This chapter discusses the nature, structure, values and objectives of ‘criminal justice’, together with recent trends, primarily in England and Wales. This includes examining the concepts of guilt and innocence, and the difficulty of ‘proving’ either in many cases; the adversarial nature of the Anglo-American system, contrasted with the inquisitorial approaches that traditionally underpin ‘European’ systems; and the analytical tools of ‘crime control’ and ‘due process’. The importance, and limitation, of the human rights approach in criminal justice is discussed, along with the increasing influences of managerialism and neoliberalism. The chapter then looks at how victims are catered for in these various approaches. It concludes that human rights provide only a bare minimum of protection for suspects and victims alike, and that the system is more exclusionary than inclusionary. Thus a new theoretical framework is proposed that is centred on ‘freedom’, which would prioritise three ‘core values’: justice, democracy and efficiency.
Chapter
Alpa Parmar
This chapter examines how far the police are, and should be, allowed to infringe the freedom of the individual through arrest. It considers the legal rules that the police must follow when deciding to, and during, arrest, as well as their effectiveness in controlling the use of this power. This chapter considers the purpose of arrest and what reasons for arrest are lawful. The use of arrest in the context of suspected terrorism is explored, and ‘citizen arrest’ is also evaluated. Discussion about how the police use their discretion when exercising the power of arrest is situated in our understanding of police ‘working rules’. The chapter shows that arrest is used for many purposes, some more legitimate than others.
Chapter
George Mair
This chapter begins with a brief overview of the history of community sentences as alternatives to custody. It then explores the current situation with regard to community sentences and alternatives to custody, drawing on the most up-to-date research available. The chapter also discusses the political environment in which the probation service finds itself. The concluding section summarizes the key issues around the topic.
Chapter
This chapter focuses on the ways and the extent to which the courts deal differently with children and young people under 18 who commit criminal offences or behave antisocially. It therefore covers the new criminal behaviour orders and injunctions as well as parenting orders. It then reviews the sentencing options available to the Youth and Crown Courts in dealing with young offenders, and examines the current practices and policy trends in relation to both community and custodial penalties for young offenders. In particular, the chapter covers the YRO (Youth Rehabilitation Order) and the Detention and Training order. It highlights the continuing deficiencies in the care of young people detained in young offender institutions and secure training centres, especially in regard to methods of restraint, and examines the advantages and limitations of using children’s rights and human rights to ensure more appropriate treatment of children and young people who commit offences.
Chapter
Steven Cammiss
This chapter first considers the functions of the courts and questions whether there are other, more symbolic functions at play than finding the truth. It then outlines the court system, looking to both magistrates' courts and the Crown Court, and explores the composition of both courts, the types of cases that they deal with, and their role. To examine a particular decision made within the criminal courts, the chapter looks at the mode of trial decision. It concludes by asking whether the reality of the courts lives up to the rhetoric of trial by jury as the pinnacle of due process protections.
Book
Edited by Anthea Hucklesby and Azrini Wahidin
Criminal Justice provides a thought-provoking and critical introduction to the challenges faced by the UK's criminal justice system, including policing, sentencing, and punishment at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Expert contributors, including criminologists and lawyers, provide students with a critical introduction to issues, institutions, and agencies that shape the operation of the criminal justice system. The book provides students from a range of disciplines including criminology, law, sociology, psychology, and social policy with knowledge and understanding of the key areas of the subject and an appreciation of contemporary debates, policies, and perspectives. Each chapter features questions, summaries, tables, diagrams, annotated further reading, and weblinks to ensure the book is as accessible and engaging as possible, and provides clear guidance on further study. An illuminating glossary of key terms is also included. In this second edition: all chapters have been completely revised and updated; a new chapter has been included on the policy landscape of criminal justice; additional material has been incorporated into two chapters on the police and policing; and a new chapter on the criminal courts has been included, as have additional chapters on innovative aspects of criminal justice, and science and psychology in criminal justice. This title is accompanied by an Online Resource Centre containing an online version of the glossary of key terms and annotated web links.
Chapter
Loraine Gelsthorpe
This chapter charts some of the major developments in modern British society against which changes in criminal justice policy should be seen: the emergence of a culture of control amidst economic, technological, and social changes; the politicisation of law and order and the democratisation of criminal justice; the development of a risk society; and the emerging dominance of managerialism. It then discusses the notion of the ‘Big Society’ and considers its impact on criminal justice policy. The final section outlines some events that have driven changes in the direction of criminal justice policy.
Chapter
This chapter examines the effectiveness of the checks, controls, and safeguards provided for suspects in police detention, including for suspects considered to be vulnerable by the police. It also evaluates the effect of the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998. The discussions cover the powers and duties of custody officers and detention officers; length of detention without charge; suspects’ rights including the right to legal advice and the rights of vulnerable suspects; the purpose of and experiences of police detention; and deaths in police custody.
Chapter
Seriousness and proportionality are key concepts in the ‘just deserts’ approach to sentencing which was endorsed by the Criminal Justice Act 1991. This chapter analyses the extent to which this sentencing framework with retributivist principles has been undermined by subsequent changes in legislation, notably the Criminal Justice Act 2003, and by amendments to that Act. It examines law and guidance on constructing seriousness, particularly in relation to harm and culpability, and on determining a commensurate sentence. It illustrates issues by using examples from recent guidelines and focuses discussion on examples from custodial sentencing. Finally, the chapter discusses criticisms of modern retributivism.
