Deck 14: The Criminal Justice System

Question 1

What are aspects of the system that appear to undermine fairness in the eyes of the public from time to time?

Answer 1

Student's might include the following in their responses:
-Inappropriate parole
-Concurrent sentences rather than cumulative sentences
-'Suspended' sentences (where a person does not serve the sentence in custody
-Statutes of limitations (periods beyond which a person cannot be charged)
-Suppressions related to the names of juvenile (or selected other offenders)
-Circumstances where a guilty person is released without conviction or penalty.

Question 2

Those deemed unfit to stand trial (because of an abnormality of mind) or who are mentally impaired at the time of committing an offence are usually housed in a special wing within maximum security prisons.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Outline and make comment on why the case surrounding the murder of Jill Meagher was considered a 'catastrophic failure of justice'.

Answer 3

Responses might include:
-Jill Meagher was raped and murdered by Adrian Bayley in September 2012
-Bayley had a long history with the criminal justice system
-At age 19, he raped a 16-year-old and attempted to rape another.He served 22 months of a five-year sentence
-Raped five women and served 8 years of an 11-year sentence
-He was released on parole and in February 2012, admitted to punching a man unconscious; he received a three-month sentence which he successfully appealed
-He was still on parole at the time of Ms Meagher's rape and murder
-The parole order should have been revoked when he admitted to physical assault in February 2012
-The case highlighted serious concerns about probation, parole and bail decisions (especially for those with serious and violent histories of offending), decision making not being informed by research
-It also raised concerns around sentencing.Bayley received 15 years out of a possible 25 years; in combination with a 'life sentence' for the murder and non-parole period of 35 years, he could be free at age 76

Question 4

Which of the following is not an institution of the criminal justice system?

A)Police
B)Courts
C)Community services
D)Corrective services

Question 5

Notions of retribution and restitution are derived from the theoretical perspective, ethical formalism.What does 'ethical formalism' refer to?

Question 6

What are the aims of the criminal justice system?

A)Discretion, deterrence, incapacitation, punishment, restitution
B)Prevention, deterrence, punishment, rehabilitation, discretion
C)Retribution, restitution, deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation
D)Discretion, deterrence, rehabilitation, punishment, prevention

Question 7

What does the term 'separation of powers' refer to?

Question 8

Discuss the two-part structure of corrective service departments.

Question 9

A study conducted in 2007 about public confidence in the criminal justice system published which of the following results by respondents:

A)88 per cent lacked confidence in corrections to rehabilitate offenders
B)85 per cent lacked confidence in corrections to deter offenders
C)59 per cent lacked confidence in corrections to punish offenders
D)All of these options apply

Question 10

The number of people on remand is an ongoing issue.Discuss.

Question 11

How effective is punishment as a deterrent to crime?