Criminal Justice

This is an introductory text, providing an overview of the agencies that make up the criminal justice process in England and Wales, outlining their legal responsibilities and tasks, and the contextual constraints that influence the operations of the agencies. The book explains the legal and social factors that shape the operations of the agencies and the criminal justice system. It also identifies the policy issues and discusses recent policy reforms that have an impact on the operation of the criminal justice system.Part 1 Criminal justice: defining criminal justice; criminal justice in England and Wales; principles, systems and models of criminal justice; criminal justice legislation; chronology of key criminal justice dates. Part 2 Images of crime: images and definitions of crime; criminal liability and criminal defences; sources of public information on crime; theories of criminal behaviour. Part 3 How much crime?: crime and its impact; Home Office statistics on crime; British crime survey; public and police influence on the crime statistics. Part 4 The police: the role and development of policing; organization and accountability; police powers; discretion in police work; discrimination and police culture. Part 5 Prosecution and diversion: cautioning; the Crown Prosecution Service; juvenile justice; mentally disordered offenders. Part 6 Criminal courts and pre-trial procedure: magistrate's court and the Crown Court; rights of the defendant in court; bail, custody or summons; mode of trial decisions. Part 7 Establishing guilt: role of the trial; participants in the trial; trial procedure and evidence; plea and sentence negotiations. Part 8 Sentencing process and procedure: aims of sentencing; types of sentences; sentencing procedure; factors influencing sentencing decisions; structuring sentencing decisions. Part 9 Punishment philosophies and shifting penal paradigms: the era of rehabilitation; justice approach; the prison reductionists; the Criminal Justice Act 1991; sentencing for whom? Part 10 Prisons: origins of the penitentiary; prisons in England and Wales in the 1990s; prison population; impact of imprisonment on inmates; aims of the prison service - do prisons work?; Woolf report. Part 11 Community and crime: the probation and after care service and community sanctions; community policing; crime prevention and safer cities; victims; vigilantes. Part 12 Conclusion.