Week 1 and 2 Notes
Criminal Justice Notes: Crime
What Is Crime?
When you hear that a crime has been committed, what do you think of? Maybe a robbery or a murder?
Crime is defined as “conduct in violation of the criminal laws of a state, the federal government, or a local jurisdiction, for which there is no legally acceptable justification or excuse.”
Crimes can involve violence but do not have to do so. Unfortunately, crime is not rare in the United States.
Three Components of the CJ System Our criminal justice system [The aggregate of all operating and administrative or technical support agencies that perform criminal justice functions. The basic divisions of the operational aspects of criminal justice are law enforcement, courts, and corrections] consists of three component agencies. The police, the courts, and the corrections system all work together to ensure that justice is carried out. None of these three components operates independently of the others. If someone is arrested by the police, their guilt or innocence is determined by the courts, and any potential punishment after conviction is handled by the corrections system.
Some scholars believe in the consensus model [A criminal justice perspective that assumes that the system's components work together harmoniously to achieve the social product we call justice] that assumes that these three components of the justice system work together harmoniously to achieve justice.
Other scholars follow the conflict model [A criminal justice perspective that assumes that the system's components function primarily to serve their own interests. According to this theoretical framework, justice is more a product of conflicts among agencies within the system than it is the result of cooperation among the component agencies] that assumes these three component systems function primarily to serve their own interests, thereby making justice a product of conflict among the police, courts, and corrections system.
What Is Crime?
When you hear that a crime has been committed, what do you think of? Maybe a robbery or a murder?
Crime is defined as “conduct in violation of the criminal laws of a state, the federal government, or a local jurisdiction, for which there is no legally acceptable justification or excuse.”
Crimes can involve violence but do not have to do so. Unfortunately, crime is not rare in the United States.
Three Components of the CJ System Our criminal justice system [The aggregate of all operating and administrative or technical support agencies that perform criminal justice functions. The basic divisions of the operational aspects of criminal justice are law enforcement, courts, and corrections] consists of three component agencies. The police, the courts, and the corrections system all work together to ensure that justice is carried out. None of these three components operates independently of the others. If someone is arrested by the police, their guilt or innocence is determined by the courts, and any potential punishment after conviction is handled by the corrections system.
Some scholars believe in the consensus model [A criminal justice perspective that assumes that the system's components work together harmoniously to achieve the social product we call justice] that assumes that these three components of the justice system work together harmoniously to achieve justice.
Other scholars follow the conflict model [A criminal justice perspective that assumes that the system's components function primarily to serve their own interests. According to this theoretical framework, justice is more a product of conflicts among agencies within the system than it is the result of cooperation among the component agencies] that assumes these three component systems function primarily to serve their own interests, thereby making justice a product of conflict among the police, courts, and corrections system.