CRIMINAL JUSTICE POLICING IN AMERICA

DUTIES OF THE POLICE  4 MAJOR DUTIES Keep the peace Apprehend violators Prevent crime Provide Social Services

 POLICE ARE NOT ONLY THE MOST NUMEROUS, BUT ALSO THE MOST VISIBLE OF THE CJ SYSTEM

 POLICE ARE CONSIDERED TO BE THE “GATE KEEPERS” They have the first contact Make decisions on if the citizen will continue in the CJ Process

DISCRETION  Decision making according to professional judgment based on training and experience  Looks at: Seriousness of the offense Criminal hx of the offender Relationship between victims and offenders Strength of legal case against suspects and defendants

SOCIAL CONTRACT  Members of society are assumed to have entered an agreement to create the state and a government to acquire security and order for all  Citizens surrender certain rights. In exchange for that they expect the government to provide an effective system for regulating conduct

FORMAL CJ “BY THE BOOK”  U.S. and State Constitutions  Statutes—created by U.S. Congress, State Legislatures and City Councils  Court decisions both State and Federal  Written policy of CJ agencies

INFORMAL CJ “CJ IN ACTION”  Recognizes the need for flexibility  Examples  BOTH FORMAL AND INFORMAL NECESSARY

SOCIAL CONTROL  INFORMAL---one person to another  No police involvement  FORMAL—”handcuffs” Police involved

OTHER SOCIAL CONTROL INSTITUTIONS RELIGIOUS GROUPS FAMILIES SCHOOLS

CJ IS A STRUCTURE AND PROCESS  STRUCTURE CJ Agencies Professionals in them  PROCESS Decisions made by those professionals

STRUCTURE  Three government agencies and three levels of government Law enforcement Courts Corrections Levels of government  Local  State  Federal

STATE AND LOCAL  Law Enforcement—Police departments and County Sheriff  Court—Lower courts, trial courts, Court of Appeal and Probation  Corrections—County jails, State prisons and Community corrections agencies

FEDERAL

 FBI  DEA  ATF  U.S. MARSHALS  U.S. PROBATION OFFICE  Approx 65 different agencies

PROCESS OF CJ  Series of decisions  Begins with Law Enforcement then to  Prosecutors then to  Courts then to  Corrections

 Criminal justice is a structure and a process  Parts are interdependent

 Decisions affect each other  Not always cohesive

HYDRAULIC EFFECT  Discretion can shift from one agency to another

DECISIONS PRIOR TO CJ PROCESS  Legislatures decide what will be a crime Any human conduct that violates a criminal law and is subject to punishment

FOUR TYPES OF LAW  SUBSTANTIVE LAW  PROCEDURAL LAW  CIVIL LAW  CASE LAW

SUBSTANTIVE LAW  CRIMINAL STATUTES POLICE CANNOT ARREST CITIZENS UNLESS THEY VIOLATE A SUBSTANTIVE LAW

PROCEDURAL LAW  Laws that dictate how police will do their job  For example: Use of Force

CIVIL LAW  Regulate social interactions arising from private, commercial or contractual relations  For example: City Building Codes

CASE LAW  Written opinions of the courts  For example: Miranda rights

DEFINING CRIME—SUBSTANTIVE LAWS  MALA IN SE—latin term Wrong in themselves Broad agreement in society that certain actions are so harmful that they must be punished

 MALA PROHIBITA Laws that are enacted even though people in society may disagree about the harmfulness of certain acts

11 STEPS OF THE CJ PROCESS  Victims report crimes

 Law Enforcement investigate

 Police apprehend and arrest

 Prosecutor charges

 Suspect---guilty---plea bargain

 Suspect—not guilty---trial

 Judge sentences

 Convicted have appeals

 Convicted goes to corrections

 Convicted awarded privileges or punishments

 Convicted paroled  Step 11

MODELS OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE  Wedding Cake  Seriousness of charge  Past criminal record  Relationship of victim to offender  Was victim injured  Gun used  Strength of case  Funnel  Opposite shape of Wedding Cake  Sorting process  Case attrition  “Letting criminals off??”  Arrest does not mean guilt

WEDDING CAKE Celebrated cases Real crimes Ordinary felonies Misdemeanors

FUNNEL Lots of cases Few sentenced

CJ MODELS CON’T  Crime control model  Focus on need to protect people/property  For the good of society  Emphasizes police investigation and guilty pleas  Not concerned with fairness  Assembly line  Due process model  Focus on rights of individuals  Obstacle course  Adversary process—get to the truth by fighting in court  Formal rules of criminal procedure

CRIME CONTROL MODEL Assembly line

DUE PROCESS  OBSTACLE COURSE

PENDULUM  Crime control/due process PENDULUM

 Where are we now????

USA PATRIOT ACT OF 2001

QUALITIES OF A POLICE OFFICER  CURIOUS  ABLE TO PERCEIVE DANGER  PERSPECTIVE EMPATHETIC COMPASSIONATE

 Decisive  Have self-control  Must be able to adapt  Varied approaches to unique problems

 HOW DO YOU LEARN THESE QUALITIES???

PROCESS IN A NUTSHELL  Citizens report crimes  Police investigate  Police apprehend and arrest  Prosecutor charges suspects  Suspect—guilty—plea bargain  Suspect—not guilty—trial  Judge sentences  Convicted have appeals  Convicted goes to corrections  Convicted awarded privileges or punished  Convicted paroled

CONSIDERATIONS  RACE  ETHNICITY  GENDER  Are there disparities (inequities)???  Caused by what????