Essentials of Criminal Justice, Fifth Edition
Larry J. Siegel & Joseph J. Senna
Chapter 1
Crime and Criminal Justice
The Study of Criminal Justice
 Criminal Justice: Studies the system of law enforcement,
adjudication and correction that is directly involved in the
apprehension, prosecution, and control of those charged with a
criminal offense.
 Criminology: Studies the etiology (origin), extent, and nature of
crime in society.
 Why are the two fields of study not mutually exclusive?
The Criminal Justice System
 A loosely organized collection of agencies charged with protecting
the public, maintaining order, enforcing the law, identifying
transgressors, bringing the guilty to justice, and treating criminal
behavior.
The Criminal Justice Process
 The decision-making points from the initial investigation or arrest by
police to the eventual release of the offender and his or her reentry
into society; the various sequential criminal justice stages through
which the offender passes.
Is Crime a Recent Development?
 Crime and violence have been common since the nation was first
formed.
 Post-Civil War expansion to the west gave rise to famous criminals
such as John Wesley Hardin, Billy the Kidd, and Johnny Ringo as
well as famous law men such as Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson.
 Crime rate may actually have been much higher in the 19th and 20th
centuries than it is today.
Crime at the Turn of the Twentieth Century
 1900 – 1935 we saw a sustained increase in criminal activity
 Criminal gangs formed before the Civil War in urban slums became
the forerunners of modern day organized crime families
 Depression era outlaws
Developing the Criminal Justice System
 1829 – London Metropolitan Police created
 1919 – Establishment of the Chicago Crime Commission
 1931 – National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement
(Wickersham Commission) created by President Hoover
The Modern Era of Justice
 The Modern Era of Justice can be traced to a series of research
projects beginning in 1950s by the American Bar Foundation
 For the first time the term criminal justice system began to be
used
 Focused on the criminal justice process
 Examination of the use of discretion
Federal Involvement in Criminal Justice
 1967 President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and
Administration of Justice
 1968 Safe Streets Acts provided funding for the Law Enforcement
Assistance Administration (LEAA)
 1979 National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice
renamed the National Institute of Justice (NIJ)
The Criminal Justice System Today
 Formal social control
 Informal social control
Agencies of the Criminal Justice System
 Over 55,000 public agencies employing over 2 million people serve
as society’s instrument of social control
 Three Major components
 Law Enforcement (17,000 agencies)
 Courts (17,000 courts; 8,000 prosecutorial agencies)
 Corrections (6,000 institutions; 3,500 probation and parole
departments)
Agencies of the Criminal Justice System (cont.)
 System costs federal, state, and local governments approximately
$165 billion per year for civil and criminal justice
 Has increased more than 300 % since 1982
The Formal Criminal Justice Process
 Initial contact
 Investigation
 Arrest
 Custody
 Charging
 Preliminary hearing/grand jury
 Arraignment
 Bail/detention
The Formal Criminal Justice Process (continued)
 Plea bargaining
 Trial/adjudication
 Sentencing/disposition
 Appeal/postconviction remedies
 Correctional treatment
 Release
 Postrelease
Figure 1.3 Critical Stages in the Justice Process
The Informal Criminal Justice Process
 Courtroom Work Group
 Prosecutor, defense attorney, judge and others
 Function to streamline the process of justice through the
extensive use of plea bargaining and other alternatives
Figure 1.4 The Criminal Justice Wedding Cake
Source: Based on
Samuel Walker,
Sense and
Nonsense About
Crime (Belmont,
Calif.: Wadsworth,
2001).
The Crime Control Perspective
 Emphasizes the control of dangerous offenders and the protection of
society. Its advocates call for harsh punishments as a deterrent to
crime, such as the death penalty
 Purpose of the justice system is to deter crime through the
application of punishment
 The more efficient the system, the greater its effectiveness
 The justice system is not equipped to treat people but to
investigate crimes, apprehend suspects and punish the guilty
The Rehabilitation Perspective
 Primary purpose is to care for people who cannot manage
themselves. Crime is an expression of frustration and anger created
by social inequality that can be controlled by giving people the
means to improve their lifestyle through conventional endeavors
 In the long run, it is better to treat than punish
 Criminals are society’s victims
 Helping others is part of the American culture
The Due Process Perspective
 Primary focus in on the defendant’s rights to prevent the wrongful
conviction of an innocent person
 Need to preserve Constitutional rights and democratic ideals
takes precedence over the need to punish the guilty
 Decisions must be carefully scrutinized to avoid errors
 Everyone must be treated equally and fairly
 Illegally seized evidence must be suppressed even if the guilty go
fee
 Legal counsel should be provided at every stage of the process,
regardless of cost, to prevent abuse
Nonintervention Perspective
 The justice system should limit its involvement with criminal
defendants so as to avoid the inevitable harmful and long-term
negative effects
 The justice system stigmatizes offenders
 Stigma locks people into a criminal way of life
 Less is better. Decriminalize, divert and deinstitutionalize
whenever possible
Justice Perspective
 The greatest challenge for the system is to dispense fair and equal
justice to those who come before the law
 Equal treatment for equal crimes
 Structured justice
 Reduced use of discretion
 Inconsistent treatment produces disrespect for the system
Restorative Justice Perspective
 True purpose of the criminal justice system should be to promote a
peaceful and just society by engaging in peacemaking rather than
punishment
 Offenders should be reintegrated back into society
 Coercive punishments are self-defeating
 The justice system must become more humane
Perspectives in Perspective
 Crime Control and Justice Models have dominated during the past
decade
 Rehabilitative efforts have not been abandoned
 No single view is the right or correct one.
Ethics in Criminal Justice
 Requires members of the system to apply equal and fair justice
 Difficult because criminal justice often functions in an environment
where moral ambiguity is the norm
 Important because of the enormous power granted to criminal
justice employees
 Ethics in law enforcement
 Ethics in the court process
 Ethics in the corrections process