1. Criminal Justice Today
Chapter 1:
Criminal Justice Today

2. What is Crime? Crime: 1. Violates criminal law.
2. Is punishable by criminal sanctions.

3. What is Crime? Consensus Model:
Society, though diverse, shares the same moral value system.
Crimes violate this value system and are deemed harmful to society.
Conflict Model:
Society is diverse and constantly engaged in a power struggle.
Dominant groups in society codify their values into law.

4. What is Crime? An Integrated Definition:
Punishable under criminal law as defined by a society.
Considered an offense against society as a whole, not against the victim and his or her friends.
Punished by statutorily determined sanctions that bring about a loss of personal freedom.

5. What is Crime? Violent Crime: Murder Sexual assault/rape
Assault/battery
robbery
Property Crime:
Burglary
Larceny/theft
Motor vehicle theft
Arson

6. What is Crime? Public Order Crimes: Behavior that has been
labeled criminal
because it is contrary to
shared social values,
customs and norms
(e.g. public
drunkenness).
White Collar Crimes:
Illegal acts committed
by an individual or
business entity using
some non-violent means
to obtain a personal or
business advantage
(e.g. embezzlement).

8. (Click the image above to play video)
Video: Martha Stewart
(Click the image above to play video)

9. What is Crime? High Tech Crime: Crimes directly related
to the increased use of
computers and
technology by society.
Organized Crime:
Illegal crimes by illegal
organizations, geared
towards satisfying the
public’s need for illegal
goods and services.

11. The Criminal Justice System
Three General Goals of the Criminal Justice
System:
To control crime
To prevent crime
To provide and maintain justice

12. The Criminal Justice System
Based on Federalism:
Law Enforcement
Local, State and Federal Agencies
Courts
Dual court system of State and Federal Courts
Corrections
Incarceration, Probation and Community Corrections

13. The Criminal Justice System
Criminal Justice as a
system: an orderly
progression of events
through a process
comprised of agencies
working together.
Herbert Packer compared
the idealized Criminal
Justice to an assembly-
line.

14. The Criminal Justice System
When members of the criminal justice system exercise discretion, this produces an informal criminal justice system.

15. The Criminal Justice System

16. Values of the Criminal Justice System
Crime Control Model:
A model of criminal
justice that places
primary emphasis on
the rights of society to
be protected from crime
and violent offenders.
Due Process Model:
A model of the criminal
justice system that
places primary
emphasis on the rights
of the individual to be
protected from the
power of government.

17. Values of the Criminal Justice System
Which model prevails
today?
Responding to
terrorism, or the threat
of violence to achieve
political objectives, has
impacted the way control
crime.