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Introduction to Criminal Justice: The Problem of Social Control

Explore the complexities of the criminal justice system and the challenges it faces in maintaining order while preserving human rights. Discuss the definition of crime, the rationality of criminal behavior, and the influence of extralegal factors on judgment. Examine different perspectives on crime, the role and response of the criminal justice system, and the levels of government involved. Learn about the criminal justice process, goals of the system, and the role of family, religion, schools, and media in influencing social control measures.

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Introduction to Criminal Justice: The Problem of Social Control

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  1. Department of Criminal Justice California State University - Bakersfield CRJU 100 Introduction to Criminal Justice Dr. Abu-Lughod, Reem Ali The Problem of Social Control

  2. Intro: • Herculean Task: order versus preservation of human rights. The controversy • Rousseau: “man is born free and everywhere he is in chains” • CRIME: definition. What is criminal versus non-criminal • Example in book. • Acts that are not necessarily criminal but harmful to society. Rosa Parks • Espionage • The rationality of crime; Herbert Simon on human’s rational minds • An organic/heterogeneous society and the complications that lie within the CJ system. A complex system: crime..> trial…> punishment…> ….. • Example of a pilot

  3. The truth behind CJ. Is it a science? Can it be falsified?. C. Wright Mills “The Sociological Imagination”…..let us step away from our personal experiences and examine issues while being divorced from our social location. • As a result we attempt to look at crime and CJ policy from a more objective position. But what about extralegal factors and their influences on human behavior and judgment. • Fuller: looks at conventional versus non-conventional ways in analyzing views towards CJ. He therefore concludes that what we know about crime is often based on incomplete and inaccurate info because:

  4. We tend to personalize • All crime is local crime • Crime stats do not tell the whole story • Prejudices • What we “label” as serious and criminal versus overlooked acts

  5. Social Control versus Chaotic Societies? • Our institutions of social control • Socialization takes place in different degrees. Socialization in a democratic society and those who deviate to committing extreme acts

  6. DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF CRIME: Sensational crimes. O.J. Simpson Street crimes Corporate crimes White collar crimes Organized crimes

  7. ROLE & RESPONSE OF CJ SYSTEM • Different agencies working in conjunction. But is it really a system? Clear goals (centralized) versus non-clear (decentralized)….more discretion. • How decisions made by prosecutors/attorneys may affect the system?

  8. LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT • Local level: e.g. L.E. • Local jails of 2 types: those awaiting trial and those sentenced to one year or less. The problem? • State level: e.g. state highway patrol unit, crime labs, criminal codes, court action, responsible for inmates in prison • Federal level: e.g. FBI, customs, DEA, ATFE • Also appellate courts handling cases from state or federal, fewer in U.S. Supreme Ct. feds have their own prison, probation and parole agencies

  9. CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROCESS • Scarcity of resources and effectiveness of the process • Levels of discretion • CJ system as a funnel: • Crime • Crimes known to the police • Investigation • Arrests • Charges filed by prosecutors • Grand Jury • Initial appearance, preliminary hearing and arraignment • Bail/bail bonding • Plea bargaining • Trial • Sentencing • Probation • Appeal • Prison • Parole • Capital punishment

  10. CRIMES THAT DO NOT ENTER THE CJ system: • Cost • Discretion • Errors

  11. Problem with the system metaphor? Goals of the CJ system • Deterrence • Incapacitation • Retribution • Rehabilitation • Restoration

  12. 1. It all begins with the family • How do we make children conform • Love discipline mirrored with the “get tough on crime” approach 2. Religion 3. Schools

  13. HOW THE MEDIA INFLUENCES MEASURES OF SOCIAL CONTROL THE NEWS HOLLYWOOD INTERNET

  14. SYSTEM OF LAST RESORT Why people commit crimes? The role of the CJ system in dealing with challenges: Offenders Resources Structure Individual versus societal responsibility for crime. Crime as a natural result of a progressive society

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