Habert Packer's due process and crime control models in American criminal justice

Criminal Justice Policies

Criminal Justice and Policies

M2D1: Applying Due Process and Crime Control

Habert Packer was the core founder of due process model and crime control model that aimed at reducing the alarming rate of crime in America. Crime control model emphasizes more on human freedom and calls for the suppression of crime. The model puts human interest first and encourages efficiency, finality and speed to apprehend any criminal with less effort on human rights. On the other hand, due process model encourages freedom but insists more on reliable data and evidence to support a criminal act for the release of the individual. Unlike the model of crime control, it emphasizes on human rights whenever the person has committed crime (Cole, 2012).

Patriot Act

Patriot Act was put forth by George Bush to control the rate of terrorism in America. The Act emphasized more on monitoring the infrastructure that terrorist might user to commit crimes other than getting down to surveying individuals. Surveillance of communication systems, immigration frauds and mails are used to gather information on possible links of terrorism. It executes warranties of arrest to any individual presumed to be a terrorist, and allows the conduction of mass arrest regardless of the place of warranty issuance.

Patriot Act advances crime control model, in that it allows for mass arrest, as long as he or she is suspected to be a terrorist. Mass arrest implies mass conduction of hearing, which enables the hearing process to be fast as explained by the crime control model. The Act has also abolished any legal barriers that may hinder law enforcement when it comes to terrorists. This, hence, does not focus on human rights but instead on quick conduction of justice, as explained by the crime control model (Regoli, 2012).

Implications of Patriot Act

The Act has changed the relationship between the citizens and the federal government itself. Criminal justice authority, police, courts, and legal justice systems have been affected by the Act, in that ultimate power have been given to the criminal justice team to investigate and deal with any terrorists and related crimes. The citizens lead a quality life, due the surveillance via technology, and constant monitoring of infrastructure to do away with terrorists (Sowers, 2008). Both philosophies of Habert explain how criminal activities should be dealt with and the baseline on how to go about different crimes. Patriot Act is an example of criminal control model, which aims at suppressing terrorist attacks in America. All crimes should follow legal criminal justice procedures whilst seeking justice.

M2D2: Social Construction of Reality

Introduction

Social constructivism builds reality and is gained from the cultures of different societies, societal knowledge on realities matters and societal interaction. For societal constructivism, knowledge is the key role in building societal knowledge. People undergo the same process of learning reality and knowledge, however, the impact is different to all individuals.

This principle explains individual's reactions towards dehumanizing social responses that in the end add up to a crime committed. The theories under social constructivism explain aggressive law enforcement strategies that are laid to prevent illegal activities, and effort made by legal local authorities to prevent criminal activities (Miller, 2009).

The theoretical orientations are a lens for the legal frameworks to control crime and create ample environment for criminal justice to be practiced. Justice is achieved through construction of metaphors and theoretical lens that aid to explain crime and the relevant justice process. Metaphors and theoretical lens are achieved by setting up theories that explain the situation, and aid crime control agencies in controlling crime level (Magwire, 2010).

Chicano youth gang members are always associated with crime and homicide in the Chicano community. The gangs are portrayed via the media as the cause of constant violence and the alarming rate of homicide in Chicano community, which has caused moral panic. The gangs are viewed to be psychologically unfit since they use drugs that constantly take over themselves and cause the violence by the gangs. The gang is portrayed as individualistic, and its members face social problems that prompt them to commit a crime. Consequentially, several policies are laid to aid the youths facing social problems and aid the youths in their study, and interacting with the youths to understand their problems (Stanford News Service, 1993).

The public has a negative picture of the Chicano youth gang due to the moral panic created. The fact that the gang controls over the lives of their community and show a sense of belonging to them shows aggressiveness of the gang to commit a crime. Ethnic differences, gender and poor background results to the gang, as well as geographical differences. The police aid in enforcing the procedures required in minimizing crime, in Chicano community, by fighting the abolishment of drugs used by the youth gangs. The youths of Chicano, who indulge in crime, are understood as psychologically unfit due to drugs and the justice community tends to find opportunities for the youth to minimize the large number of gangs.

The policies made to resolve the high crime rate in Chicano are socially constructed since they are aimed at improving the social welfare of the Chicano community, especially the youths. The high crime rates are associated with poor social interactionism, and appropriateness in addressing the issue is by socially approaching it. The media fail to link the reality with the Chicano youth gangs, which show the gap between crime and justice. With the theories laid on how to tackle Chicano youth gangs, social improvement of their welfare is appealing to minimize the crime rates.

Case Study: Sagging Pants

Sagging is a form of wearing shorts, trousers or slacks below the waistline exposing part of the wearer's underpants. Sagging of pants is believed to originate from the prisons; where inmate prisoners could be given oversized uniforms without belts for fear that they could commit suicide or use the belts as weapons. Hip hop artists later incorporated sagging into their dressing style and popularized it, and it started spreading from that point, it was viewed as a hip-hop style around 1990's. Other people claimed that sagging was a form of flagging to show homosexuality, although these claims are not proven. Laws recently created in U.S. make it a crime to wear sagging pants (Shmoop, pg. 9).

People who support these laws think that the style of sagging pants is indecent while critics say it might violate freedom of expression. The sagging phenomenon goes to prove the degenerating minds of youths, and what they think as they pass through different stages of life. They create a nonchalant, "don't care "attitude which breeds unfavorable lifestyles, which shows they are more influenced by negative ways more than good ways.

Other Implications

If the issue of pant sagging is not addressed, it will lead to public dissatisfaction, especially from people who have raised concerns. It will also continue the implications on black men as being disrespectful gangsters, or as Cosby says (middle class blacks who are disrespected and despised gangsters, whose egregious behavior is sagging pants). It will also continue the implication that the black represent some unified community which is monolithic so that discrimination to them (blacks) is de-racialized. Other implications are there as seen in the Basketball Association, where they sought to enforce the dress code, stating that hip hop dressing projected an image that tends to alienate middle class members in the audience. The economic implication about sagging pants is that it prevents the youth from getting jobs leading to the high number of unemployed youth especially the blacks.

Recommendations

Some take the ban as a racist move targeting African-Americans, and others think it is a leeway for the police to further harass the young people. The council should think twice before making the new ban and regulations because it is gross to others. Sometimes the law is not the answer to every problem in life, other methods like talking to the children can be incorporated as a way of ending the culture. Anti- sagging campaigns can also be held to outlaw sagging. The Kecoughtan's campaign is a good example because, after the campaign, there was a decrease in sagging. The campaign focused on ban to sagging pants and peer education.

Conclusion

Despite the existing controversy, something should be done to reverse the downward spiral of men especially the blacks. Public policies, which are of benefit to men, especially the black men are needed. Therefore, leadership and different councils should come together to implement workable policies, and create sustained pressure essential for the change needed. Fashion is not a legislative issue, and it is ridiculous to criminalize fashion. Therefore, council members who aim at enacting bills to prevent certain forms of fashion should be careful because such issues are gross. The people who draft the bills do not aim at the blacks but aim at maintaining decency. Proper methods should be incorporated to prevent the negative implications of the policies being put in place. Positive thinking, especially among the blacks should be encouraged, to prevent them from thinking that they are a target group just because of a sagging culture widely spread among them.