Explanation of the Emergence of Competing Models of Criminal Justice in Recent Decades

Today, the United States incarcerates more of its citizens per capita than any other country on earth, and this outcome is largely the result of the crime control model of criminal justice that has been predominate over the past several decades. Things may be changing, though, as the due process model becomes the criminal justice model of choice for a growing number of states. These two models represent the culmination of centuries of debate concerning the optimal approach to criminal justice, and there have been a number of other models used in the past. To determine how the current outcome emerged, the purpose of this paper is to review and discuss the relevant literature to provide an explanation concerning the factors that have historically influenced the type of criminal justice system that is in place in the United States. Following this review, the paper presents a summary of the research and important findings concerning the emergence of competing models of criminal justice in recent decades in the conclusion.

Review and Discussion

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, there are six competing models of criminal justice as follows:

1. The due process model -- exacting justice between equal parties;

2. The crime control model -- punishing wrong and preventing further crime;

3. The bureaucratic model -- controlling crime and criminals;

4. The medical model -rehabilitating offenders;

5. The status passage model -- publicly denouncing the crime and criminal; and,

6. The power model -- maintaining domination by the ruling class and reinforcing class values (King, 1981).

Of these six foregoing models, the crime control and due process models have been the two most commonly used in the United States over the past several decades, with the former predominating for the majority of the 20th century.

Given the high stakes and countless types of criminal acts that plague modern society that are involved, it is little wonder that formulating an optimal criminal justice model has been a challenging enterprise for American lawmakers over the years. As the research that follows shows, though, public opinion is among the major factors that have influenced the type of criminal justice system that is in place at any given point in the nations history. For example, on the one hand, American society expects the criminal justice system to punish individuals for any crimes they commit commensurate with their severity. Proponents of this type of get tough on crime approach therefore subscribe to the crime control model. Taken to its extreme, the crime control model would incarcerate...

…This point is made in a seminal study by Roach (1999) who notes, Ever since Herbert Packer published Two Models of the Criminal Process in 1964, much thinking about criminal justice has been influenced by the construction of models. Models provide a useful way to cope with the complexity of the criminal process (p. 671). The due process and crime control models identified by Packer have subsequently become the two competing models in the American criminal justice system (Roach, 1999).

Conclusion

While the crime control model would lock em up and throw away the key regardless of any extenuating circumstances, the due process model seeks to afford everyone with their constitutional rights no matter how long it requires or how expensive the process. From a strictly pragmatic perspective, it is reasonable to conclude that the American criminal justice system would quickly grind to a halt if the plea crime control models bargaining alternative was eliminated, but it is equally clear that some type of expedient is needed given the massive numbers of laws that are still on the books in many states that make it crime to engage in pursuits such as smoking marijuana. The research was consistent in showing that some type of balance between these two competing models is therefore still necessary unless and until some…