AC1.3

• Herbert Packer (1968)


  Stanford law professor who constructed two models to represent the two competing systems of values operating within criminal justice
• Crime Control Model (CCM)

  • The repression of criminal behaviour by apprehensions, conviction and punishment of offenders
  • Reducing criminal behaviour by removing, convicting, and punishing offenders instead of trying to rehabilitate them
  • Crime is a threat to people's freedom and so the goal of the CCM is the suppression of crime
  • Seeks a quick and efficient disposal of criminal cases
  • A certainty model- we are certain that the individual arrested is the person responsible
  • Prioritises catching and punishing offenders, deterring, and preventing them from committing further crime
  • Focus on protecting rights of society and victims rather than defendants
  • The rights of the victim are more important than the rights of the offender
  • This model starts from the presumption of guilt
  • Trusts the police can identify those who are probably guilty through investigations and interrogations- they are the experts after all
  • This can be established through factual guilt
  • Police should be free from unnecessary legal technicalities that prevent them from investigating crime
  • If a few innocent people are occasionally convicted by mistake, this is a price worth paying
• Thatcherism


  • A more punitive approach
  • 'Safe in the streets' (1979)
  • Blamed social services for rises in crime; muggers and burglars operate
  • In favour of capital punishment
  • Introduced PACE 1984 to give the police more powers
• Labour policies (Tony Blair)

  • Penal populism during the 90s-2000s (penal populism- imposing harsh punishments on offenders that people favour)
  • 'Tough on crime- tough on the causes of crime'
  • 'Unpalatable choices about liberty and security need to be made to rebalance a system in favour of the law-abiding public'
  • 'I am saying it is time to rebalance the decision in favour of the decent law-abiding majority who play by the rules and think others should too'
• Crime Control Advocates


  • More powers for the police are essential
  • Less rights/ freedoms/ liberties for criminals
  • The death penalty
• Noble cause corruption: people will use unethical or illegal means to attain desirable goals, a result which appears to benefit the greater good
• When police have a suspect in custody who they are convinced is guilty, but lack the evidence to prove it, officers may 'enhance', 'firm up', 'embroider', 'bolster' or boost the evidence by inventing verbal confessions or planting incriminating evidence
• Cases which support the CCM

  • The key focus of an investigation is to secure a conviction at any cost
  • Strong public reaction and pressure is applied to the CJS to get the case solved as quickly as possible
  • The police are sure that the suspect is guilty and use all resources available to produce evidence of guilt
  • Thus, it may not matter if they get 'strictly speaking' the 'right person for the crime'
  • Barry George
  • Colin Stagg
• Areas of law that support CCM


  • Allowing evidence of 'bad character' and previous convictions
  • The removal of double jeopardy rule for murder and other indictable offences
  • Extended pre-charge detention time for terror suspects
  • PACE 1984- increased stop and search powers
  • The terrorism act
  • Indefinite detention of terrorist suspects- Anti-terrorism, crime, and security bill 2001
• Due Process Model (DPM)


  • Convicting the guilty while protecting the innocent by limiting governmental power and respecting individual rights
  • The goal is to protect the accused from oppression by the state and its agents (police, prosecutors, and judges)
  • Starts with the presumption of innocence. The accused is innocent until proven guilty after a fair trial
  • This is established through legal guilt
  • It has less faith in the polices ability to conduct satisfactory investigations
  • Incompetence and dishonesty mean that offenders rights need to be safeguarded by a set of due process rules that investigations and trials must follow
  • A scepticism model- sceptical as to whether the person has committed the crime or not
  • Includes rules about arrest, questioning, legal representation, admissibility and disclosure of evidence, cross-examination of witnesses, no secret trials
  • Crucial/ paramount that all the rules and procedures are followed fully as the rules are uninfringeable
  • Achieving justice is an obstacle course that prosecutors must overcome before they can secure a conviction
  • The guilty sometimes go free on a "technicality" (e.g., where the prosecution have relied on illegally obtained evidence)
  • This is seen as a lesser evil than convicting the innocent
  • The model emphasises the rights of the accused individual rather than those of the victim or society
• Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Act 2021 (CHIS)

  • An act of parliament of the UK that makes provisions for the use of undercover law enforcement agents and covert sources and the committing of crimes in the undertaking of their duty
  • It was referred to as the Spy Cops bill- a reference to the UK undercover policing relationships scandal
  • Allows the police force to commit criminal offences to prevent something worse from occurring. E.g. getting in a relationship with someone who is in a criminal gang
  • They can put wire cameras and mic's in people houses if they think they have or will commit a serious offence such as terrorism
• Old Labour/Corbyn


  • Corbyn has shown concern about deaths in custody
  • Corbyn opposed the Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill (CHIS)- AKA the spy cop's bill
• Areas of the law that support DPM

  • The acknowledgement of the need for police safeguards e.g., the introduction of PACE 1984
  • Recording of interview
  • Right to legal representation
  • The influence of the human rights act 1998
• Examples of cases using the DPM


  • The focus needs to be on the investigation not the crime itself
  • Sion Jenkins- his foster daughter was killed with a tent peg by him in their garden
  • James's Bulger (Jon Venables and Robert Thompson)- these two kidnap him and take him to a railway line where they killed them
• Right Realism


  • The crime control model is a right- wing. Conservative approach to justice
  • Like zero-tolerance policing strategies, it favours giving the police greater powers to investigate and suppress crime
• Functionalism


  Functionalism can also be linked to this theory. The main function of justice is to punish the guilty, this enables society to strengthen social cohesion and reinforce society's moral boundaries
• Left Realism


  • Left realism argues that oppressive 'militaristic policing' of poor area triggers confrontations and makes residents unwilling to help/ trust the police
  • Left realists argue that police must follow due process by acting in a lawful and non- discriminatory way if they want to fight crime effectively as this depends on the cooperation of the community
• Labelling Theory


  • The police may be tempted to act illegally, harassing groups that they label negatively as "typical criminals"
  • The due process model offers some protection against this because it requires police to follow lawful procedures and not exceed their powers