Notes for Unit 2: An Introduction to the Criminal Justice
System
The Criminal Justice System and Social Control
The mechanism to control crime and criminals in contemporary Canadian
society is to create a criminal justice system that allows the police, the
courts and corrections to investigate, prosecute and punish offenders who
commit crime. Crime is defined as the violation of a criminal law and the
“finding of guilt” as a consequence. This means that without law there can
be no crime.
The criminal justice system is a system of justice and social control that
reflects the basic Canadian understanding of right and wrong. Justice
relates to the concepts of fairness and equality. The Charter of Rights and
Freedoms [link to http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const/page-15.html] a
document that formally outlines the constitutional rights and freedoms of all
Canadians, is central to our concept of justice, and provides checks and
limits on the power of the Canadian government.
Thinking Critically
Given what you know about crime in Canada, do you think the criminal
justice system is a strong institution of social control? Do you think other
institutions such as family, schools and organized religion are better
institutions of social control than the criminal justice system?
Structure of the Criminal Justice System and the Role of Government
The system is comprised of a large number of government agencies
organized into three related subsystems (police, courts, and corrections),
and each of these is operated and controlled by one of the three levels of
government (federal, provincial, or municipal), as well as by a variety of
federal statutes including the Criminal Code. All are linked by the common
goals of crime prevention, crime control and the maintenance of justice.
Note that the criminal justice system does not always function as a
coordinated system. For example:
Police can arrest law-breakers and suspend their individual rights
and freedoms. They enforce criminal laws, provincial statutes and municipal
bylaws. There are three levels of police in Canada—municipal, provincial,
and federal.
Courts are classified into three levels: provincial, superior, and
appeal courts. The provincial courts handle the majority of criminal and
statute offenses. The superior courts hear the more serious indictable
offenses, and appeals of cases decided at the provincial court level. The
, highest level of court is the Supreme Court. This court hears appeals from
cases from across the nation and is entitled to interpret the Charter.
Corrections involves many facilities, agencies and programs that
carry out the sentences of convicted offenders. They are divided into
provincial and federal levels of jurisdiction, and involve both institutional
and community operations.
Thinking Critically
Do you think the criminal justice “system” works in Canada? Why or why
not?
Canadian Criminal Justice: The Process
The criminal justice system is to process cases in a fair and impartial
manner, and defendants are assumed innocent until proven guilty. The
major components of the criminal process are as follows:
Pre-trial criminal procedure involves investigation, arrest,
appearance notice, summons, detention, bail or custody and fitness hearing.
Trial procedure involves arraignment, indictment and preliminary
inquiry, trial, and sentencing.
Corrections involves carrying out the sentence of the court. See
chapter one of your textbook for a detailed chart on the criminal justice
process.
The Crime Funnel
The criminal justice system does not (in fact cannot) respond to every breach of
the law. Only a portion of the criminal acts committed reach the conviction stage.
The many people who work in our criminal justice system are controlled by formal
rules, however they have considerable discretion when making decisions.
Discretion involves the ability to choose between two or more courses of action in
a given situation. All criminal justice officials have this power. Each decision is
based on whether, if the case should move to the next stage, it will be successful.
The loss of cases as they move through the criminal justice system is represented
in the following diagram “The Crime Funnel.” As offenders move through the
justice system many are eliminated at the various stages. See chapter 2, figure 2.3,
System
The Criminal Justice System and Social Control
The mechanism to control crime and criminals in contemporary Canadian
society is to create a criminal justice system that allows the police, the
courts and corrections to investigate, prosecute and punish offenders who
commit crime. Crime is defined as the violation of a criminal law and the
“finding of guilt” as a consequence. This means that without law there can
be no crime.
The criminal justice system is a system of justice and social control that
reflects the basic Canadian understanding of right and wrong. Justice
relates to the concepts of fairness and equality. The Charter of Rights and
Freedoms [link to http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const/page-15.html] a
document that formally outlines the constitutional rights and freedoms of all
Canadians, is central to our concept of justice, and provides checks and
limits on the power of the Canadian government.
Thinking Critically
Given what you know about crime in Canada, do you think the criminal
justice system is a strong institution of social control? Do you think other
institutions such as family, schools and organized religion are better
institutions of social control than the criminal justice system?
Structure of the Criminal Justice System and the Role of Government
The system is comprised of a large number of government agencies
organized into three related subsystems (police, courts, and corrections),
and each of these is operated and controlled by one of the three levels of
government (federal, provincial, or municipal), as well as by a variety of
federal statutes including the Criminal Code. All are linked by the common
goals of crime prevention, crime control and the maintenance of justice.
Note that the criminal justice system does not always function as a
coordinated system. For example:
Police can arrest law-breakers and suspend their individual rights
and freedoms. They enforce criminal laws, provincial statutes and municipal
bylaws. There are three levels of police in Canada—municipal, provincial,
and federal.
Courts are classified into three levels: provincial, superior, and
appeal courts. The provincial courts handle the majority of criminal and
statute offenses. The superior courts hear the more serious indictable
offenses, and appeals of cases decided at the provincial court level. The
, highest level of court is the Supreme Court. This court hears appeals from
cases from across the nation and is entitled to interpret the Charter.
Corrections involves many facilities, agencies and programs that
carry out the sentences of convicted offenders. They are divided into
provincial and federal levels of jurisdiction, and involve both institutional
and community operations.
Thinking Critically
Do you think the criminal justice “system” works in Canada? Why or why
not?
Canadian Criminal Justice: The Process
The criminal justice system is to process cases in a fair and impartial
manner, and defendants are assumed innocent until proven guilty. The
major components of the criminal process are as follows:
Pre-trial criminal procedure involves investigation, arrest,
appearance notice, summons, detention, bail or custody and fitness hearing.
Trial procedure involves arraignment, indictment and preliminary
inquiry, trial, and sentencing.
Corrections involves carrying out the sentence of the court. See
chapter one of your textbook for a detailed chart on the criminal justice
process.
The Crime Funnel
The criminal justice system does not (in fact cannot) respond to every breach of
the law. Only a portion of the criminal acts committed reach the conviction stage.
The many people who work in our criminal justice system are controlled by formal
rules, however they have considerable discretion when making decisions.
Discretion involves the ability to choose between two or more courses of action in
a given situation. All criminal justice officials have this power. Each decision is
based on whether, if the case should move to the next stage, it will be successful.
The loss of cases as they move through the criminal justice system is represented
in the following diagram “The Crime Funnel.” As offenders move through the
justice system many are eliminated at the various stages. See chapter 2, figure 2.3,
