Lesm A201 U1 150
LESM A201
Unit 1
Crime and justice
10
Course team
Developer:
Dr Mark S Gaylord, Consultant
Course designer and course Ross Vermeer, OUHK team coordinator:
Members:
Dr So Wai Chor, OUHK
Dr Cheuk Wai Hing, OUHK
Dr Lin Siu Fung, OUHK
External Course Assessor
David Chan, City University of Hong Kong
Editing and Production
ETPU Publishing Team
Copyright © The Open University of Hong Kong, 2000, 2001, 2009, 2010,
2012.
Reprinted 2015.
All rights reserved.
No part of this material may be reproduced in any form by any means without permission in writing from the
President, The Open University of Hong Kong. Sale of this material is prohibited.
The Open University of Hong Kong
30 Good Shepherd Street
Ho Man Tin, Kowloon
Hong Kong
This course material is printed on environmentally friendly paper.
Contents
Introduction
1
The origin of criminal law
3
Conflict: law as an expression of political power
Consensus: law as an expression of values
Measuring crime
Crime statistics in Hong Kong
The extent of crime in Hong Kong
Crime trends
Anatomy of a Hong Kong ‘crime wave’
Gaylord and Lang — some conclusions
Politics and criminal justice
4
5
8
9
14
14
14
18
20
Criminal justice and the community
20
Crime control versus due process
22
Crime control: order as a value
Due process: law as a value
Reality: crime control or due process?
23
23
24
Summary
26
References
27
Suggested answers to activities
28
Glossary
32
Unit 1
Introduction
In this first unit of LESM A201, you look at some fundamental theoretical and methodological issues in criminal justice. The unit examines the major theories of the origin of criminal law, the principal methods used to measure crime, the extent of crime in Hong Kong, the impact of politics on the administration of criminal justice, and ways that cultural values influence the operation of criminal justice.
Unit 1 is about first principles. What is crime? How is it measured?
What is the origin of criminal law? How do
Unit 1
Crime and justice
10
Course team
Developer:
Dr Mark S Gaylord, Consultant
Course designer and course Ross Vermeer, OUHK team coordinator:
Members:
Dr So Wai Chor, OUHK
Dr Cheuk Wai Hing, OUHK
Dr Lin Siu Fung, OUHK
External Course Assessor
David Chan, City University of Hong Kong
Editing and Production
ETPU Publishing Team
Copyright © The Open University of Hong Kong, 2000, 2001, 2009, 2010,
2012.
Reprinted 2015.
All rights reserved.
No part of this material may be reproduced in any form by any means without permission in writing from the
President, The Open University of Hong Kong. Sale of this material is prohibited.
The Open University of Hong Kong
30 Good Shepherd Street
Ho Man Tin, Kowloon
Hong Kong
This course material is printed on environmentally friendly paper.
Contents
Introduction
1
The origin of criminal law
3
Conflict: law as an expression of political power
Consensus: law as an expression of values
Measuring crime
Crime statistics in Hong Kong
The extent of crime in Hong Kong
Crime trends
Anatomy of a Hong Kong ‘crime wave’
Gaylord and Lang — some conclusions
Politics and criminal justice
4
5
8
9
14
14
14
18
20
Criminal justice and the community
20
Crime control versus due process
22
Crime control: order as a value
Due process: law as a value
Reality: crime control or due process?
23
23
24
Summary
26
References
27
Suggested answers to activities
28
Glossary
32
Unit 1
Introduction
In this first unit of LESM A201, you look at some fundamental theoretical and methodological issues in criminal justice. The unit examines the major theories of the origin of criminal law, the principal methods used to measure crime, the extent of crime in Hong Kong, the impact of politics on the administration of criminal justice, and ways that cultural values influence the operation of criminal justice.
Unit 1 is about first principles. What is crime? How is it measured?
What is the origin of criminal law? How do
References: Block, A and Chambliss, W J (1984) Organizing Crime, New York: Elsevier. Chambliss, W J (1964) ‘A sociological analysis of the law of vagrancy,’ Social Problems, 12: 67–77. Dobinson, I (1994) ‘The measurement of crime’ in Gaylord, M S and Traver, H (eds) Introduction to the Hong Kong Criminal Justice System, Gaylord, M S and Lang, G (1997) ‘Robbery, recession and real wages in Hong Kong,’ Crime, Law and Social Change, 27: 49–71. Hall, J (1947) General Principles of Criminal Law, 2nd edn, Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs-Merrill. Leung, B K P (1996) Perspectives on Hong Kong Society, Hong Kong: Oxford University Press. Packer, H (1968) The Limits of the Criminal Sanction, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Quinney, R (1969) Crime and Justice in Society, Boston: Little, Brown. Radzinowicz, L and King, J (1977) The Growth of Crime: The International Experience, New York: Basic Books, Inc. Vagg, J (1991) ‘Policing in Hong Kong’, Policing and Society, 1: 235–47.