Crime control vs due process PDF

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Notes on the difference between the crime control model and the due process model...

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Criminal and Civil Process Two Models of the Criminal Process Crime Control Values emphasises the importance of the repression of criminal behaviour in the most efficient manner. There is a requirement for high rates of arrest and conviction, and a major interest in promoting speed and finality in the criminal justice system. There is, therefore, an emphasis on informal, routine procedures, relying heavily on the work of the police to determine guilt. Consequently, whatever procedures are used presume guilt. Due Process Values The ``due process model'' stresses the need to protect the accused against error. Whereas the crime control model looks like a conveyor-belt approach to criminal justice, the due process model looks more like an obstacle course. Every stage in the due process model assumes the innocence of the accused and requires formidable impediments to be overcome to establish guilt. Therefore, the trial stage is, therefore, essential to the due process model. The rhetoric of the English criminal justice process reflects the due process model, particularly in the period immediately following the enactment of the Human Rights Act 1998. Obvious examples include the presumption of innocence, reflected in the prosecution bearing the burden of proof in a criminal trial, and the ``fair trial'' guarantees of Article 6 of the ECHR Crime Control Values contd. However, it should not be forgotten that there has been a relentless legislative drive towards improving efficiency in the criminal process. Examples of practices that reflect the crime control model in the English process include the many cases being diverted from trial, the channelling of cases into the magistrates' courts, the police occasionally violating the rules governing their powers and many, perhaps too many, guilty pleas being entered. As a result, the crime control model plays a greater role in the English criminal justice system than would at first appear.

the crime control model = more convictions, more mistakes the due process model = fewer convictions, fewer mistakes...