Exam 2: The Structure and Process of Criminal Justice

Jenna is a police officer who often encounters young offenders in her day-to-day activities. If these offenders have not committed a serious crime and have a limited criminal history, Jenna is likely to avoid pursuing formal criminal charges. Which of the following best explains this behaviour?

Make a list of the potential benefits and possible difficulties with the exercise of discretion at various stages of the criminal justice system. Consideration should be given to the following questions: Should there be any controls on the exercise of discretion by criminal justice personnel? If not, why not? If so, what types of control should exist at the various stages of the criminal justice system?

The federal government has the absolute power to create, amend, and repeal criminal law for the entire country.

Diane is a police officer with conservative political values who believes in the protection of victim rights over those of alleged offenders. Which of the following models aligns most clearly with these beliefs?

Researchers agree that criminal justice should be considered a sub-field of criminology.

Theo is interested in studying public perceptions of long-term offenders. Which of the following fields does this research best fit into?

The terms criminology and criminal justice can be used interchangeably, since they are different terms with a shared definition.

Which of the following criminal justice system employees is NOT among those typically immune from prosecution?

There are few obstacles to the sharing of information among criminal justice agencies.

Identify and explain the basic principles of an adversarial criminal justice system.

Disparity in decision making in the criminal justice system is due, in large measure, to the considerable discretion available to criminal justice personnel.

Consider the Clifford Olsen and Shawn Lamb cases (Box 2.1) in Chapter 2. How do you feel about the practice of paying murderers for information about their crimes? Does this raise ethical concerns? Why or why not? Use examples to support your position.

Discuss whether Canadians are receiving "value for service" with respect to expenditures on the criminal justice system.

Criminal justice expenditures have increased over the past 10 years.

Housing a male maximum security inmate costs more than $100,000 per year.

Explore the factors that prevent the criminal justice system from operating as a system. Following a discussion of these factors, identify potential strategies to mitigate these factors in order to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the criminal justice system. Identify the potential obstacles to the implementation of these strategies.

Which of the following describes the exercise of discretion by criminal justice personnel?

What is meant by the assertion that the criminal justice system is a "human enterprise," and what are the implications of this for how the justice system operates?

Luke is a criminal defense attorney with liberal political values who believes in procedural fairness and protecting the rights of all involved in a criminal incident (including alleged offenders). Which of the following models aligns most clearly with these beliefs?

Research shows that for deterrence to be effective, punishment must be certain and applied in a timely fashion.