Crime

Sociologist say there are two main ways to describe crime, the due process model and the crime control model. The country tends to cycle between these two where the one concentrates on rights of criminals and the other on the rights of victims. The back bone of due process is innocent until proven guilty. It is a slow process as the case works its way through the legal system ending often times in the courtroom. To take pressure off the courts and to promote a speedy trial, the system uses plea bargaining. This allows defendants to negotiate with the prosecutors office to reach a settlement without going to court. The second called crime control places the emphasis on the victim and demands punishment for anyone convicted. It can best be seen in the three strikes and your out, the stop and frisk policy and the broken windows policy which is where low level crime is punished to deter more serious crimes. In the first model, experts point out the many reasons why a criminal acted the way he did. Others say this allows the criminal to place the blame on something or someone other than himself. Like Flip Wilson saying the devil made me do it. They say each person must accept the responsibility for their own behavior. The second model or the get tough on crime version can and often does jail people for non violent crimes and can be racist when misused. In street talk it says don't do the crime if you can't do the time. We are presently moving from a due process model to a crime prevention model.