Criminology Unit 4

• Process used by a government for making laws

  1. Public's response to a change in the law is collected through a Green Paper

  2. Firm proposals in a White Paper

  3. Bill presented to Parliament

  4. Bill follows stages like first and second reading in House of Commons and House of Lords

  5. Bill may be amended before being voted upon by Parliament and given Royal Assent
• Organisations and agencies in the Criminal Justice System

  • Law creation and administration
  • Law enforcement
  • The courts
  • Formal punishment
• Criminal Justice System in England and Wales

  • Made up of organisations and agencies
  • Law creation and administration: passing of criminal laws by Parliament and running of justice system by government departments
  • Law enforcement: by the police
  • Courts (including prosecution and defence) decide outcome of criminal cases
  • Punishment of convicted offenders: by prisons and probation service
• Law Creation


  1. Parliament passes Acts (legislation or statute law)

  2. Judges create law by setting judicial precedents and interpreting statutes
• Administration of the criminal justice system

  Ministry of Justice and Home Office oversee and are responsible for the smooth running
• Law Enforcement: Police


  • Investigate crimes, collect evidence, arrest, detain and question suspects
  • May issue cautions or fixed penalty notices in minor cases
  • Send files to Crown Prosecution Service to decide whether to prosecute
  • 43 regional police forces in England and Wales
• Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)


  • Independent prosecution service for England and Wales
  • Deals with about half a million cases a year
  • Advises police on investigations and evidence required
  • Assesses evidence and decides whether to prosecute and what the charge will be
  • Decisions based on applying the Full Code Test
  • Prepares and presents the prosecution case in court
• HM Courts and Tribunals Service

  • Responsible for administration of courts and tribunals in England and Wales
  • Defendant brought before magistrates' court to plead guilty or not guilty, and pre-trial issues decided
  • Guilty pleas lead to sentencing, not guilty pleas lead to trial
  • Magistrates' courts deal with less serious offences (about 95% of cases)
  • Crown Court deals with serious offences, triable by judge and jury
  • Prosecution and defence present arguments and evidence
  • Jury or magistrates decide verdict
  • If guilty, judge or magistrates decide punishment based on relevant statute and Sentencing Guidelines
• HM Prison and Probation Service

  • Carries out sentences given to offenders by the courts
  • HM Prison Service supervises offenders in custody
  • National Probation Service supervises offenders serving sentences in the community, including released prisoners
  • Seeks to rehabilitate offenders to lead crime-free life
• Due process model


  Focuses on the presumption of innocence and the necessity of producing fairness by protecting the defendant's legal rights
• Summary of the Criminal Justice Process

  1. Police enforce the law by investigating breaches and arresting suspects

  2. Crown Prosecution Service advises police on appropriate charge

  3. Suspect brought before Magistrates' Court, released on bail or remanded in custody

  4. Guilty plea results in sentencing, not guilty plea results in trial

  5. Trial includes witness evidence, verdict decided by magistrates or jury

  6. If convicted, formal punishment given by magistrates or judge

  7. Custodial sentence results in defendant sent to prison, overseen by HM Prison Service

  8. Released prisoners usually on licence, supervised by Probation Service
• Crime control model


  Seeks a quick and efficient disposal of criminal cases, similar to an assembly line or conveyor belt
• The Sentencing Council provides guidelines to assist courts in deciding punishment
• Crown Prosecutor: 'The role of the Crown Prosecution Service in the organisation of the criminal justice system is to advise the police on possible lines of enquiry and evidence collection to build a case, instruct them on charging suspects, prepare and present the prosecution case against offenders, and prepare appeals against unduly lenient sentences.'
• Features of the crime control model

  • The repression of crime is the most important function of criminal justice because order is a necessary condition for a free society
  • Criminal justice should concentrate on promoting victims' rights rather than protecting defendants' rights
  • The criminal justice process should operate like an assembly line or conveyor belt, moving cases swiftly along toward their disposition
  • If the police make an arrest and a prosecutor files criminal charges, the accused should be presumed guilty because the fact-finding of police and prosecutors is highly reliable
  • The model links to zero-tolerance where no crime is acceptable
  • The model is similar to the theory of right realism requiring punishment for an offence, no matter what the reason behind the commission
• Relationships between the justice agencies

  • Police and Courts
  • Police and CPS
  • Police and HM Prison/Probation Services
  • Police and Voluntary Organisations
  • CPS and Courts
  • Government Departments and Courts/Prison/Probation
  • HM Courts and Tribunals Service and Courts/Judges/HM Prison Service
  • National Probation Service and HM Prison Service/Courts
  • HM Prison Service and Courts/Police
• Features of the due process model

