Models of Criminal Justice

The Due Process Model (Packer, 1968)

All parties equal in front of the law

Rules in place to protect defendants against error

Restraint of arbitrary power: the rule of law must be preserved at all times

Presumption of innocence

Social function: Justice

The Crime Control Model (Skolnick, 1966 and Packer, 1968)

Lack of regard for the right of suspects: crime control is of paramount importance

Citizen's must be protected, criminal brought to Justice

Implicit presumption of guilt

High conviction rate

Social function: Punishment

The Medical Model (King, 1981)

Criminal behaviour due to individual characteristics (psychological problems), or social factors (deprivation)

Crime can't be dealt with effectively unless we deal with these underlying issues

Decision-makers use discretion to provide treatment to offenders, rather than punishing them

Focus on the needs of the offender

Social function: Rehabilitation

The Bureaucratic Model (King, 1981)

System should be as efficient as possible given available resources

Law enforcement should be cost-effective

Independence from political considerations

Social function: Management of crime and criminals

The Power Model (King, 1981)

The Status Passage Model (King, 1981)

Offenders tried publicly as a sign of the community's moral disapproval of crime

Punishment as a way to reinforce the values of the community

Social function: Denunciation and degradation

Focus on the interests that are served by the CJS

Marxist perspective

CJS reinforce the role of those in power

Criminal law used to protect the interest of the dominant classes

Over-representation of minorities as defendants

Social function: Maintenance of class domination

The Justice Model (Davies et al., 2010)

Combination of retribution with fair treatment for defendants

Punishment should be proportionate to the offence

only deserved by those who are guilty

Social function: Just deserts

The Management Model (Davies et al., 2010)

Wider set of strategies than rehabilitation

Criminal controlled and monitored depending on their level of risk

Surveillance and supervision key to reduce crime (for example: monitoring)

Social function: Offender control