her two sons as the Home Office pathologist Alan Williams failed to disclose relevant information to their defence lawyers.
• What miscarrage of justice took place with The Birmingham Six?

  The Birmingham Six- They were wrongfully convicted of 21 murders after the police fabricated evidence against them, deprived them of sleep and food and threatened them with violence. The judge wrongfully deemed their confessions as admissible evidence while excluding other evidence.
• What miscarrage of justice took place with The West Midlands Serious Crime Squad?

  The West Midlands Serious Crime Squad-They were responsible for over 1000 cases involving malpractice by its officers, including perjury, assaulting prisoners and planting evidence.