AC 1.3-describe models of criminal justice Flashcards
What are the two models of criminal justice?
1) The crime control model of justice
2) The due process model of justice
Who created the two models of criminal justice and when?
Herbert Packer, 1968
What is the crime control model?
The suppression of crime
What does the crime control model prioritise? (2 points)
Catching and punishing offenders
Deterring and preventing offenders from committing further crimes
Where does the crime control model start from?
A presumption of guilt
How does a presumption of guilt through the crime control model help the police?
It helps them identify those who are likely to be guilty through investigations and interrogations
What should the police be free from as stated in the crime control model?
They should be free from unnecessary legal technicalities that prevent them from investigating crime
What happens once the likely guilty are identified in the crime control model?
The assembly line of the justice system speedily prosecutes, convicts and punishes them
What does the crime control model argue?
It argues that if a few innocent people are convicted on occasion by mistake, it is a price worth paying for convicting a large majority of guilty individuals
What does the crime control model emphasise?
It emphasises the rights of society and victims to be protected from crime, rather than the rights of the suspect
What is the goal of the due process model?
To protect the accused from oppression by the state and its agents including police, prosecutors and judges
Where does the due process model starts from?
A presumption of innocence (innocent until proven guilty)
What does the due process model lose faith in?
The polices ability to conduct satisfactory investigations due to incompetence, dishonesty etc.
What are some of the rules which are included in the due process model?
There are rules regarding arrest, questioning, legal representation, admissibility and disclosure of evidence, cross examination of witness, no secret trials etc.
What type of procedure is formed from the due process model have?
Protecting rights of accused forms an obstacle course that prosecutors have to overcome before securing a conviction
What does the due process mean when it mentions releasing the guilty free on a ‘technicality’?
Where the prosecution have relied on illegally obtained evidence and the guilty is set free
According to the due process model, why is releasing the guilty on a ‘technicality’ a lesser evil?
It is a lesser evil as it means that the innocent are not convicted
What does the due model process emphasise?
The rights of the accused individual rather than those of the victim or society
What two theories link to the crime control model?
1) Right realism
2) Functionalism
How does right realism link to the crime control model?
Right wing conservative approach
It has zero tolerance policing strategies
It favours giving the police greater powers to investigate/supress crime
How does functionalism link to the crime control model?
Punishment reinforces society’s moral boundaries
The main function of justice is to punish the guilty and this enables society to express moral outrage to strengthen social cohesion
What two theories link the to the due process model?
1) Labelling theory
2) Left realism
How does labelling theory link to the due process model?
Liberal approach
Aims to stop state agencies from oppressing people
The model offers some protection against police harassing groups labelled negatively as ‘criminals’ as it requires police to follow lawful procedure and not exceeded their power
How does left realism link to the due process model?
Oppressive policing of poor areas triggers confrontations making residents unwilling to assist police
By following the model, police can act in a lawful non discriminatory way if crime wants to be fought effectively (depending on the cooperation of the community)
What two areas can we see examples of each model in?
1) The rules governing the working of the justice system
2) The way the system works in practise
What do the rules governing the working of the justice system ask?
Do the rules protect the rights of the accused, or do they favour the prosecution?
What do the rules governing the working of the justice system ask?
Do the police, prosecutors and judges actually follow the rules and procedures as they should?
What evidence may be inadmissible in court and give an example (refer to Unit 3 AC 2.3)
Illegally obtained evidence eg. confession obtained through torture
How can illegally obtained evidence becoming inadmissible help support the due process model?
It helps protect the defendants rights
When is illegally obtained evidence legally admitted by the judge?
When the person believes it will help to establish the truth
How can illegally obtained evidence becoming admissible help support the crime control model?
It may lead to a conviction of the defendant
What are nine rules favouring the due process model? (9 points, don’t need to know them all)
1) Suspects rights to know why they are being arrested
2) Right not to be detained indefinitely without charge
3) Right to appeal against conviction or sentence
4) Right to trial by a jury of ones peers
5) Right not to be retried for the same offence once acquitted
6) Right to remain silent when questioned by police
7) Right to legal representation when questioned
8) Rules governing the admissibility of evidence in court eg. hearsay, entrapment
9) Prosecution has a duty to disclose evidence against the defendant in advance of the trial
What are nine rules favouring the crime control model? (10 points, don’t need to know them all)
1) Police rights to stop, question, search and arrest
2) Court may draw negative inferences if defendant remains silent during questioning
3) Extended police detention is allowed for questioning on suspicion of indictable and terrorist offences
4) Extended period before access to a lawyer allowed
5) Restrictions on availability of legal aid
6) Jury trials only for serious cases
7) Appeal rights not always automatic
8) Change to double jeopardy rule allows second prosecution if new and compelling evidence emerges
9) Evidence of bad character/previous convictions permitted on occasion
10) Public interest immunity certificates may allow prosecution from disclosing evidence
Give five cases of miscarriages of justice where the justice system did not operate according to the due process principles
1) Colin Stagg
2) Sally Clark
3) The Birmingham Six
4) West Midlands Serious Crime Squad
5) Bingham Justices
Explain the case of Colin Stagg regarding the due process model
Victim of attempted entrapment following the Rachel Nickell murder
Police convinced he was the killer though there was no evidence to support this
Police tried to ‘honey trap’ him in order to confess to the murder
Explain the case of Sally Clark regarding the due process model
Home Office pathologist and prosecution witness Alan Williams failed to disclose relevant information to her defence lawyers
Explain the case of the Birmingham Six regarding the due process model
Wrongly convicted of 21 murders after police fabricated evidence against them
Deprived them of sleep and food
Used violence and threats to extract confessions
Judge wrongly deemed the confessions admissible as evidence whilst excluding defence evidence
Prosecution presented unreliable forensic evidence against the six
Explain the case of the West Midlands Serious Crime Squad regarding the due process model
Responsible for over 100 cases involving malpractice by the officers including perjury (lying under oath), assaulting prisoners, fabricating confessions and planting incriminating evidence on suspects
Explain the case of Bingham Justices (1974) regarding the due process model
Bias by a magistrate
Defendants evidence contradicted that of an officers in a speeding case
Magistrates chairman said ‘my principle in such cases has always been to believe the police officer’
