CRIM 2652 Lecture Notes - Racial Profiling, Microsoft Powerpoint, Quality Control
Document Summary
Today"s class: what makes criminal law distinct, explanatory frameworks/models of cj. Crime funnel chart suggest that cases are lost as they move through the system. Police discretion enormous amount of discretion in determining who will be brought to the funnel and on what terms. Prosecutorial discretion not only diverts some cases out of the system, but the possibility of dropping cases entirely. If cases do go to trial, its possible the person wont be guilty. Consensus: funnel: both crime control and due process model are consensus models. In the due process model, the presumption of innocence is taken into account through every stage of the funnel. Function of cjs is to protect society. Assembly line: speed + efficiency + uniformity = justice. Quality control: reliability over efficiency; assumes human error. Does not ask where crime comes from. If funnel worked, system would be full of serious offenders instead of those with the least resources.