9-4-14

Chapter 1

1.1 What is crime?
Act of commission (purposeful- plan to rob) or omission (not doing something- not
feeding children)
Has a cause/motivation (ie money, happiness, anger etc)
Harms someone or something (financial, psychological, etc)
Intent (purposeful, negligently, accidentally)
Legality (only a crime b/c against manmade law)
Consensus Model
Assumes diverse group of ppl share moral/idea of right/wrong
ex: murder is wrong, cannibalism is immoral
Conflict Model
Assumes diverse group doesnt share moral attitudes
Politically powerful members of society have most influence on law- impose their values
Based on class, income, race, age, etc (whoevers in power)
Crime
1. action punishable under law
2. offense against all of society not just victim
3. brings loss of personal freedom and/or life (only Western industrialized nation with
death penalty still)
Deviance (deviation from social norm [subjective]) not equal to crime
Types of Crime
violent- against person (murder, sexual assault, battery/assault, robbery)
-range from A to E categories
property crime- economic gain (larceny, burglary, arson)
public order crime- victimless (prostitution, drug use, gambling, public drunkenness)
- reflects consensus model as these are immoral things
white collar crime- business/personal advantage (stealing money from your work)
- not just for financial gain, also for power -> move up in job rank
organized crime- illegal acts by illegal organizations (narcotic sales, loan
sharking(extortion), black market, prohibition, gangs etc)
- purpose to make money- rackets
high tech crime- computer crimes, cyber crimes (identity theft)

1.2 The Purpose of the Criminal Justice System
-Maintaining justice (subjective)- all individuals legal/ treated the same under law
-Protecting Society
protect from future crimes, determine when offense committed, punish, fair trial
rehabilitate criminal, support crime victims, discourage revenge/future criminals

recidivism


1.3 Structure of Criminal Justice System
composed of: law enforcement, courts, corrections
Law enforcement
divided between federal and state (federalism)
local- police, sheriffs
state- police, highway patrols, fire marshals
federal- homeland security, fbi, dea, atf, secret service
Courts
dual court system: fed court and state court + one for DC
can be charged with same crime twice- once at state, once at federal
Corrections
probation, incarceration, community based correctional facility
(halfway house/rehab/work release- jail but work also), parole (prison overcrowding)
-Jails for minor offenses, misdemeanors- 1 yr or less. People not convicted yet
-Prisons for harsh crimes, 1 year and greater

Formal- arrest, trial, sentencing (assembly line) b/c too many people
Informal- use of discretion by police/ prosecutors to offset rigidity of system
- police decide to not charge you (underage drinking, speeding tickets)
Discretion/ Ethics
ethics- moral principles that govern persons perception of right/ wrong (not written in
stone)
hard to discern line between ethics and justice.

Criminal Justice Today
Crime control model (usually conservative pol party/police system think this way)
protects society from crime
arrest/incarceration are goals
not question police- let do job
limits rights/protections enjoyed by defendants ->> know your rights
want harsh punishments. Assembly line, lock them up
Due Process model
right of individual protected from govt (constitutional rights)
nonviolent offenders serve time in community instead of jail
rehabilitation/ decriminalization
better to let 100 guilty people go free than 1 falsely convicted
Concern about violent crime
gun sales and control/ illegal drug problem
see ppt for rest
Terrorism- random violence to achieve pol goals
patriot act- law enforcement can investigated and incarcerate criminals easier,
wiretapping/ search and seizure
-civil liberties- personal freedoms guaranteed to all Americans by constitution
-domestic terrorism- terrorism carried out by ppl from our country NOT foreign
-ie mass school shootings, boston marathon

Issues
recidivism- repeat offending (get out of jail then do more crimes)
decline of use of death penalty (has to be unanimous)
social media revolution
minority bias