AC1.3

• Due process


  Model of criminal justice that focuses on the presumption of innocence and therefore seeks to protect the rights of the defendant rather than the victim
• Crime control

  Model of criminal justice that seeks a quick and well-planned disposal of cases with less attention on the suspect's rights, with the aim of punishing criminals to deter them from committing further crime
• Professor Zellick: '"It is far better that 10 guilty men go free than one innocent man is wrongfully convicted"'
• Sir Cliff Richard took the BBC to court after the broadcaster filmed a police raid on his home in Berkshire in 2014, but he was never arrested or charged and the case was dropped two years later
• The group Falsely Accused Individuals for Reform (Fair) calls for a change in the law so those suspected of sexual offences have anonymity until they are charged
• Jimmy Savile was never charged, but investigators now believe he preyed on around 500 vulnerable victims as young as two years old at institutions including the BBC's broadcasting studios, 14 hospitals and 20 children's hospitals across England
• Professor Graham Zellick, the outgoing chairman of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), said the Court of Appeal should order retrials in cases that have a "lurking doubt" about the safety of the conviction
• Crime control model of justice

  • Seeks a quick and well-planned disposal of cases with less attention on the suspect's rights, aim is to punish criminals to deter them from committing further crime, criminal justice system to work towards swift justice – like a conveyor belt
• Crime control model

  Links to Right Realism theory, Zero tolerance and Functionalism
• Due process model of justice

  • Focuses on the presumption of innocence and therefore seeks to protect the rights of the defendant rather than the victim, links to the inequalities faced in our society that results in people committing crime, innocent until proven guilty
• Due process model

  Links to Left Realism theory and Labelling Theory
• In both USA and UK, the application of a Due Process model accepts that some guilty people will go free and unpunished, as this is considered acceptable in order to prevent wrongful conviction and punishment
• Poor policing in their fact finding is considered more problematic than the guilty going free in the Due Process model
• Right Realism

  • A right-wing, conservative political outlook, they see crime as a growing problem and take the standpoint of getting tough on crime, they are mainly concerned with practical solutions to reduce crime through punishment and control rather than by rehabilitating offenders or tackling causes such as poverty
• Functionalism


  • All societies are characterized by a structure in which people cooperate on the basis of shared norms and values, crime is an inevitable, normal and necessary (functional) aspect of social life that produces a reaction that unites society's members against the wrongdoer, reminding them of the boundary between right and wrong and reaffirming their shared rules
• Crime control model

  Links to Right Realism and Functionalism
• Left Realism


  • Have a left wing, socialist political outlook, they suggest that crime lies in the inequalities created by a capitalist society, crime rates are highest in working class areas with high levels of unemployment and deprivation
• Labelling Theory


  • States that no act is deviant or criminal in itself, it only becomes criminal when we create rules and apply them to others (Social constructionism), to understand criminality, we must focus on how certain actions and people get labelled as criminal in the first place
• The approach taken by the police, CPS and the judiciary to delivering justice in a case may be based on Crime Control or Due Process
• Key features of Crime control model

  • Presumption of Guilt starting point of investigation
  • Repression of crime is most important
  • Police powers should be expanded to 'fact find' to convict
  • Focus on victims rather than dependents rights
• Key features of Due Process model

  • Presumption of Innocent until proven guilty starting point of investigation
  • Fairness of the application of the law, is ultimately important
  • Focus on defendants' rights not victim's
  • Police powers should be limited to prevent oppression
• The case of Ian Tomlinson could be seen as either due process or crime control
• He tries to avoid the clashes between the protesters and the police but is hit with a baton and pushed to the ground
• Home Office Pathologist report concluded that Tomlinson had died of 'natural causes'
• Second autopsy reveals Tomlinson died due to abdominal bleeding caused by a blow
• Dr Freddy Patel (Home Office Pathologist) - eventually struck off the medical register for a series of errors during his time as a pathologist
• Crime Control Model


  Criminal justice should concentrate on vindicating victims' rights rather than on protecting defendant's rights
• Crime Control Model


  Stresses police powers to make it easier to arrest, search, seize etc.
• Due Process Model


  The most important function of criminal justice should be to provide due process, or fundamental fairness under the law
• Senior judge said he would approach Mr Tomlinson's case with "thoroughness, fairness and fearlessness"
• Dr Freddy Patel removed from the Home Office Register of accredited forensic pathologists
• Innocent until proven guilty' cannot be upheld if both victims' and defendants' rights are not upheld
• A defendant may well be innocent – this could lead to miscarriages of justice
• The crime control model has been criticised for focusing too much on securing a conviction rather than proving someone's guilt (hence cases like the Birmingham Six)
• If a defendant has taken a life then surely they have given up their rights as they have taken the rights from another
• Due process model has been criticised for being 'too soft' and things like granting bail (like Gary Weddell case) are unfair on the victims and their families
• The phone hacking scandal trial was said to cost over £95million; the Damilola Taylor trials cost an estimated £16 million
• Cases in a Magistrate's Court cost £900 a day, whilst a case in a Crown Court costs £3000 a day
• Justice has to be done - but also be seen to be done (i.e. in a timely manner)
• Crime control model


  Wants swift justice, so cases being heard at the magistrates' courts work better for this model because the case will not go on for a long time, magistrates' trials are a lot cheaper to carry out