The American System of
Criminal Justice, Eighth Edition
by
George F. Cole and Christopher E. Smith
Chapter 1
Crime and Justice in America
©1998 Wadsworth / WEST Publishing Company
Crime
 A specific
act of commission or
omission in violation of the law
for which a punishment is
prescribed.
Crime and Justice as Public
Police Issues
Reiman argument: system designed to project the image
of crime rather than to reduce crime or achieve justice.
Reduce Crime
Conservatives
advocate stricter
enforcement of
laws.
Democratic
Values
Liberals worry
about reducing
rights and due
process.
Public Order and Individual
Freedom
The classic struggle law makers deal
with is how to keep the public order
while still insuring freedom for the
individual.
Crime Control Model
 A model
of criminal justice that
assumes freedom is so important that
every effort must be made to reduce
crime so things like efficiency, speed
and finality are emphasized. The
system must have a high capacity to
catch, convict and dispose of
offenders.
Due Process Model
 A different
model of the criminal
justice system that assumes freedom
is so important that every effort
must be made to ensure the decisions
are fair and reliable, based on law
and formal proceedings.
Strengths/Weaknesses
Crime Control Model
 Administrative
Process
 Efficient, Swift, costeffective
 Increased Safety
 Individual Rights?
Due Process Model
 Adversarial
Process
 Individual Rights
Stressed
 Reliability
 Constitution
 Inefficient and costly
Multicultural Concerns

Many minorities are subjected to the
criminal justice system more often than
minority members.
 Disparity:
A difference between groups that
can be explained by legitimate factors.
 Discrimination: Groups are differentially
treated without regard to their behavior or
qualifications.
Possible explanations include:
 Minorities
commit more crimes
 The
criminal justice system is
racist
 American
society is racist
Politics of Crime and Justice
 Crime
and Justice Issues Exist in a
Political Sphere
 Crime Control Measures:
 What
VOTERS want?
 Will Legislation Achieve Goals?

E.g.,: Megan’s Law: Michigan's Sex Offender
Registry
Goals of the Criminal Justice
System
Doing
Justice
Controlling
Crime
Preventing
Crime
Federalism
A system of government
in which power is divided
between a central (national)
government and regional
(state) governments.
Dual Justice Systems

State systems
handle alleged
violations of state
law.

The federal system
handles alleged
violations of
federal law.
Dual System:
Recent Developments
Increased Federalization of Crime: Now
the federal government pursues
organized crime gangs dealing with
drugs, pornography, and gambling on a
national basis.
 The existence of multiple criminal justice
systems makes criminal justice in the
United States highly decentralized.

Government and Criminal
Justice: What are the connections?
Judicial Branch - the courts
Executive Branch President & Governors
& administrative offices
Legislative Branch those units that make
substantive & procedural law
Executive Branch
Carries out (executes) many acts of
government
 Holds powers of appointment and
pardons
 Provides leadership for crime control

Legislative Branch
Defines criminal
behavior
 Establishes penalties
 Passes laws
governing criminal
procedure
 Funds crime-control
programs

Judicial Branch


Administers the
process by which
criminal
responsibility is
determined
Appellate courts
interpret laws &
review legislative
decision making
The Systems Perspective:
Exchange Relationships
U.S.
attorney
Attorney
general
Courts
County
commissioners
Prosecuting
attorney
Community
influentials
County
agencies
Defense
lawyers
Police
The Criminal Justice System
(or Non-System)?
How Well Do Various Criminal Justice
Agencies Function as a “System”?
 Do Legislatures Realize the “Exchange
Relations” of Systems Theory?

 1994
Omnibus Violent Crime and Control
Act:



100,000 New Community Policing Officers
New Drug Courts
But, No NEW significant funding for Prosecutors, other
Courts, or Community-Based Correction Programs
Characteristics of the
Criminal Justice System
 Discretion: Ability
to act according to
one’s own judgment and conscious
 Resource Dependence: CJ agencies to not
produce their own resources, but depend
on others for their allocation
 Sequential Tasks: Each part of CJ system
has distinct tasks that are carried out
sequentially
 Filtering: Process of screening cases
Filtering Process
SCAN IN PICTURE…..
Politics of Criminal Justice
Power held by few
to control:
Society in general
 Criminals

What (or whose)
standards define “control”?
Operations of Criminal Justice
Agencies
 Police





Most at Local Level
Keeping Peace;
Apprehending Violators
Preventing Crime
Providing Social
Services
 Corrections

 Courts



Dual Court System:
judicial for each state and
national system
Different Interpretations
in Different States
Responsible for
Adjudication
Less Than 30% of convicted offenders are in
prison or jails; the rest are being supervised in
community-based corrections
Flow of Criminal Justice
System

Discretionary Decision


The disposition of cases in the criminal justice
system involves a series of decisions made by police
officers, prosecutors, judges, probation officers,
wardens, and other officials who decide whether a
case will move on to the next point or be dropped
from the system.
See Page 27-28 for Flow of Decision Making
Criminal Justice Wedding
Cake: Layer 1
Celebrated
perpetrators
 Celebrated victims
 Type the media
loves
 Cases that make
Supreme Court
precedents

1
Criminal Justice Wedding
Cake: Layer 2
Serious felonies by
experienced
offenders
 Violent crimes
 Property crimes
with high $ value
 Get full attention
of the CJ system

2
Criminal Justice Wedding
Cake: Layer 3
First time offender less
serious offenses which
may be felonies
 Less serious personal
injury or low $ value
 Dealt with less
seriously, maybe
probation

3
Criminal Justice Wedding
Cake: Layer 4




Most misdemeanors
Handled in assembly-line
fashion
Typical penalty is a small
fine
Having to go to court may
be the “real” punishment
4
Important Implications to
Wedding Cake Model
 Most
attention is given to fewest
number of cases
 Average Person’s Perception of CJ
System is Result of Celebrated Cases
 Greatest Number of Offenders Are
Low-Level Offenders