Download - Dealing with Lawbreakers
Dealing with Lawbreakers
Medieval Criminal Justice
• Trial by ordeal
• Severe public punishment/executions
A Reform Movement• The Enlightenment
• Depart from “supernatural” theory
• Assumptions about human nature
Classical Response to Crime
• On Crimes and Punishment, Beccaria (1764)
• Underlying theory
Principles of Deterrence
• Certainty
• Swiftness
• Severity
Empirical Researchon Deterrence
• There is moderate support for the effect of certainty, little to none for severity
Specific v. General Deterrence
• Specific Deterrence
• General Deterrence
Formal v. Informal Punishment
• Informal = unofficial punishment
• Informal enhances formal sanctions
Goals of Punishment
• Deterrence
• Incapacitation
• Rehabilitation
• Retribution
The “System” of Criminal JusticeAn Ideal Model
Crime
Police
Prosecutor
Court
Corrections
The Ideal Courtroom• Adversarial System
• The facts of each case are heard
• Witnesses are called
• Justice prevails
Courtroom Reality
• The Courtroom Workgroup
• Punishment based on the “going rate”
State Felony Convictionsby Guilty Plea (No Trial)
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
VIOLENT PROPERTY DRUG ALL CRIMES
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1998
Sentencing: Three Focal Concerns
• Offender’s blameworthiness
• Protection of the community
• Practical concerns
Prison• Prison (currently ~ 1/2 million inmates)
– Recidivism – Expensive
• Current conditions– Overcrowding– Few rehabilitative services– Aging prison population– Security is main concern
Community-Based Corrections• Less costly than prison
• If revoked -> prison (technical violations)
• Probation involves the most offenders (about 2 million)
Criminal Justice Funnel
1,000 felony crimes 63% not reported
370 reported to police 80% not arrested
42 prosecuted 2% not convicted
41 convicted in court 32% no prison/jail
28 imprisoned 2-3% of felony crimesresult in imprisonment