The three components of the American criminal justice system are the police, courts, and corrections. These components operate independently of one another and maintain different goals, histories, and operating procedures (Neubauer & Fradella, 2017). There are two commonly accepted models of the criminal justice system, the crime control model and due process model. These two models vary at the basic level, the crime control model aims to protect society at all costs while the due process model protects the rights of individual citizens (Neubauer & Fradella, 2017). Americas criminal justice system is plagued with multiple issues that drive a wedge between the people and the criminal justice system, such as inconsistencies within the law, …show more content…
Due Process and Crime Control The due process model and crime control models are fundamentally different from one another, one favors the accused and the other the victim/society. The due process model favors rehabilitation and community corrections, by improving the quality of life for all the crime rate will drop. This model of crime control will seem softer on criminals, possibly allowing criminals to go free instead of incarcerating them. However, the framers of the constitution stated clearly that citizens are considered innocent until proven guilty and guarantees due process of law (U.S Constitution amendment 5,14). The due process model is designed to protect individual liberties by focusing on the rights of the accused, even if the efficiency of the court suffers (Neubauer & Fradella, 2017).
The crime control method is the opposite side of that coin. While the due process model protects the rights of those accused of a crime, the crime control method aims to protect those law-abiding citizens, even at the expense of civil liberties (Neubauer & Fradella, 2017). The crime control method favors harsher punishments to deter crime, if the punishment outweighs the gain from criminal activity, that criminal activity should be undesirable to criminals. Unfortunately, criminals have not been known to show the best reasoning abilities, which leads to a bloated corrections system. The crime control model prefers security to freedom and
The criminal justice system consists of models and theories that often contradict one another. Of these models are the crime control model, the due process, model, the consensus model and the conflict model. In this paper these models are evaluated and defined, as well as each entity in the criminal justice systems role within each model. Policing, corrections and the court system all subscribe to each model in some way and in a hurried manner in cases that dictate such a response. As described by Erik Luna in the Models of Criminal Procedure, the following statement summarizes the aforementioned most appropriately.
The crime-control implications for this perspective are basically based upon creating effective punishment to eliminate crime. These measures must be humane and adhere to human rights to successfully keep criminals from committing the
The criminal justice system in the United States has traditionally operated under two fundamentally different theories. One theory is the Crime Control Model. This theory is characterized by the idea that criminals should be aggressively pursued and crimes aggressively punished. The other theory is the Due Process Model. This theory is characterized by the idea that the rights of the accused need to be carefully protected in any criminal justice investigation. (Levy, 1999)
The criminal justice system is composed of three parts – Police, Courts and Corrections – and all three work together to protect an individual’s rights and the rights of society to live without fear of being a victim of crime. According to merriam-webster.com, crime is defined as “an act that is forbidden or omission of a duty that is commanded by public law and that makes the offender liable to punishment by that law.” When all the three parts work together, it makes the criminal justice system function like a well tuned machine.
Reiman and Leighton comprehensively begin the discussion of crime by outlining their main objectives, establishing the immediate problems surrounding crime control in America, and setting the groundwork for their premises. In recent years, the crime rate in the United States has declined. This decline is generally attributed to ‘tough on crime’ and mass incarceration policies, but the authors are quick to assert that other variables--economic, social-- are greater contributors to this decrease, with the ‘imprisonment binge’ only actually contributing a small amount to the decline. These strict crime enforcement policies might have a small impact on crime prevention, but criminologists are concerned with the potential effect such policies might have on criminal justice procedures--promoting profit rather than safety-- and endangering citizens’ rights (particularly those considered minorities).
In this case, the advantages of the crime control model would be that they would catch more guilty people. Which is a good thing because they may be getting the dangerous or hateful criminals off of the streets, increasing the safety of the public. Along with that they would actually be getting punished because in many cases criminals are let go. While the advantages of the due process model would be that the ones found innocent would be let go if there was no evidence. Sadly, many incarcerated are not guilty and in this case all of the strip searches and questioning would give them the ability to prove their innocence.
There have been theories made by people in government position on the crime epidemic and how to lower crime the crime rate. Many believe that the tougher the consequences, the better it would help people deter away from a life of crime. Unfortunately, this is not true for countries like the United States. We have very strict consequences for people that commit crime, yet we also have one of the
There are two distinct types of models that are found in the English criminal justice system. These are the crime control model and the due process model. They vary in their characteristics and are considered to take divergent objectives. Basing on their evident differences, one of them is actually considered being more effective than the other if the new wave and rate of crime being witnessed in the society is anything to go by. This paper therefore seeks to identify some of the differences between these models and point out that which is considered as effective in dealing with rate of crime in our current society.
