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
1. The aims and values of ‘criminal justice’
Chapter
3. Arrest
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
8. Community sentences
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
12. Concluding remarks
This chapter focuses on positive and negative developments in recent years. It welcomes the decline in the prison population and the increased focus on disproportionality. It also discusses those developments which can be viewed as negatives ones, particularly the continuing high imprisonment rate and the continued use of methods of restraining children and young people in custody. It focusses on the impact of Covid-19 on the courts, the prison population and the use of FPNs before discussing the arguments for abolition of the use of imprisonment or its reform. We then refer to the discourse of human rights—both its importance and the attacks on it, before referring to the re-emergence of problem-solving courts. Lastly the authors’ concerns as to ‘what needs to be done’ are considered.
Chapter
11. Court orders for young offenders
This chapter first considers the range of civil orders available to the courts in responding to anti-social or criminal behavior by children and young people. It therefore focusses on the criminal behaviour orders and injunctions as well as the community remedy. It then looks at the options available to the sentencing court in relation to criminal offending and so refers in particular to the referral order and the Youth Offender Panel, the youth rehabilitation order and the detention and training order. We note the welcome fall in the number of children in prison but note the increase in the average custodial sentence length. The chapter also discusses selected aspects of conditions in secure accommodation and reviews the role and achievements of using rights in responding to problematic issues.
Chapter
5. Courts and the trial process
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
1. Criminal justice: the policy landscape
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
4. Detention in the police station
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
3. Determining ‘just deserts’
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 framework based on retributivist principles has been undermined by subsequent changes in legislation. It examines law and guidance on constructing seriousness, particularly in relation to harm and culpability, and on determining a commensurate sentence. Throughout it refers to the Sentencing Code (referring to the Sentencing Act 2020 when we are explaining how changes occurred) and illustrates issues by using examples from recent guidelines, focusing discussion on custodial sentencing. Finally, it discusses criticisms of modern retributivism from a range of standpoints, including Marxian perspectives.
Chapter
1. Developing penal policy
This chapter focuses on key questions in penal policy, including justice, risk management, and human rights. It also considers the principal factors which shape the development of penal policy. Notably, these are 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 to highlight significant trends and problems are discussed, including the impact of the pandemic. The chapter concludes by focusing on the management of sex offenders and providing a case study and discussion questions for further reflection on the issues.
Chapter
9. Experiencing imprisonment
This chapter reviews the impact of imprisonment on specific groups of prisoners. It discusses the experience of imprisonment for specific groups, including women and ethnic minorities. Issues discussed include the problems facing female prisoners in maintaining family contact and the health needs of women in prison. The treatment of BAME prisoners is also considered, with reference to a range of issues, including racial harassment and discrimination. The problems facing foreign national prisoners are also discussed. Other groups considered include religious minorities, TACT prisoners, LGBTQ + prisoners, prisoners with disabilities, and older prisoners. Policies which aim to reduce the risk of unfair treatment are also examined.
Chapter
15. Forensic science and criminal justice
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
12. Gender and criminal justice
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
7. Impact on victims and offenders
This chapter reviews the increased policy focus on victims, dealing with remedies for victims of crime and more recent involvement in the sentencing process via victim impact statements as well as discussing the impact of punishment on offenders. Ways of reducing the impact of crime on the victim are considered, including compensation, and confiscation, restitution and forfeiture as well as focusing on the Victims Code and the victim’s surcharge. Conflicting approaches to the impact of punishment on the offender or the offender’s family, including financial penalties, are considered. This discussion covers justifications from penology and evidence—from research and appellate cases—of practice in the courts. Arguments for and against impact mitigation are examined with reference to a range of issues, including social deprivation, illness, disability, and age.
Chapter
10. Inequalities and criminal justice
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 very different aspects of sentencing and punishment where there are alternatives to a focus on proportional sentencing and punishment. We discuss two sets of offenders where the court does not have to sentence strictly in line with just deserts. So we focus on children and young people under 18 years of age and examine the policies developed over the past century which have taken into account the welfare of the child, such that diversion from prosecution has been justified and strict proportionality of penal response can be modified. We also focus on those offenders who are deemed to be mentally disordered and review those options available to the sentencing court which focus on treatment rather than punishment. However the chapter begins by looking at an alternative rationale and approach for responding to those who commit offences—restorative justice—and reviewing policy and practice developments. Finally, the chapter provides reflective exercises for all three (potential) alternatives to punishment.
Chapter
Introduction
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
8. Justice in the modern prison
In this chapter we focus 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 (Woolf and Tumin 1991), managerialism and privatisation, the implications of the Human Rights Act (HRA) 1998 and the impact of the pandemic, 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 rights of prisoners with the administrative needs of the prison system and the deterrent function of prison is highlighted. The potential to reduce the prison population substantially in the current political climate is also discussed.
Chapter
6. Justifications of punishment and questions of penal legitimacy
David Scott
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.
