CHAPTER 1
CRIMINAL JUSTICE TODAY
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, students should be able to:
1. Describe the two most common models of how society determines which acts are
criminal.
2. Explain two main purposes of the criminal justice system.
3. Outline the three levels of law enforcement.
4. List the essential elements of the corrections system.
5. Explain the difference between the formal and informal criminal justice processes.
6. Define ethics, and describe the role that it plays in discretionary decision making.
7. Contrast the crime control and due process models.
8. List the major issues in criminal justice today.
Lesson Plan
Correlated to PowerPoints
3 I. What is Crime?
Learning Objective 1: Describe the two most common models of how society determines
which acts are criminal.
A. Determining Criminal Behavior.
4-5
1. Consensus Model
a. Assumes that as people gather together to form a society, its
members naturally come to a basic agreement regarding shared
norms and values
b. Assumes, to a certain extent, that a diverse group of people can
have similar morals
2. Conflict Model
c. Assumes that different segments of society, separated by social
class, income, age, and race, inevitably have different values
systems and shared norms, and are engaged in a constant struggle
with one another for control of society
d. What is deemed criminal activity is determined by whichever
group happens to be holding power at any given time
Class Discussion/Activity
Ask students to discuss the differences between the consensus and the
conflict model. Which model do students think is more accurate?
1
, Instructor’s Manual
B. An Integrated Definition of Crime
6-7 1. Considering both the consensus and conflict model constructs a definition
of crime, in that it is any action or activity that includes the following:
a. Is punishable under criminal law, as determined by the majority of
society, or in some cases, a powerful minority
b. Is considered an offense against society as a whole and is
prosecuted by public officials
c. Is punishable by statutorily defined sanctions that bring about a
loss of freedom
2. Differences Between Crime and Deviance
a. Deviance is behavior that is considered to go against the norms
established by society
b. Deviance is a subjective concept
c. Deviant acts become crimes only when a majority is willing to
accept that those acts should be punished
d. Not all crimes are considered particularly deviant
e. Criminal law reflects acts that a society agrees are so unacceptable
that steps must be taken to prevent them from occurring
Class Discussion/Activity
Ask students to give some examples of deviance and of crime. Discuss the
differences between the acts classified as deviant and acts classified as
crime.
See Assignment 1
II. The Purpose of the Criminal Justice System
8-9
Learning Objective 2: Explain two main purposes of the criminal justice system.
i. Interlocking network of law enforcement, courts, and correctional
institutions
A. Maintaining Justice
1. Main goal is to provide justice to all members of society
2. All individuals are equal before the law fairness
B. Protecting Society
1. Four goals of the modern criminal justice system:
a. To protect society from potential future crimes of the most
dangerous or “risky” offenders
b. To determine when an offense has been committed and provide the
appropriate punishment for that offense
c. To rehabilitate those offenders who have been punished so that it is
safe to return them to the community
2
, Chapter 1: Criminal Justice Today
d. To support crime victims and, to the extent possible, return them to
their pre-crime status
2. Note the change in attitudes over use of marijuana.
Media Tool
“Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department”
o https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opa/press-releases/attachments/
2015/03/04/ferguson_police_department_report.pdf
o DOJ report on racial bias in Ferguson's law enforcement
o Discussion: Discuss what fairness means and how race and discrimination
undermine fairness. Why are some people saying that the criminal justice
system serves to protect the powerful rather than everyone in society?
See Assignment 2
III. The Structure of the Criminal Justice System
10
Learning Objective 3: Outline the three levels of law enforcement.
Learning Objective 4: List the essential elements of the corrections system.
A. The Importance of Federalism
a. Federalism means that government powers are shared by the
national (federal) government and the states
b. Division of powers allows states to create their own police power,
enacting whatever laws are necessary
Class Discussion/Activity
Ask students to discuss why federalism is important for the criminal
justice system and the concept of fairness.
11
1. Law Enforcement
a. Local Law Enforcement
1. Duties are split between counties and municipalities
2. Chief law enforcement officer of the county is the sheriff
i. Elected post
ii. 2 or 4-year term
3. Bulk of local police officers are employed by
municipalities
i. Investigate crimes
ii. Attempt to deter crime
iii. Apprehend criminals
iv. Participate in trial proceedings
v. Charged with “keeping the peace”
b. State Law Enforcement
1. Hawaii is the only state without a state law enforcement
agency
3
, Instructor’s Manual
2. Two general types of state law enforcement agencies
i. State police
ii. Highway patrols
3. Other state law enforcers include fire marshals and fish,
game, and watercraft wardens
c. Federal Law Enforcement
1. Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI)
2. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
3. U.S. Secret Service
4. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF)
2. The Courts
12-15
a. Dual court system with two independent judicial systems
1. Federal level
2. State level
b. Fifty-two different court systems
1. One for each of the fifty states
i. Trial courts at local and state levels
ii. Intermediate courts of appeals
iii. State supreme courts
2. One federal court system
i. District courts
ii. Circuit courts of appeals
iii. The United States Supreme Court
3. One court for the District of Columbia system
c. Criminal court work groups are charged with responsibility of
determining innocence or guilt of criminal suspects
Class Discussion/Activity
Ask students to discuss the impact of differences in laws across states on
law enforcement and the court system.
3. Corrections
16 a. Offenders may be placed on probation, incarcerated, or transferred
to community-based corrections facilities once they have been
delegated to the corrections system
1. Probation is the most common correctional treatment,
allowing the offender to return to the community under
supervision
2. Incarceration may include jails or prisons
i. Jails house offenders convicted of minor crimes
with relatively short sentences
ii. Prisons house offenders convicted of more serious
crimes with longer sentences
3. Community-based corrections include halfway houses,
residential centers, and work-release centers
4
CRIMINAL JUSTICE TODAY
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, students should be able to:
1. Describe the two most common models of how society determines which acts are
criminal.