  • This model focuses on the presumption of innocence and the necessity of producing fairness by protecting the defendant's legal rights
  • It asserts that police powers should be limited to prevent official oppression of the individual
  • The justice system should safeguard all the rights of an individual to provide against a wrongful conviction
  • Justice should involve a thorough investigation where there is protection of the innocent by legislative obstacles to overcome before a conviction can occur
  • This relates to the left realism approach to criminality with a focus on the inequalities created by a capitalist society. A more equal and caring society would eventually eliminate crime
• Voluntary organisations like Victim Support, Nacro, Women in Prison and Women's Aid have relationships with the criminal justice system
• In order to describe the justice system in England and Wales you need to look at two areas: the rules governing the working of the justice system and the way the system works in practice
• Campaigns to change the justice system, e.g. Howard League for Penal Reform, Prison Reform Trust and INQUEST, have relationships with the courts, prisons, police, Ministry of Justice and Home Office
• Rules governing the working of the justice system that favour due process

  • The suspect's right to know why they are being arrested
  • The right to remain silent when questioned by police and in court
  • The right not to be detained indefinitely without charge
  • The right to legal representation when questioned by police and in court
  • The right to trial by jury of one's peers
  • The right to appeal against conviction or sentence
  • The right not to be re-tried for the same offence once acquitted
  • Rules governing the admissibility of evidence in court
• The courts


  Have relationships with the prison service and probation service in carrying out formal punishment of offenders
• Rules governing the working of the justice system that favour crime control


  • Police rights to stop, question, search and arrest. The right to stop and search without given reason in some circumstances
  • The court may draw negative inferences if the defendant remains silent when questioned by police or fails to testify in court without good reason
  • Extended police detention is allowed for questioning on suspicion of indictable offences (36 + 96 hours) and terrorism offences (14 days)
  • Extended period before access to legal representation is allowed for serious offences
  • Restrictions on the availability of legal aid
  • Jury trials are only for serious cases. Magistrates are more likely than juries to convict. Juryless trials are allowed if jury tampering if suspected
  • Appeal rights are not always automatic. Some are only allowed on a point of law, not on evidence
  • Change to the rule of double jeopardy which allows a second prosecution if 'new and compelling' evidence emerges for serious offences
  • Evidence of bad character/previous convictions is permitted in certain circumstances
  • Public-interest immunity certificates may allow the prosecution to avoid disclosing evidence
• Colin Chesterton from Newcastle claims that he has been wrongfully convicted of the charge of murder. He was found guilty by a jury at Crown Court with a unanimous verdict. He intends to appeal his conviction, and his family have started a campaign called 'Free the Newcastle One'. Colin claims the police failed to consider any other suspect, and the jury were bribed to find him guilty. In addition, he believes the judge is related to the victim, and this is why he was given the sentence of life imprisonment with a recommendation that he serves 70 years
• The most appropriate model for Colin's case

  The crime control model
• Crime control model


  Key aspects
• How the crime control model could apply to Colin's case

  • The repression of crime being the most important function of criminal justice because order is a necessary condition for a free society. Colin's claims about the police action would be relevant here
  • Criminal justice should concentrate on promoting victims' rights rather than on protecting defendants' rights. This could account for the judge giving such a harsh sentence as, according to Colin, he is related to the victim
  • The criminal justice process should operate like an assembly line conveyor belt, moving cases swiftly along toward their disposition. This could account for Colin's claim that the police failed to consider other suspects
  • If the police make an arrest and a prosecutor files criminal charges, the accused should be presumed guilty because the fact-finding of police and prosecutors is highly reliable. This could explain Colin's claims about his case
• Forms of social control


  • Internal forms
  • External forms
  • Control theory
• The due process model with links to Colin's case
• Social control


  Persuading or compelling people to conform to society's norms, laws and expectations
• Main forms of social control


  • Internal forms
  • External forms
• Internal forms of social control

  • Controls over our behaviour that come from within ourselves - from our personalities or our values
  • Lead us to conform to the rules of society and the groups that we belong to because we feel inwardly that it is the right thing to do
• Moral conscience/superego


  According to Freud, part of our personality that tells us what is right and wrong and inflicts guilt feelings on us if we fail to do as it urges
• Tradition and culture


  The values, norms and traditions of the culture we belong to that become part of our identity and lead us to conform
• Internalisation of social rules and morality


  The process by which society's rules and moral code become our own personal rules and moral code through socialisation
• Aims of Punishment


  • Retribution
  • Rehabilitation
  • Deterrence
  • Public protection
  • Reparation
• Many people believe that punishment is an effective way to prevent or reduce crime
• Others argue that offenders deserve to be punished regardless of if it reduces crime
• Retribution


  Expressing society's outrage at crime
• Rehabilitation


  Making offenders change their behaviour