Chapter
This chapter begins by discussing the nature of punishment before focusing on key questions in penal policy including justice, risk, and human rights. It also considers the principal factors that shape the development of penal policy, notably political imperatives, economic influences, and penological and criminological principles, as well as public opinion and the media, which have become much more influential since the early 1990s. Recent penal policy developments are also discussed to highlight significant trends and problems. The chapter concludes by focusing on the governance of sex offenders and providing a case study and discussion questions for reflection on the issues.
Chapter
This chapter considers the experience of imprisonment for specific groups, namely women (including mothers), ethnic minorities, disabled prisoners, religious minorities, and gay, lesbian, and transgender prisoners. There is also more focus on the experience of foreign national prisoners and the growing number of olderprisoners. Policies that aim to reduce the risk of unfair treatment to these groups and their impact are reviewed, as is the framework of legislation designed to promote equality and human rights. The approach taken to race equality has now been extended to other groups. The framework of equality law is considered, including the Equality Act 2010 and its equality duty. The importance of gender-specific penal policies is also discussed.
Chapter
Paul Roberts
This chapter examines the role of science in the criminal justice process, focusing on DNA profiling evidence, both as an important topic in its own right and as a case study illuminating broader issues. It considers the potent combination of scientific innovation and public policy making in the development of new forms of legally admissible evidence. The chapter explores some general, and fundamental, aspects of the logic of forensic proof in criminal trials.
Chapter
Margaret Malloch and Gill McIvor
This chapter, which examines the relevance of gender to an understanding of criminal justice responses to offending and victimisation, covers: gender differences in criminal involvement; gender and sentencing; gender and punishment; gender and ‘victimisation’; and gender and the criminal justice professions.
Chapter
This chapter begins by examining the increased policy focus on victims of crime and their more recent involvement in the sentencing process via victim impact statements. It reviews changes in sentencing law which have aimed to ensure the offender does not profit from crime—such as confiscation orders—and that the offender pays financial compensation to the victim. Secondly, it discusses conflicting approaches to a focus on the impact of a sentence on the offender or the offender’s family, covering justifications from penology and evidence—from research and appellate cases—of practice in the courts. This includes discussion of the role of personal mitigation in retributivist and utilitarian sentencing and the influence it may have on the outcome for less serious cases.
Chapter
This chapter pulls together some of the issues mentioned in earlier chapters through a specific lens of inequality. The chapter highlights key areas of inequality in the criminal process by focusing on class, race and sex, but identifies intersections with a broader range of marginalised populations where information exists (and points to the need for research where the information does not yet exist). It discusses what we mean by inequality; key areas in which inequality in relation to class, race and sex manifest and intersect; inequity manifested in the criminal law; inequality as it manifests in policing; inequality as it manifests through sentencing; inequality experienced by victims; hate crimes; and ways that inequality could be reassessed and evaluated through discourses of rights and belonging.
Chapter
6. Instead of punishment?
Restorative justice, child welfare, and medical treatment
This chapter looks at three aspects of sentencing and punishment which—though very different—potentially offer alternatives to a focus on punishment. It first discusses an alternative rationale and approach for responding to those who commit offences, restorative justice and then discusses two sets of offenders where the court does not have to sentence strictly in line with just deserts. So it focuses on children and young people under 18 years of age and examines the policies developed to take into account the welfare of the child, such as diversion from prosecution and a modified approach to strict proportionality of penal responses. Next the chapter focuses on those offenders who are deemed to be mentally disordered and reviews those options available to the sentencing court which focus on treatment rather than punishment. Finally, the chapter provides reflective exercises for all three (potential) alternatives to punishment.
Chapter
Anthea Hucklesby and Azrini Wahidin
This introductory chapter first sets out the book's purpose, which is to explore the key issues relating to the criminal justice system in the early part of the twenty-first century. It aims to provide undergraduate students with an overview of the institutions and agencies of the criminal justice system and the issues that arise with the process by which individuals are convicted and punished for transgressing the criminal law. The chapter then discusses the UK criminal justice system; criminal justice in context; and the effectiveness the criminal justice system. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.
Chapter
This chapter focuses on the treatment of adult prisoners, examining a number of aspects of prison life as well as considering the aims of imprisonment. Key developments since 1990 are considered, including the Woolf Report, managerialism and privatisation, the impact of the Human Rights Act 1998, and the debate on prisoners’ right to vote, to assess whether the just treatment of prisoners has been achieved. While substantial improvements in prison regimes have been made since the early 1990s, there has also been considerable pressure on them from the expanding prison population. The problem of reconciling respect for the human rights of prisoners with the administrative needs of the prison system and the deterrent function of prisons will be highlighted. The potential to limit prison expansion in the current political climate will also be considered.
Chapter
This chapter examines the three main ways to approach the justifications of punishment. These are consequentialist philosophies that look to justify punishment in terms of preventing future offending; retributive philosophies that focus on responding proportionately to the actual offence; and abolitionist philosophies which maintain that punishment cannot be either morally or politically justified.
Chapter
This chapter examines the main types of non-interrogatory evidence gathered through criminal justice processes. First we look at witness and identification evidence; like the interviewing of suspects, this is not as straightforward as it might appear. We then move onto entry of premises (eg suspects’ homes, places of work, etc), search of those places and seizure of ‘suspicious’ goods discovered by searches. Whereas most entry and search is known to the suspects and/or owners of the premises concerned, ‘covert’ policing is, by definition, not made known to the subjects of the policing. Covert policing takes many forms: eg, surveillance, ‘undercover’ policing, use of informers, interception of communications. Finally we examine scientific evidence which, like witness evidence, is far from straightforward. There are many problems common to all these types of information-gathering. These include the fragility and ambiguity of what often appears solid and objective; the way they erode human rights; the effect of ‘police culture’ on what is gathered and how it is interpreted; and the lack of accountability for what is done and how it is done.
