Criminal justice is defined by the government’s policies and laws that ensure the culprits and wrongdoers get treated by law enforcement agencies. The criminal justice system however changes from country to country depending upon the agility and accuracy of law enforcement agencies in controlling crime. The purpose of criminal justice is to enforce the law throughout the country, control and prevent crimes, and provide safety to its citizens. Criminal justice is achieved by applying rules and regulations enforced by judicial institutions and arresting and punishing criminals who attempt to break these rules (Cole, Smith, DeJong, 2012, pp,126).
The Crime Control Model, presented by Herbert L. Packer is based on the process of declaring the guilty, efficiently, accurately, and without delay. Law enforcers have a responsibility to obey the laws, as they too cannot escape the grip of the judiciary even if they are a part of criminal justice. The model aims to provide society with its individual rights and penalize those who go against the law. This model states that enforcement of the law increases the power of agencies and results in a reduction in the crime rate by penalizing and castigating the criminals. The crime control model ensures the acquisition of criminals without delay and provides a post-arrest process to ensure that criminals are punished for their doings. This system should be able to arrest, the convicts and dispose of the offenders.
Parker’s Crime Control Model helps ensure that civil evaluations are properly understood. To work at its best, efficiency must be ensured in the judicial system. The failure of law enforcement agencies to eliminate criminals is considered a reason for public disorder and a decline in society’s security (Jaishankar, 2009, pp, 261).
The Crime Control Model is more applicable in deterring crimes today. The research indicates that today’s criminal activity rate in unified crime reports in America is higher than in the last decade (Lynch 2004, pp., 59). The statistics can be used to prove a global increase in crime rate and the increase in crime rate in America. The cause of such a high rate is the introduction of the latest technology used in organized crime, like cyber security crimes, internet thievery, identity and credit card fraud, and organized terrorism. These new types of organized crimes are more active as people have started using technology in their money transactions. This scenario requires an efficient and reliable criminal justice process, which can be achieved by applying the Crime Control Model.
Applying the Crime Control Model helps policymakers and experts in crime prevention work more effectively in building a civilized society. However, many crime control models need strategies like increased police patrol, internet surveillance, sting operations, and raids. Still, these steps are necessary for ultimate peace in society. However, applying the crime control model can sometimes cause collateral damage. In Morgantown, once, a raid that was intended to find drugs in the house of a 72-year-old woman was considered a failed attempt as the team only acquired tomato and pepper plants. It can also result in the loss of precious human life, like the example of a drug raid that resulted in the death of a 75-year-old minister, these kinds of incidents are likely to happen in the “war against drugs” and are considered acceptable losses, in the war against organized crime, and for the safety of our youth from the savage drug mafia.
The crime control model has proved to be dynamic and efficient in maintaining societal peace and order. Its correct application and efficient criminal justice system discourage many people from attempting a crime. The strategies to be applied in this model are supposed to decrease the crime rate, allowing governments to efficiently and accurately perform the judicial process and ensure timely penalization of criminals. Our future is often determined not by the steps we intend to take, but by the uncontrollable events that happen while pursuing our mission. In short, the Crime Control Model can help criminal justice agencies set a clear and focused philosophy in the war against crimes and help them achieve their goals of providing security and freedom in society.
References
Cole, G. F., Smith, C. E., & DeJong, C. (2018). The American system of criminal justice. Cengage Learning.
Jaishankar, K. (Ed.). (2009). International perspectives on crime and justice. K. Jaishankar.
Lynch, J. P., & Addington, L. A. (Eds.). (2006). Understanding Crime Statistics: Revisiting the Divergence of the NCVS and the UCR. Cambridge University Press.
Packer, H. L. (1964). Two models of the criminal process. U. Pa. L. Rev., 113, 1.
