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3.1 INTRODUCTION Figure 1 3.3.1 Environmental factors Environmental risk factors include the physical, social, family, community, economic, cultural and political environments in which an individual lives. Impoverished physical, social and family environments have long been considered to be primary determinants of the development of criminal behaviour. Living in poverty, isolation from social support and being raised in a violent family are examples of these types of environmental risk factors. A lack of community cohesion in one's neighbourhood, poor economic conditions in society and conflict-ridden cultural and political environments are also potential risk factors for crime. The rate of unemployment, extent of use of the welfare system and the varying levels of education in society can all influence the structure and operation of the criminal justice system. For example, higher rates of unemployment can have an impact on levels of crime, which in turn will affect all sectors of the CJS. 3.3.2 Individual factors Individual risk factors include mental and physical health status, demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, attitudes and beliefs, and lifestyles and behaviour. Poor health status may increase one's risk for involvement in crime. Certain socio-demographic characteristics such as age and sex may be the strongest determinants of criminal behaviour. There is also a vast literature in criminology relating crime to antisocial attitudes and beliefs and to involvement with delinquent peers and the associated lifestyles and behaviours. These individual risk factors must also be considered when looking at the broader context of the criminal justice system. Although Version 1.0 of the Framework concentrates primarily on data that are potentially available from criminal justice agencies and victimisation surveys, there are other sources that can provide data about these context issues. The relationship between health and crime illustrates this need for considering the broader context in which the criminal justice system operates. Drug use crosses the boundary between the health care system and the criminal justice system; a full understanding of drug use in society requires analysis of data from both systems. For example, accident and injury data, hospital admissions data and perhaps data from self-reports of offending behaviour can help to broaden the picture of crime using data beyond that available from the criminal justice system. This issue also clearly demonstrates the importance of having relatable data not only within the CJS but across social service and other agencies concerned with crime and criminal offenders. 3.4 CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM PROCESSES 3.4.1 Stock and flow model In order to satisfy the complex needs for information about the criminal justice system, a stock and flow model has been adopted as a partial underpinning to the Framework. This model can provide statistics on population groups at particular points in time (stock) such as those traditionally measured by criminal justice statistical collections (such as a stocktake of prisoner population at the end of the financial year). It can also provide measures of the flow through the criminal justice system over a given period (for example, the number of persons charged by police, the number of defendants finalised by the courts or the number of persons received into prison) and the rate of the flow (for example, duration of court cases, time served in prison). Flow statistics can provide very different pictures of the criminal justice system. Adapting a stock and flow model to the establishment of statistical collections provides the capacity to identify various statistical populations, each of which describes different aspects of the criminal justice process. This provides a powerful and flexible statistical model that enables a broad range of user needs to be satisfied. Another advantage is that it provides additional mechanisms for assuring data quality by enabling information from interconnecting elements of the criminal justice system to be compared directly. 3.4.2 Sequence and consequence in the criminal justice system The criminal justice system can be represented as a complex series of stages, each comprising one or more particular processes that together make up the system as a whole. The way in which this system operates is both sequential and consequential. The sequential element refers to the fact that events occurring within the system generally take place in a particular chronological order. At its most general level, the criminal justice system is comprised of four main stages: 1) Some sort of potentially criminal incident occurs. 2) The criminal justice system becomes aware of the incident (through a call for service or through its own investigation) and further investigates to determine whether a crime occurred. 3) The criminal justice system determines if criminal responsibility exists and applies some form of penalty or obligation as the result of a finding of liability or guilt. 4) The criminal justice system manages the penalty or obligation. Figure 2 The consequential element of the system refers to the fact that decisions or activities that take place during earlier stages of the sequence have important effects on subsequent stages. For example, police activities in investigating or detecting crimes will have an impact on the number of charges brought before the courts. Similarly, the nature of sentencing decisions made by magistrates and judges will influence the situation in corrective services, such as demand for prison accommodation. It is this consequential interdependency among the sectors of the criminal justice system that would make the integration of administrative data such a valuable tool in the more effective operation of the system as a whole. 3.4.3 General processes of the criminal justice system The description of the CJS used in the Framework illustrates the basic, typical flow of events through this system. In reality, the CJS does not have a single flow of events, as individuals do not flow neatly from one process to another. This model should thus be seen as a simplification of the CJS as it exists in practice. The flow of the CJS is illustrated in the diagram below. Figure 3 (updated 3/9/2001) This model should really be seen as a simplification of the criminal justice system as it exists in practice. In reality, the criminal justice system does not have a single flow of events, and individuals do not flow neatly from one process to another. It is important that the statistical framework also provide a discussion of some of the complexities of the criminal justice system, in order to illustrate the alternative processes that may be found therein. This discussion will be presented in Chapter 4. 3.5 SUMMARY The criminal justice system represents the official response to crime. As criminal behaviour is affected by social and economic factors, so too is the CJS. The processes of this system consist of a complex series of stages that the Framework attempts to describe.
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