2. Explain two main purposes of the criminal justice system.
3. Outline the three levels of law enforcement.
4. List the essential elements of the corrections system.
5. Explain the difference between the formal and informal criminal justice processes.
6. Define ethics, and describe the role that it plays in discretionary decision making.
7. Contrast the crime control and due process models.
8. List the major issues in criminal justice today.
Lesson Plan
Correlated to PowerPoints
3 I. What is Crime?
Learning Objective 1: Describe the two most common models of how society determines
which acts are criminal.
A. Determining Criminal Behavior.
4-5
1. Consensus Model
a. Assumes that as people gather together to form a society, its
members naturally come to a basic agreement regarding shared
norms and values
b. Assumes, to a certain extent, that a diverse group of people can
have similar morals
2. Conflict Model
c. Assumes that different segments of society, separated by social
class, income, age, and race, inevitably have different values
systems and shared norms, and are engaged in a constant struggle
with one another for control of society
d. What is deemed criminal activity is determined by whichever
group happens to be holding power at any given time
Class Discussion/Activity
Ask students to discuss the differences between the consensus and the
conflict model. Which model do students think is more accurate?
1
, Instructor’s Manual
B. An Integrated Definition of Crime
6-7 1. Considering both the consensus and conflict model constructs a definition
of crime, in that it is any action or activity that includes the following:
a. Is punishable under criminal law, as determined by the majority of
society, or in some cases, a powerful minority
b. Is considered an offense against society as a whole and is
prosecuted by public officials
c. Is punishable by statutorily defined sanctions that bring about a
loss of freedom
2. Differences Between Crime and Deviance
a. Deviance is behavior that is considered to go against the norms
established by society
b. Deviance is a subjective concept
c. Deviant acts become crimes only when a majority is willing to
accept that those acts should be punished
d. Not all crimes are considered particularly deviant
e. Criminal law reflects acts that a society agrees are so unacceptable
that steps must be taken to prevent them from occurring
Class Discussion/Activity
Ask students to give some examples of deviance and of crime. Discuss the
differences between the acts classified as deviant and acts classified as
crime.
See Assignment 1
II. The Purpose of the Criminal Justice System
8-9
Learning Objective 2: Explain two main purposes of the criminal justice system.
i. Interlocking network of law enforcement, courts, and correctional
institutions
A. Maintaining Justice
1. Main goal is to provide justice to all members of society
2. All individuals are equal before the law fairness
B. Protecting Society
1. Four goals of the modern criminal justice system:
a. To protect society from potential future crimes of the most
dangerous or “risky” offenders
b. To determine when an offense has been committed and provide the
appropriate punishment for that offense
c. To rehabilitate those offenders who have been punished so that it is
safe to return them to the community
2
, Chapter 1: Criminal Justice Today
d. To support crime victims and, to the extent possible, return them to
their pre-crime status
2. Note the change in attitudes over use of marijuana.
Media Tool
“Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department”
o https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opa/press-releases/attachments/
2015/03/04/ferguson_police_department_report.pdf
o DOJ report on racial bias in Ferguson's law enforcement
o Discussion: Discuss what fairness means and how race and discrimination
undermine fairness. Why are some people saying that the criminal justice
system serves to protect the powerful rather than everyone in society?
See Assignment 2
III. The Structure of the Criminal Justice System
10
Learning Objective 3: Outline the three levels of law enforcement.
Learning Objective 4: List the essential elements of the corrections system.
A. The Importance of Federalism
a. Federalism means that government powers are shared by the
national (federal) government and the states
b. Division of powers allows states to create their own police power,
enacting whatever laws are necessary
Class Discussion/Activity
Ask students to discuss why federalism is important for the criminal
justice system and the concept of fairness.
11
1. Law Enforcement
a. Local Law Enforcement
1. Duties are split between counties and municipalities
2. Chief law enforcement officer of the county is the sheriff
i. Elected post
ii. 2 or 4-year term
3. Bulk of local police officers are employed by
municipalities
i. Investigate crimes
ii. Attempt to deter crime
iii. Apprehend criminals
iv. Participate in trial proceedings
v. Charged with “keeping the peace”
b. State Law Enforcement
1. Hawaii is the only state without a state law enforcement
agency
3
, Instructor’s Manual
2. Two general types of state law enforcement agencies
i. State police
ii. Highway patrols
3. Other state law enforcers include fire marshals and fish,
game, and watercraft wardens
c. Federal Law Enforcement
1. Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI)
2. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
3. U.S. Secret Service
4. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF)
2. The Courts
12-15
a. Dual court system with two independent judicial systems
1. Federal level
2. State level
b. Fifty-two different court systems
1. One for each of the fifty states
i. Trial courts at local and state levels
ii. Intermediate courts of appeals
iii. State supreme courts
2. One federal court system
i. District courts
ii. Circuit courts of appeals
iii. The United States Supreme Court
3. One court for the District of Columbia system
c. Criminal court work groups are charged with responsibility of
determining innocence or guilt of criminal suspects
Class Discussion/Activity
Ask students to discuss the impact of differences in laws across states on
law enforcement and the court system.
3. Corrections
16 a. Offenders may be placed on probation, incarcerated, or transferred
to community-based corrections facilities once they have been
delegated to the corrections system
1. Probation is the most common correctional treatment,
allowing the offender to return to the community under
supervision
2. Incarceration may include jails or prisons
i. Jails house offenders convicted of minor crimes
with relatively short sentences
ii. Prisons house offenders convicted of more serious
crimes with longer sentences
3. Community-based corrections include halfway houses,
residential centers, and work-release centers
4
