Two Models of the Criminal Process - Essay Example

The Crime Control model is mostly conservative. It is notable that the nature of the political environment and societal composition very often dictate which model the criminal justice system should take to guarantee justice.

Crime Control On the one hand, Packer (1968) describes Crime Control Model as "assembly-line justice." This implies that the model advocates for the belief in individual guilt. For instance, if a person has been apprehended and charged with a criminal offense, they have to be presumed culpable and should be punished for their misconduct. This theory believes the criminal justice system was developed to control criminal conduct among individuals (Levesque, 2006). Due Process On the other hand, the due process model holds that individuals charged with various crimes are generally innocent until proven otherwise.

In light of this, any individual charged with an offense should be allowed to enjoy certain unalienable rights. Packer (1968) described the due process model as drawing several similarities from an obstacle in the quest for granting criminal suspects punitive treatment and or sentences. The primary aim of the due process model is that, except for cases whereby suspected criminal offenders hold society to ransom, they should be granted freedom until they are declared culpable. The model supports the notion that the primary aim of criminal justice is to safeguard the rights of the innocent and condemn the guilty.

Investigations According to Levesque (2006), the crime control model upholds credible outcomes of police investigations, and as such, police should have sweeping powers as far as fighting crime is concerned. By handling criminal suspects under police custody as if they are culpable of a criminal offense, cases could be resolved as quickly as possible. Crime control, therefore, speeds up the administration of justice. In contrast, the due process model recognizes the importance of police activity in guaranteeing justice to members of society.

However, the powers of law enforcement officers should be restricted to avoid cases of abuse or maltreatment of criminal suspects. Due process advocates for accountability of various stakeholders in the criminal justice process, which can be achieved by putting in place various procedures and regulations to guard against injustices and inconsistencies in the administration of justice. Criminal Process Crime control allows suspects to enter plea bargains with trial juries. The model expands the role of pretrial detectives, in which case, the guilty are motivated to plead guilty.

More police powers under crime control mean the institution should base its operations upon modern technology (Levesque, 2006). Due process holds that limitations in the work of police officers should be imposed or even get extended because they are human and can make mistakes. The trial bench is seen as reading from the same script as prosecutors and as such, it should have limited roles to play in the administration of justice. Appeals are highly encouraged under Due Process Model.