Laws Criminal Justice Process
1
The aims and values of
‘criminal justice’
Let no-one be in any doubt, the rules of the game are changing.
(Former Prime Minister Tony Blair, 5 August 2005).
Key issues:
• The structure of the criminal justice system
• Blurring civil and criminal boundaries: ASBOs and similar
• Proving guilt and innocence: burden and standard of proof
• Adversarial and inquisitorial approaches
• Recent trends in crime and criminal justice
• Packer’s ‘due process’ and ‘crime control’ models
• The human rights approach to criminal justice
• The managerial approach to criminal justice
• Where do victims fit into these approaches?
• Our approach: the ‘freedom’ model
1.1 The nature and structure of
‘criminal justice’
A book with a title as vague as ‘criminal justice’ should begin by saying what it is about. In thinking about criminal justice we all have our own images and assumptions. In this chapter we spell out our own assumptions. We also explain the theoretical framework within which we think criminal justice in England and Wales can most usefully be understood, criticised and reformed. We see the criminal justice system as a complex social institution1 which regulates potential, alleged and actual criminal
1
01_Sanders_Chap01.indd 1
See further Garland D, Punishment and Modern Society (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990) p 282.
6/24/2010 3:25:44 PM
The aims and values of ‘criminal justice’
activity within limits designed to protect people from wrongful treatment and wrongful conviction. In the rst three editions of this book we focused mainly on police, prosecution and court powers and procedures in respect of alleged crime, resulting in either ‘diversion’ out of the system (eg, through the imposition of a police or prosecution caution) or court proceedings. But recent years have witnessed a recon guration of criminal law and criminal justice in favour of crime pre-emption through risk management techniques.2 Underpinning this shi in
The aims and values of
‘criminal justice’
Let no-one be in any doubt, the rules of the game are changing.
(Former Prime Minister Tony Blair, 5 August 2005).
Key issues:
• The structure of the criminal justice system
• Blurring civil and criminal boundaries: ASBOs and similar
• Proving guilt and innocence: burden and standard of proof
• Adversarial and inquisitorial approaches
• Recent trends in crime and criminal justice
• Packer’s ‘due process’ and ‘crime control’ models
• The human rights approach to criminal justice
• The managerial approach to criminal justice
• Where do victims fit into these approaches?
• Our approach: the ‘freedom’ model
1.1 The nature and structure of
‘criminal justice’
A book with a title as vague as ‘criminal justice’ should begin by saying what it is about. In thinking about criminal justice we all have our own images and assumptions. In this chapter we spell out our own assumptions. We also explain the theoretical framework within which we think criminal justice in England and Wales can most usefully be understood, criticised and reformed. We see the criminal justice system as a complex social institution1 which regulates potential, alleged and actual criminal
1
01_Sanders_Chap01.indd 1
See further Garland D, Punishment and Modern Society (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990) p 282.
6/24/2010 3:25:44 PM
The aims and values of ‘criminal justice’
activity within limits designed to protect people from wrongful treatment and wrongful conviction. In the rst three editions of this book we focused mainly on police, prosecution and court powers and procedures in respect of alleged crime, resulting in either ‘diversion’ out of the system (eg, through the imposition of a police or prosecution caution) or court proceedings. But recent years have witnessed a recon guration of criminal law and criminal justice in favour of crime pre-emption through risk management techniques.2 Underpinning this shi in