The criminal justice system can be pretty complex, especially when trying to punish criminals for wrongdoing. Society expects the system to be efficient and swift while at the same time ensuring the adequate protection of individual rights and justice.
Ultimately, the balance of these goals is perfect. Still, it can be difficult to control crime, punish criminals quickly, and ensure that the judiciary does not violate our constitutional rights.
In the 1960s, attorney Herbert L. Packer took the first step towards shaping criminal procedure policy that exceeded the expectations of the criminal justice system. Let’s see what the crime control model vs. due process model accounts for!
Table of Contents
What Are The Crime Control Model And Due Process Model?
Crime Control Model
A model of crime control focuses on an effective system. The most crucial function is suppressing and controlling crimes to ensure the security of society, and there is public order. As per this model and the crime, settlement is possible because trials can take too long and slow down the trial
Due Process Model
The fair trial model focuses on ensuring a fair and equitable criminal justice system for all and a system that does not violate constitutional rights. Moreover, the model claims that the system should be like an “obstacle course” rather than a “conveyor.” The protection of human rights and freedoms is of great importance and is often more in line with liberal views.
How Does The Due Process Affect Crime Control Models Of The Criminal Justice System?
The crime system model believes that arrested offenders are guilty, and the government will punish them. Through, due process doesn’t follow the same practices. Due to different rules, the due process system has hindered impacts over the crime model.
Due Process Model Vs. Crime Control Model
The differences between the due process model and the crime model are that the prisoner is assumed to be innocent until proven by the court. The crime model believes that the arrested person is guilty and must be punished by the government.
Besides this, the due process model assumes that policing within the criminal justice system is essential for maintaining social justice. The crime model assumes that arresting people in the criminal justice system will negatively affect and slow down the progress of the criminal justice system.
Another difference is that the due process model believes in defendants’ rights, and proving their guilt is essential for controlling the government. The crime model assumes that the cost of the defendant’s rights is too high, and the criminal justice system should spend more money on police recruitment and building prisons.
The Crime Control Model Should Prevail
The following statement is the core concern of the crime model:
- The suppression of crime should be the most important function of criminal justice because an order is necessary for a free society.
- Criminal justice should focus on defending the rights of victims rather than protecting the rights of defendants.
- The power of the police should be expanded to facilitate investigation, arrest, searches, seizures, and convictions.
- The legal procedures for handcuffing police officers should be resolved.
- The criminal justice process should operate like an assembly line, handing the case over to them quickly.
- If the police arrest and the prosecutor file criminal law enforcement, the defendant will be found guilty. This is because the police and the prosecutor’s investigations are very reliable.
- The primary purpose of criminal proceedings should be to find out the truth or determine the actual crime of the defendant.
The Due Process Model Should Prevail
Packer’s due process model is an alternative to the crime-fighting model. It consists of the following arguments:
- The primary function of the criminal justice system is to ensure due process or fundamental justice under criminal law.
- Criminal justice should focus on the defendant’s rights, not the victim’s rights, because the Rights explicitly protect the defendant’s rights.
- The power of the police should be restricted to prevent the official suppression of individuals.
- Constitutional rights are not only formal; criminal justice authorities should hold accountable rules, procedures, and guidelines to ensure the fairness and consistency of judicial procedures.
- A criminal trial looks like a series of obstacles in the form of procedural guarantees designed to protect the conviction of innocents and truly guilty persons.
- The government should not find a person guilty based on facts alone, only when it follows legal procedures to determine the points about the offense.
Conclusion
These two models may be competing ideologies in criminal justice, but we will discuss how these models can be combined or balanced to work together. The first conflict between these models often concerns the values they consider most important in the criminal justice system, the criminal model, and the due process model.
Did you know what these two models reflect? The crime control model reflects conservative values, while the due process model reflects liberal values.