The Origins and Application of the Criminal Law

• The Value Consensus Model


  The view that behaviours are defined as criminal and the punishment imposed on offenders reflect commonly held opinions and limits of tolerance; through the application of laws, a society reaffirms the acceptable boundaries of behaviour and maintains social cohesion.
• Conflict Model


  The view that crime and punishment reflect the power some groups have to influence the formulation of criminal law.
• What does the conflict model bring attention to?

  It draws attention to the fact that some groups are better able than others to influence which behaviours and persons are criminalised. Conflict theorists see the rich and privileged as having an advantage.
• Conflict theorists ask questions and believe in what?

  They ask questions highlighting the inequities and paradoxes in the system and believe that our attention is wrongly focused on street crime when the greater risk to most people lies in the actions of the elites.