Essay on Week 1 Checkpoint

Submitted By KristinMarie75
Words: 371
Pages: 2

Week 1 CheckPoint: Models of the Criminal Justice System
Kristin M. Sullivan
March 25, 2011
Ed W Campbell, B.S., M.M., M.B.A.

In order to develop an understanding of the American criminal justice system, one must recognize and evaluate the values that operate within the system. Many fundamental decisions are influenced by the nature of these values: to punish or to protect? · Resources: Pages 18-20 of Criminal Justice in Action · Write a 200- to 300-word response comparing and contrasting the two models for the American criminal justice system: the crime control model and the due process model. Which aspect of the system do you believe is more effective? Explain why.

With the Crime Control Model, you have where it assumes the police are more capable of determining guilt or innocence than the actual court system. It also states that law enforcement must be counted on to control criminal activity which is difficult at best. The Due Process Model makes it harder to prove guilt in the court system. It basically states that the state must prove without a reasonable doubt that someone is guilty. I myself prefer the Crime Control Model. Living in a small apartment complex that has had several criminal activity problems lately makes me want things done and done right now. I don’t want to wait for due process and have to see that if someone is in fact guilty that they just get to continue to…