Learning Objectives

As a result of reading this chapter, you will be able to

  • Explain the importance of studying and understanding our criminal justice system
  • Describe the foundations of our criminal justice system, including its legal and historical bases and the difference between the consensus and conflict theories of justice
  • Define the crime control and due process models of criminal justice
  • Describe the importance of discretion throughout the justice system
  • Describe the fundamentals of the criminal justice process—the offender’s flow through the police, courts, and corrections components, and the functions of each component
  • Explain the wedding cake model of criminal justice
  • Discuss the importance of ethics and character in criminal justice