THE ONGOING DEBATE: CRIME CONTROL V. DUE PROCESS PROTECTION

Hour______

  1. To be safe and secure in person and home is a fundamentaldesire of nearly everyone. In fact, the concept of common welfare is, to many people synonymous with effective law and order in American society today. Contemporary society has become increasingly alarmed about the crime explosion in America, which has affected every community in the nation to some degree.
  1. An equally important and valued goal in our society is preserving and protecting the individual liberties that are found in the first eight amendments to the United States Constitution. Some of these highly valued rights are: the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury; the protection against unreasonable searches and seizures; the freedoms from being tried twice for the same crime; and the protection against self-incrimination. There are additional, equally important rights, found in the Bill of Rights.
  1. Identify and elaborate on several reasons why there is so much crime in our society. Why do people commit crimes? Think about the crimes you read about/hear about on the news.

There are essentially 2 different general philosophies of criminal law – the CRIME CONTROL MODEL and the DUE PROCESS MODEL

The CRIME CONTROL MODEL states:

  1. The most important concern is that society must be made safer and criminals must go to jail.
  2. If an innocent person goes to jail, it is the price we pay for an orderly, safe society.
  3. Most of the people charged with crimes are probably guilty and should go to jail.
  4. The courts have been overly concerned with protecting Constitutional rights, and the result has been that guilty persons have gone free.

The DUE PROCESS MODEL states:

  1. The protection of individual liberties is extremely important because when one person’s rights are violated all of society’s rights are at stake.
  2. It is better that a guilty person occasionally remains free from going to jail that for individual rights to be eroded.
  3. The guarantees of the Bill of Rights must be strictly followed from the point of initial contact with law enforcement authorities through the point of imprisonment if that is the outcome.
  4. Society must be willing to sacrifice efficiency in order to protect rights.

2. Summarize what each model says. What are the main differences?

3. Discuss which model you most agree with. What are the strengths and weaknesses of each model?

4. Is it possible to effectively control crime in our society while at the same time protect the individual rights of the people from infringement by the government? Discuss this.