CRMJ 254 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Alford Plea, Nolo Contendere, Jury Trial
22 Apr 2018
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Document Summary
General goals of the criminal justice system: doing justice = holding offenders accountable; treat people fairly; like offenses will be treated alike; forms the basis for the rules, procedures, & institutions of the cj system. Responding to crime (controlling) = arresting, prosecuting, convicting, punishing those who disobey the law. Preventing crime = deterrent effect of police, courts, and corrections; requires the efforts of citizens also. Deterrence theory: we are intelligent, rational creatures and weigh the costs vs. benefits of our actions (including committing crime) Utilized this to prevent crime by: severity of punishment, certainty of punishment, speed/efficiency of punishment. The certainty of being caught is vastly more powerful deterrent than the severity of punishment; police can deter crime by increasing the perception that criminals will be caught. Increasing severity of punishment does little to deter crime; sending an offender to prison isn"t an effective deterrent.
