The Criminal Justice System Flashcards
Lecture 5
What are the purposes of the Criminal Justice System?
- Public safety (protect the innocent + prevent harm)
- Punish offenders (rehabilitate)
- Provide effective, efficient, accountable and fair justice
What are individual rights in the criminal justice system?
- Right to access justice
- Right to a fair trial
- Right to privacy
- Right to be free from torture
- Right to life
(extra is Human Rights Act 1998 & European Convention on Human Rights)
What does the Crown Prosecution do? (mainly created to separate the role of investigation and prosecution)
- Decides which cases should be prosecuted
- Determines the appropriate charges in more serious or complex cases
- Prepares cases and presents them at court
- Provides information, assistance and support to victims and prosecution witnesses
What are some of the issues of the CPS?
- Police-CPS tension
- Police make the charging decision most of the time
- Fail to prosecute gender-based violence
- Deciding if bringing a case is “in the public interest”
State some of the police PRE-ARREST powers.
- Stop and search (main powers in 2.1 PACE) (done to find prohibited goods)
- Stop and account (police asking who you are, your address etc)
What are some of the procedures involved in stop and search?
- Police identify themselves and stations they are based
- Tell person to be searched the grounds for searching
- Reasonable force may be used (s.117)
- Can require removal of outer clothing only [s.3(5)]
- Must ask person stopped their name, address and to define their ethnicity
- Other info in College of Policing
What information did the HM Inspector of Constabulary and Fire Rescue Services (2020) find regarding stop and search?
People who identify as BAME are 4.3 times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people
State some of the police POWERS OF ARREST.
- Arrest with warrant (2.1 Magistrate’s Court Act 1980) {e.g., from.a judge}
- Arrest without a warrant (s.24 PACE) {e.g., finding suspicious weapon}
When is an arrest necessary?
- Person does not give name or address or police reasonably suspects info given is false
- Arrest prevents person causing physical injury to himself or another person
- To protect a child or vulnerable person
- To allow prompt and effective investigation
- To prevent person from escaping
What does the police do in detention and custody?
- Take to police station right away
- Custody sergeant review evidence to see if it sufficient to charge
- If bailed refused, taken to magistrates asap
- Not sufficient efficient, suspect can be detailed while obtaining evidence (e.g., questioning)
State some of the police powers AFTER ARREST.
- Police interrogation
- Often evidence weak, need the suspect to confess
- Danger of putting too much pressure (leading to false confessions and miscarriages of justice so they can leave)
What are the safeguards for the suspect?
- Tape-recording (s.60)
- The right to inform someone of your detention (s.56)
- The right to consult legal adviser (s.58)
- An appropriate adult (Code C)
- Treatment of suspects
- Record of the interview
- Exclusion of evidence (s.76 & 78)
- The right to silence
- Caution (Code C)
What are the main concerns with wider criminal justice system?
- Miscarriages of justice
- The disclosure scandal
- Treatment of young offenders
- How protests are controlled
- Use of tasers
What can we learn from the case of R (on the application of Daniel Morrison) v The Independent Police Complainants Commission?
- Daniel Morrison’s car smashed and he claimed he was assaulted
- Police claimed they were conducting their own investigations
- Courts found they did not have an obligation to do this and other remedies should be sought
Based on research from University of Cambridge criminologists and City of London police, what did they find?
- Those officers armed visibly with tasers used force 48% more often
- Increased likelihood of them being attacked
What can we learn from the case of Ian Tomlinson?
- G20 protest took place whilst Tomlinson whilst walking home from work
- Police pushed him and he died (they argued they had no wrongdoings but evidence showed something different)
- Jury did not make police guilty but made him sacked from this job (bias in CJS?)
What can we learn from the case of Austin v Metropolitan Police Commissioner (2009)?
- Police responded to protest by kettling and held them there for 7 hours (holding them in a circle without letting them move)
- Courts found Art 5 right to liberty not breached
- If they do so, restrictions must be proportionate and reasonable
There can be death in custody. What did the Liberty report (2002) conclude about these deaths?
The investigations were ineffective, secretive, slow and sufficiently independent
What can we learn from the case of Jean Charles de Menezes?
- Traditionally police unarmed
- Day prior, was an unsuccessful attempted suicide bombing (police had to find suspects)
- De Menezes shot 7 times in head (mistaken defendant)
What can we learn from the case of James Bulger?
- Two children tried like adults at age 11 (not anonymous)
- They abducted, tortured and killed 2 year old James Bulger
- Why did they do this: supposedly due to victims of abuse
Why is the number of people sentenced in Feltham Young Offenders’ Institution decreasing?
- Problem with suicides (2012 had 1300 young offenders and in 2024 had 84)
- Feltham particularly criticised, with offenders being locked up 22 hrs a per day and abused
Why do some people believe the system is broken? (Law Society campaign)
- Due to many years of underinvestment
- Things going wrong at every level and stage (nightmare journey through system for accused, victims and solicitors alike)
What are some of the problems they note? (related to previous flashcard)
- Increasing shortages of criminal duty solicitors
- Means test for criminal legal aid too restrictive
- Inefficiencies and unfairness in the system
- Release under investigation and pre-charge bail
- More courts being closed
- Crucial evidence not disclosed
