Ch 9. Criminal Justice System Flashcards
A formal system of social control
Network of organizations including the police, courts, and corrections, involved in law enforcement and administration of justice
Criminal Justice System
Five components of the CJS
- Laws and law-making (government legislative)
- Policing and the enforcement of laws
- (Criminal) court system
- Corrections
- Release and re-entry (into society)
The Canadian Criminal Justice System was created to…
…address and control behaviour that is considered a “public evil” and directed toward maintaining public order
Six philosophical tenants of the Canadian Criminal Justice System
- Justice
- Deterrence
- Punishment
- Protection
- Rehabilitation
- Reintegration
Police have discretion (use of personal judgement), which leads to…
…different stop and arrest rates for different groups
Community policing
integrating officers into community problem solving
- Seriousness of the offence
- Arrest records
- Prior police contact
- Prior convictions
- Those who breach a probation order
- Rules of the Criminal Code
Legal Factors Police use for discretion (6)
Extralegal factors police use for discretion (3)
- The social positioning of indivduals
- Demeanour: a suspect’s behaviour, attitude and appearance determines the outcome.
- May lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy
- Prevent crime and disorder
- Recognize that power of policing depends on public approval
- Recognize public approval and public cooperation are linked
- Recognize when public cooperation is secured the need for force is reduced
- Must demonstrate impartial service to the law
- Force is a last resort
- Police are a part of the public community and vice versa
- Strict adherence to executive functions
- The crime and disorder is the test of efficiency
Nine Principles of Policing
Community Policing current model key focus (3)
- prevention
- intervention
- crime//harm reduction
Social system tapestry
police organizations are influenced by the social environment and have an interdependence relationship with other systems
Public attitudes towards “tough on crime” vs “soft on crime” practices influences…
…the work of policing
The Thin Blue Line
a line that separates the police from the public. Rethinking this philosophy as policies are imbedded into society.
- Growing reliance on “community-based crime prevention” through education, neighborhood watch, etc
- Reorientation of patrol from emergency response to proactive policies
- Increased police accountability
- Decentralization of command and authority which allows more discretion for officers
Standards of community policing
- Police exist within the dominant culture as a subculture
- Police organizational culture is not monolithic
- Police are increasingly responsible for many other organizations
- The relationship between the police and the public is complicated
- Police culture is insular and perpetuates itself
- Criminal profiling as a policing practice can lead to other concerns
- Socialization into the culture leaves little room for questions or dissent
- Social isolation is one of the main features of police culture as police view themselves as outsiders. They trust neither the public they serve nor the managers who oversee them
Challenges with Policing: Policing Culture (Tator and Henry 2006) (8)
Results of Policing Culture
“protect yourself” attitude and Solidarity
Courts
- Inherently an adversarial/accusatorial process
- This is the place where laws are interpreted and enacted
They have discretion but are overloaded
plea-bargaining (courts)
sentence reduction for a guilty plea. It can be oppressive or inadequate sentencing
Jury Trials:
the law entitles those charged with an offense for which they can receive imprisonment for longer than five years to a jury trial
Two kinds of challenges can be brought against a potential juror:
- a peremptory challenge
- a challenge for cause. (potential to be bias)
Sentencing (Dispositions)
Formally referred to as dispositions, there are various types of sentences outlined in the Criminal Code.
- to denounce unlawful conduct
- to deter the offender and other persons from committing offenses;
- to separate offenders from society, where necessary;
- to assist in rehabilitating offenders;
- to provide reparations for harm done to victims or to the community; and
- to promote a sense of responsibility in offenders, and acknowledgment of harm done to victims and to the community.
Principles of sentencing
- the seriousness of the offence (on alleged facts), including harm done and number of victims
- the accused’s criminal record or membership in a criminal organization
- eligible penalties in the event of a conviction
- evidence of witness tampering
- preliminary inquiry procedures and their burden on the victim(s)/witnesses
- the prevalence of the offence in the community
- the public’s interest in a trial by jury (Public Prosecution Service of Canada, 2014).
Principles of Crown Discretion
Correctional Services
institutions and probation services for offenders in Canada
Corrections four functions
- Retribution
- Social protection
- Rehabilitation
- Deterrence
Durlauf and Nagin’s 2011 review of research on prisons
- Long prison sentences “are difficult to justify on a deterrence-based, crime prevention basis”
- Imprisonment may increase the rates of recidivism
Sykes (1966) argues that long-term prisoners suffer a number of losses which…
…increases their likelihood to re-offend once released.
- unequal access to justice and unequal treatment in the criminal justice system
- many offenders find themselves stuck in a revolving door, frequently for trivial matters that accumulate and exacerbate their situations
- a resistance to cultural change prevails in the police and corrections services,
- the criminal justice system discriminates against groups that are already vulnerable or marginalized, and this is exacerbated by the consistent underrepresentation of certain groups
Concerns with the CCJS (4)
Police have always been the one source if immense power in society…
– with arrests they can suspend a person’s personal freedom
