Criminal Justice System 2 – What is the purpose of the Criminal Justice System?
Teaching notes
Key Stage: KS4.
Resources:
 Purpose of the Criminal Justice System – fact sheet
 a sheet of A3 paper per group of three or four students
 a set of sticky notes per group of three or four students (preferably a different colour per
group).
Objectives: Students gain an understanding of the importance of the Criminal Justice System in
the UK.
Starter
1.
Ask students the question: Why does society punish people who have committed
crimes?
For students who need prompting, suggest Citizenship keywords such as justice, fairness,
community, rights and responsibilities.
2.
Make a note on the board of the key themes that have developed from the discussion.
Activity
1.
Students work in groups of three or four. Give each group one of the four reasons for having
the Criminal Justice System from the Purpose of the Criminal Justice System fact sheet.
2.
In their group, students develop their theme by explaining what it is about and by giving
examples. You can use the notes from the Purpose of the Criminal Justice System fact
sheet to steer students in the right direction if need be.
3.
Students regroup into new groups of three or four in which each student has considered a
different reason for having the Criminal Justice System.
4.
Give each new group a sheet of A3 paper. In the middle of their paper, they should put the
title: What is the purpose of the criminal justice system? Students then share their reasons,
giving detailed explanations and examples.
5.
Give each group a set of sticky notes. If you have a different colour per group, make a
record of which group has which colour.
6.
Each group goes around the classroom sticking (constructive) comments or questions on the
other groups’ work. They will evaluate and analysis the theme by asking questions.
Plenary
1.
Groups respond to the questions and comments posted on their A3 sheet.
2.
Students vote as to which A3 sheet they find the most thorough.
3.
You could then give each student a copy of the complete Purpose of the Criminal Justice
System fact sheet.
© www.teachitcitizenship.co.uk 2013
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Criminal Justice System 2 – What is the purpose of the Criminal Justice System?
Purpose of the Criminal Justice System – fact sheet
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) works
with the police and other agencies to protect the
public through the Criminal Justice System.
Anyone acting suspiciously in public can be
arrested by the police.
If the police arrest the suspect, they take
him/her to the police station, and collect
evidence and witness statements.
If the police do not have enough evidence
against the suspect after 24 hours, s/he will be
released on bail. This gives the CPS time to
build a case against the suspect.
The courts in the Criminal Justice System are
the Magistrates’ Courts, the Crown Courts,
the High Courts, the Court of Appeal and the
Supreme Court.
Additionally, as the UK is part of the European
Union, a criminal case can go beyond the
Supreme Court to the European Court of
Justice.
All these courts must enforce the law fairly and
in a just manner. Judges will rely on Acts of
Parliament when delivering a sentence.
To protect the public from danger
For judges to enforce the laws created
by Parliament
Purpose of the Criminal
Justice System
To prevent the offender from reoffending
One of the main aims of the Criminal Justice
System is to teach the offender that there are
boundaries and when the legal boundaries are
broken there are legal consequences – court
action.
The court can punish the offender by issuing is
a custodial sentence (prison), a community
sentence, a fine, or for youth offenders a
police warning or a reprimand.
A key aspect of punishment is to teach the
offender a lesson and to prevent him/her from
offending again.
© www.teachitcitizenship.co.uk 2013
To make offenders give something back
to victims and their families
The Criminal Justice System shows victims of
crime and their families that justice is being
done and that criminals do not get away with
their crimes.
The court can order an offender to pay
compensation to the victim for financial loss
and for pain and suffering inflicted.
Young offenders can be given a reparation
order, where they have to undo the damage
they have caused, such as repairing property
that they have vandalised.
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