The criminal justice field faces the challenges of getting criminals off the streets, and prosecuting them, while using limited funds and manpower. Citizens expect results, and want to feel safe when they are in their own neighborhood. On the other hand, citizens in our democratic country expect people to be treated fairly, and feel the need to make sure that no innocent people are wrongly sent to jail. It is a balancing act of keeping the community safe on one hand, and on the other, making sure that no one’s rights are violated. It is like being told to do a job, but then having all these rules and obstacles you have to navigate around in order to do your job. The following paper is a study of the differences between due
To formulate the law, it was decided that the most valuable approach to reduce violent crimes was through a mandated policy decision requiring identification through past behavior of those who demonstrated clear conduct to participate in violent criminal and whose conduct was not discouraged by the usual concepts of punishment. Reed (2004) stated, “The overall purpose of punishment within the criminal justice system is to prevent the commission of crimes to deter recidivism. For this objective to be successful, punishment must be effective in addressing the problems and solutions for the entire system, not just in individual cases” (p. 502). In reducing crimes, various methods and theories are taken into account. Some of these methods are additional police, additional courts, mandatory sentencing, and increased prosecutorial resources (Reed, 2004). Because the Three Strikes Law varies from state to state, this leads to the many problems it causes in the criminal justice system.
Most people don’t know about the three major components of the criminal justice system, but, in this paper the reader will know what they are. The reader will also read about how the three components interrelate to one another, and also how the conflict one another. The
However, the due process model emphasizes on the role of individual liberties in reducing crime. It believes that when given freedom and liberties, people have the ability to eliminate crime in the society. Based on the rate of crime in the society, the crime control model is the most effective to reduce crime. One of the key differences between the two models is in their perception of crime repression. Crime control model asserts that the criminal justice system should aim at crime repression as its most important function in order to reduce crime in the society.
In summary, the differences between the two models are obvious. The crime control model depends on the skill of investigative and prosecutorial officers; the due process model respects the reliability of fact-finding processes. The assembly line of the crime control model is mostly involved with competence while the due process model is interested in equality and justice for the accused. The due process model perseveres on the deterrence and riddance of errors possible; the crime control model acknowledges the possibility of errors in which inaccuracies could impede the purpose of inhibiting crime (Roach, 1999).
Is the criminal justice system more effective as a method of bringing the guilty to justice or as a deterrent or a method of social control? It is unanimously agreed that the aim of the criminal justice system is to provide equal justice for all according to the law, by processing of cases impartially, fairly and efficiently with the minimum but necessary use of public resources. It is a complex process through which the state decides which particular forms of behaviour are to be considered unacceptable and then proceeds through a series of stages - arrest, charge, prosecute, trial sentence, appeal punishment -' in order to bring the guilty to justice' (Munice & Wilson, 2006 pIX) and is designed for a coherent administration
As stated above, as a criminal justice major, academically, I have gained the ultimate development and background of the Criminal Justice System and its practices from my Intro to Criminal Justice and Criminal Law class; how they implement the laws and apply them to crimes, offenses, and offenders. The whole concept of the criminal justice system is to uphold social control, deterring and mitigating crime, or execute sanctions for people who violate the law. Throughout my Criminal Justice courses, I found certain concepts interesting; the concepts that I found most important surrounding the Criminal Justice System were Deterrence, Rehabilitation, and Punishment. These three major factors are substantially the main functions and focus in regards to offenders. Deterrence, rehabilitation, and punishment are elements that help offenders readapt back into society so they can reestablish all of the mechanisms they need to be successful. They prevent future crime, implement reconstruction, and issue consequences. They are significant and crucial factors that the criminal justice system used to promote safety, change, and justice. Deterrence focuses on future behavior by both individuals and society. As a result of offenders receiving punishment, people will deter or discourage from committing crimes in the future. The hedonistic calculus argued that harsher punishment for committing a crime will cause pain rather than pleasure and crime would be prevented (Seiter, 2017). It is basically the concept of making the punishment outweigh the reward or pleasure. I learned that they are two kinds of deterrence which are specific and general deterrence. Specific deterrence is preventing an individual offender from repeating the same crime over in the future while general deterrence focuses on society as a whole and prevent them from committing a crime in the future (Seiter, 2017). The criminal justice system also believes that it is important to focus on the offender's attitude and behavior and tries to improve them for the can reenter into society as law-abiding citizens (Seiter, 2016). Because of my Corrections class, I learned that correctional facilities have all sort of programs the deal with drug/alcohol abuse, mental