Describe the possible future of law enforcement if the crime control model dominates, and the possible future if the due process model dominates.
If law enforcement in the future increasingly reflects the principles and policies of the crime control model, then Americans might expect fewer limitations on how the police attempt to combat crime. However, if there is a shift to the principles and policies of the due process model, Americans should expect existing limitations on how the police combat crime to remain intact or even to be expanded.
Describe the possible future of the administration of justice if the crime control model dominates, and the possible future if the due process model dominates.
If the crime control model dominates the administration of justice in the future, then the right to legal counsel at critical pre- and posttrial stages may be scaled back significantly, the preliminary hearing may be abolished, and the use of pretrial detention may be expanded; there may be fewer criminal trials and more plea bargaining, and appeals may be strongly discouraged and limited. If the due process model dominates, then the current right to counsel at a variety of critical stages in the process is likely to be maintained or, perhaps, extended somewhat (for example, to appeals beyond the first one); the grand jury may be eliminated; plea bargaining probably will be discouraged, and the number of criminal cases that go to trial is therefore likely to increase substantially; and there will probably be no limitations on the right to appeal.
Identify perhaps the most divisive issue that will confront correctional policy makers in the future.
Perhaps the most divisive issue that will confront correctional policy makers in the future is whether increasingly scarce resources will be devoted more to punishment (to achieve the goals of retribution and incapacitation) or to rehabilitation (to achieve the goals of specific deterrence and successful reintegration).
Describe the possible future of corrections.
Most people knowledgeable about corrections in the United States paint a rather bleak picture of its future: an increasing number of offenders under correctional supervision, consuming larger and larger proportions of state and federal budgets. Future expenditures of tax dollars on corrections by governments at all levels will be made grudgingly, after much wrangling and debate. Every attempt will be made to carry out corrections functions as inexpensively as possible.
List some of the cost-reduction strategies likely to be advocated in corrections in the future.
Among the cost-reduction strategies likely to be advocated in corrections in the future are various alternatives to incarceration. However, cost savings from those alternatives may be illusory. Another cost reduction strategy likely to receive increasing support in the future is the privatization of corrections. A third cost reduction strategy, and potentially the most effective one, is the use of new technology.
Explain what identity theft is and describe the extent of the problem in the United States.
Identity theft is the transfer or use without legal authority the identification documentation of another person with the intent to commit, aid, or abet any unlawful activity that constitutes a felony. Identity theft is widespread. According to a recent survey commissioned by the Federal Trade Commission, nearly 10 million Americans may have been victims of some type of identity theft in 2002, and as many as 27 million Americans may have been victims of identity theft during the 5 years between 1998 and 2002.
Summarize the reasons why transnational organized crime poses special problems for law enforcement.
One reason transnational organized crime poses special problems for law enforcement is that many transnational organized crime groups use legitimate import-export companies, service industries, or multinational financial institutions as fronts for their illegal activities. Sometimes organized crime groups nest themselves inside legitimate businesses; other times they control them. Many groups employ experts in the use of global technology and conduct market research to determine where to operate. They can also hide behind national borders and take advantage of the jurisdictional limitations or confusion of law enforcement. In addition, many transnational organized crime groups can claim among their members present and former state officials and military and state intelligence agency personnel whose expertise often gives the crime groups an advantage over local law enforcement officials. Another problem is that some countries have no statutory or popular basis for preventing transnational organized crime.
Describe some of the challenges faced by criminal justice in the age of terror.
A major challenge for criminal justice is to fight the war on terrorism without threatening the very rights and freedoms that the war on terrorism is trying to preserve. Another challenge is to create the institutions, such as the Department of Homeland Security, to fight the war on terrorism. The FBI has the challenge of shifting its priorities from being a federal police agency to being an intelligence and counterterrorism agency. Local law enforcement agencies have the challenge of preventing terrorist acts and responding to them when they occur, without engaging in racial or ethnic profiling.
