This chapter examines justice in an absolute sense, and also justice in the context of the criminal justice system. The criminal justice system is the set of rules and practices under which government institutions and agencies act in order to prevent or control crime, to deal with those who break the law, and to support victims. ‘Justice’ in the context of ‘criminal justice’ refers to the extent to which the system aims to prevent or reduce offending; ensures that those who are accused, convicted, and sentenced are treated fairly (justly); and works to support victims and communities. Justice should be guaranteed by the law, especially the criminal law, in any state and should be clearly present in all decisions about crime and social issues made by those working for the state. As such, justice is core to almost every aspect of the criminal justice system. The chapter also considers broad definitions of justice; frameworks called criminal justice models on which understandings of justice in the criminal justice system can be anchored; philosophical ideas about the concept of justice; and the main systems used to bring about criminal justice.
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Michele Burman and Loraine Gelsthorpe
This chapter addresses complexities and continuing concerns in thinking about feminist perspectives and contributions to criminology. The chapter charts feminist contributions to criminology over time, dwelling on the paradigmatic shifts in criminology in both substantive and epistemological and methodological terms, extending both the terrain of criminological theorizing and understanding of knowledge forms. The notion of feminist criminology as a transitional phase towards a more humanistic stance in relation to crime and justice in a globalized context is also explored. The chapter considers synergies between feminist contributions and other work which has focused on inequalities before the law and addresses the issue of migrant offenders and victims, criminal behaviour, and criminal justice, as well as victims of human trafficking, these being examples of the problematic dichotomy between victims and offenders.
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This chapter evaluates the alternative means of responding to offenders and their crimes which have emerged in criminal justice and have been gaining wider recognition. Those who favour innovations of this kind tend to reject conventional assumptions and approaches, proposing new principles for the operation of the justice system. The chapter considers two distinct but similar challenges to conventional models of justice which have developed from this viewpoint: restorative justice and diversion. Restorative justice is based on the presumption that dealing with crime is a process rather than a single act or decision, that it involves collaboration between those with a stake in the offence, and that it emphasises healing as well as ‘putting things right’. Diversionary interventions, which can include community service, restitution, and education, as well as elements of restorative practice, provide an opportunity for the offender to avoid criminal charges or formal judicial processes, albeit sometimes by meeting certain conditional requirements.
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Anna Souhami
This chapter examines how youth justice systems are shaped by different ways of thinking about youth, crime, and justice. It first discusses the emergence of the youth justice system in the nineteenth century, and shows how contemporary ideas about the problems of youth and youth offending are both relatively recent constructions and intrinsically connected to broader anxieties about social disorder. It then sets out some of the principles that have dominated the youth justice system at particular moments (welfare, justice, actuarialism, and restoration) and the implications of each for how problems of youth offending and appropriate responses to it are understood. The final sections describe contemporary youth justice in the UK. They focus on the various systems that have emerged in England and Wales, and Scotland; the different contexts which have allowed these approaches to develop; and the pressures now faced by both.
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This chapter considers the main ways in which disputes between individuals and public bodies are resolved outside the court system in what is widely referred to as the landscape of ‘administrative justice’. The discussions cover initial decision-making; accessing the administrative justice ‘system’; and the two pillars of administrative justice—tribunals and ombuds.
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This chapter describes the key principles of the criminal justice system. These key principles behind the abstract aims of criminal justice include the rule of law, adversarial justice, and restorative justice. The chapter particularly focuses on the rule of law doctrine to illustrate its status as the ultimate authority for democratic systems of justice around the world, but it also reflects on three of its supplementary concepts: an independent judiciary, due process, and human rights. Meanwhile, the traditional adversarial contest in a courtroom between two opposing sides means such hearings can lack impartiality as the role of the judge is limited to ensuring that the rules are followed. The restorative justice principle offers a different dimension, one that prioritises repairing the harms suffered by the injured parties.
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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.
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Joanna Adler
This chapter, which examines the role of psychology in the criminal justice process, begins with a historical context before charting the development of some applications of psychology to criminal justice. It then discusses the application of psychology to all stages of the criminal justice process: pre-trial, trial, and post-trial. The chapter considers how psychology has influenced the law and its application, and the role psychologists play in criminal justice settings. It also highlights ways in which the law impacts upon psychological practice using examples of limitations to culpability, diversionary schemes, and the diagnosis of Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder.
Book
Liz Campbell, Andrew Ashworth, and Mike Redmayne
The Criminal Process continues to provides a reflective, contextualized consideration of doctrinal, practical, and normative issues in criminal processes and procedures. The text draws on arguments from the law, research, policy, and principle, to present an overview of this area of study. It focuses on England and Wales, with occasional comparative references. The book includes new coverage of contemporary issues, such as the disclosure of evidence in criminal trials and the treatment of victims, and on diversity and discrimination within the criminal justice process. Further reading suggestions and discussion questions are included at the end of each chapter.
