PUBLIC POLICY

Public Policy

Public Policy

Question 1

Walker's (2010) views helped define the crime control perspective of criminal justice. According to the crime control model, the proper role of the criminal justice system is to prevent crime through the judicious use of criminal sanctions. When the public is outraged by such crimes as mass shootings, such as the one in Tucson, Arizona involving Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford, it demands an efficient justice system that hands out tough sanctions to those who choose to violate the laws. If the justice system operated effectively, potential criminals would be discouraged from committing crime, while those who did violate the law would be caught, tried, convicted, and punished so they would fear committing crimes again. If crime rates go up, the logical conclusion is that criminals do not fear apprehension and punishment. If the criminal laws could be toughened and the efficiency of the system could be increased, crime rates would decline.

The crime control perspective believes that effective law enforcement, strict mandatory punishment, and expanding the use of prisons are the keys to reducing crime no matter the monetary costs. There are some similarities between the crime control perspective and the due process perspective. Proponents of both models embrace and must follow constitutional values. Both perspectives work well in our adversarial criminal justice system, and they both serve as a check-and-balance to each other. Each perspective has a very clear set of beliefs. Both perspectives are derived from the classical school of thought, who evolved mainly from the work of Hancock. The classical school of thought has led to two these contrasting models of the criminal justice system, which are basically the differing political ideologies of conservatism and liberalism.

Question 2

According to Walker (2010) most criminals commit crimes out of greed and easy profit. He believed that severe punishment for committing crimes would be a great deterrence. Wilson's views helped define the crime control model of our criminal justice system. Walker argued that the greatest concern to our justice system is providing fair and equitable treatment to the accused. Packer's views helped define the due process perspective of our criminal justice system. From the conservative ideology comes the crime control perspective. This perspective is based upon the assumption that the fundamental goal of the criminal justice system is the repression of crime through aggressive law enforcement, strict enforcement of the laws, and harsh punishment including the use of the death penalty.

Like the crime control perspective, Hancock (2004) believed that the purpose of punishment should be a deterrence, and the punishment is imposed should be severe enough to prevent offenders from committing additional crimes. He also believed that the punishment for committing crimes should be both swift and certain. The obstacle course metaphor is rooted in the idea that the criminal process viewed by the proponents of the due process perspective is complex and needs to be navigated by skilled legal professionals. Proponents of this perspective believe that the criminal justice process should be one that is somewhat ...