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This chapter explores the criminal justice institutions. In practice, the criminal justice system contains five distinct institutions that are responsible for delivering justice: the police, the Crown Prosecution Service (known as the CPS), the courts, probation providers, and prisons. Although they are all part of one overall system, each has different aims, roles, and challenges. Theoretically, the fact that these bodies are all accountable to the separation of powers concept should bring some unity in that it gives Parliament, the independent judiciary, and central government opportunities to shape the system to align with their version of justice. The government can exert considerable influence through the work of the Ministry of Justice or MoJ. The MoJ is currently the most important governmental agency in the criminal justice system, but the larger and more powerful Home Office is also involved to an extent, mainly with the police.
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This chapter studies criminal justice policies, practices, and the people who work within the system. It begins by tracing the origins and influences of criminal justice policies. Criminal justice policies predominantly come from the government, but other organisations and individuals such as academics, the media, corporations, and lobbyists can influence them. The motivations behind these policy influencers may vary, but they all share the ultimate aim of ensuring that their preferred strategy is implemented in practice. The chapter then considers the significant impact that ‘penal populism’ can exert on policy, and how government policy is shaping the ways in which the ‘adversarial-lite’ principle is implemented. It assesses use of both of those policies in practice in the courtroom and the community to see how key principles can play out in reality. Finally, the chapter reflects on the effects of all the components upon the people who work in the criminal justice system.
Book
Alisdair Gillespie and Siobhan Weare
The English Legal System presents the main areas of the legal system and encourages a critique of the wider aspects of how law is made and reformed. The book is structured in five parts. Part I looks at the sources of law including domestic and international sources. Part II looks at the courts and the practitioners. It considers the structure of the courts and tribunals, judges and judicial independence, the legal professions, and legal aid. Part III examines the criminal justice system. It describes issues related to lay justice, trials, and criminal appeals. The next part is about the civil justice system. It looks at civil litigation, remedies, appeals and alternative dispute resolution, as well as the funding of civil litigation. The final part looks to the future.
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This chapter focuses on administrative justice. It reflects on the nature of administrative law and the role it plays in modern society, overseeing the relationship between the citizen and the state. Once again adopting the holisitic approach, the chapter discusses not only the role of the courts, but also the tribunals, ombudsmen, and other bodies and processes that together make up the institutional framework of administrative justice. It notes some of the key changes being introduced as a result of the Transformation Programme and the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It also considers the particular responsibilities of Members of Parliament in holding the Government to account. In addition, it asks who has general oversight of the system and whether current oversight arrangements are adequate.
Book
Alisdair Gillespie and Siobhan Weare
The English Legal System presents the main areas of the legal system and encourages a critique of the wider aspects of how law is made and reformed. The book is structured in five parts. Part I looks at the sources of law including domestic and international sources. Part II looks at the courts and the practitioners. It considers the structure of the courts and tribunals, judges and judicial independence, the legal professions, and legal aid. Part III examines the criminal justice system. It describes issues related to lay justice, trials, and criminal appeals. The next part is about the civil justice system. It looks at civil litigation, remedies, appeals and alternative dispute resolution, as well as the funding of civil litigation. The final part looks to the future.
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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.
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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.
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Anthea Hucklesby
This chapter explores issues relating to the prosecution process. It introduces some of the main theoretical and conceptual issues with the prosecution process, and considers a number of key trends in recent criminal justice law and policy. The discussions cover the agencies involved in the prosecution process; making sense of the criminal justice process; diminishing defendants' rights; and differential treatment.
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N V Lowe, G Douglas, E Hitchings, and R Taylor
This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of the nature and scope of family law, covering the meaning of ‘family’ and the functions of family law. It then describes trends in family law; the family justice system; and the internationalisation of family law.
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Derek Kirton
This chapter examines youth crime and responses to it. It discusses the key principles around which youth justice has evolved and how the balance between them has changed over time. The chapter considers some of the main theories and models that have been put forward to explain youth crime, including patterns linked to social divisions based on class, ethnicity, and gender. Attention is also given to recent ‘moral panics’, such as young people's use of weapons, gang activity, and involvement in the 2011 riots. Finally, a review of contemporary youth justice policy and debate regarding its future direction is provided.
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Anne Logan
This chapter provides an overview of the major themes in the history of crime and punishment in England and Wales over the last 250 years. It discusses the usefulness of historical research in this field and the research methods employed by historians; some salient features of the history of crime, criminal justice, and punishment; and aspects of criminal justice history that can assist in the understanding of contemporary issues and debates. The chapter demonstrates that the nature of crime and criminal justice at any given time can only be understood within the period's specific political context.
