Future Directions for Research Examining the Notion of Familiarity and Its Impact on the Criminal Justice System

2019 ◽  
pp. 113-118
Author(s):  
Joanna Pozzulo
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Eyewitness Accuracy ◽  
Current State ◽  
System P ◽  
The Future ◽  
System Variables ◽  
Police Practices

This chapter provides a summary of the goals of the book and offers a look to the future in eyewitness familiarity research. The chapter addresses why there has been limited research examining familiarity within an eyewitness context. Next, it describes the current state of the field in terms of studying familiarity through four themes: (1) the limited amount of research utilizing familiarity in an eyewitness context; (2) the importance of focusing on system variables, such as police practices and procedures, that may exacerbate errors in familiarity cases; (3) the importance of understanding the interaction between familiarity and estimator variables that may increase or decrease eyewitness accuracy; and (4) the influence of familiarity claims in the courtroom. This chapter concludes with a discussion of the importance of studying familiarity in terms of the criminal justice system.

Familiarity and Conviction in the Criminal Justice System

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Pozzulo ◽  
Emily Pica ◽  
Chelsea Sheahan
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Eyewitness Identification ◽  
Cognitive Theory ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
Eyewitness Accuracy ◽  
System P ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Jury Decision

Eyewitnesses are likely to have some degree of familiarity with a perpetrator when a crime is committed. Despite the fact that the majority of crimes are committed by someone with whom the victim/witness is familiar, the majority of eyewitness research has focused on the identification of stranger perpetrators. It is critical to examine how familiarity may influence eyewitness accuracy. Familiarity can vary from a complete stranger to a very familiar other. This book explores the “middle ground” as it relates to the criminal justice system, namely describing perpetrators, eyewitness identification, and jury decision-making. The purpose of this book is to consolidate the literature that exists regarding familiarity and to apply this research to an eyewitness context. This book attempts to better understand how familiarity may impact eyewitnesses and to highlight key considerations when an eyewitness is familiar with a perpetrator while collecting eyewitness evidence and using it in a courtroom. This is achieved through an in-depth discussion of the definition of familiarity, the examination of critical social psychological and cognitive theory in relation to familiarity, a description of the current literature examining eyewitness familiarity, a discussion of familiarity evidence in the courtroom, and a proposal for future directions and research.

Instrumental and Symbolic Politics in Policing

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheryl Allsop
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
The Political ◽  
Police Legitimacy ◽  
Symbolic Politics ◽  
Political Background ◽  
Cold Case ◽  
Police Practices

This chapter considers the development of, and growing interest in, cold case reviews, distinguishing between the instrumental and symbolic politics which surround their development. What becomes clear in this chapter is that the rise in interest can be attributed to a number of individual and interlocking events, including changes in police legitimacy, the introduction of a number of police reforms, and initiatives resulting in changes to police practices, pressure from victims’ rights groups for more attention from the criminal justice system, and advances in scientific techniques and technologies with increasing uses found for them. The chapter briefly considers the political background to cold case reviews, and how this connects with the broader politics of policing along with the instrumental politics of maintaining major crime review teams and the symbolic politics which helps to justify expenditure in cold case reviews.

10. Race, ethnicities, and the criminal justice system

2021 ◽  
pp. 273-307
Author(s):  
Neena Samota
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Race And Ethnicity ◽  
Justice System ◽  
State Level ◽  
System P ◽  
The Us ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Uk

This chapter explores the broader context and history of race-related issues in the UK, considering why racial disparities persist in diverse societies like the US, Australia, Canada, and the UK, before narrowing the focus to race and ethnicity in the sphere of crime and criminal justice. The concepts of ‘race’ and ‘ethnicity’ have long played major roles in both classroom and broader societal discussions about crime, punishment, and justice, but they have arguably never been more present and visible than today. The chapter looks at the problems with the statistics available on race, ethnicity, and crime, noting the ways in which they may not tell the whole story, before considering the statistics themselves as the chapter discusses the relationships between ethnicity and victimisation and offending. It then moves on to how ethnic minorities experience the various elements of the criminal justice system and the disadvantages they often face, before outlining the attempts that have been made to address these disparities at a state level. Finally, the chapter discusses critical race theory, a key theory in modern criminological examinations of race and its relationship to crime and justice, which grew out of the US but has much broader value and relevance as a framework of analysis.

5. The criminal justice system

2019 ◽  
pp. 91-155
Author(s):  
Martin Partington
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Current System ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Criminal Cases ◽  
System P ◽  
Social Theories ◽  
Sentencing Policy ◽  
Post Trial

This chapter focuses on the criminal justice system. It contains summaries of the different social theories that underpin both the criminal justice system and the fundamental principles relating to sentencing policy. The system is examined in three segments: pre-trial stages, trial stage, and post-trial stages. Each is discussed in turn. This chapter emphasizes the holistic approach by looking not only at what happens in courts, but also the police station and in post-trial contexts such as parole and criminal cases review. The place of the victim in the system is also considered. Particular emphasis is placed on how the current system is changing in the quest for improved efficiency.

Current Issues in the Criminal Justice System

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
David DeMatteo ◽  
Kirk Heilbrun ◽  
Alice Thornewill ◽  
Shelby Arnold
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Therapeutic Jurisprudence ◽  
Revolving Door ◽  
The Other ◽  
Recidivism Rates ◽  
System P ◽  
Problem Solving Courts

This chapter provides an introduction to the scope of the problems facing the criminal justice system, with a specific focus on the overrepresentation of mental illness and substance abuse among justice-involved individuals. After discussing the “revolving door” and increased incarceration and recidivism rates among mentally ill and drug-involved offenders, the authors introduce therapeutic jurisprudence and the other foundational principles and common themes of problem-solving courts. This discussion illustrates the paradigm shift away from punishment and toward rehabilitation and increased collaboration among different entities within the criminal justice system. The chapter concludes with a brief review of the contents of the volume.

5. The criminal justice system

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Partington
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Current System ◽  
System P ◽  
Social Theories ◽  
Sentencing Policy ◽  
Post Trial

This chapter focuses on the criminal justice system. The chapter contains a summary of the different social theories that underpin the system as well as the fundamental principles relating to sentencing policy. The system is examined in three segments: pre-trial stages, trial stage, and post-trial stages. Each is discussed in turn. Particular emphasis is placed on how the current system is changing.

The English Legal System

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alisdair Gillespie ◽  
Siobhan Weare
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Dispute Resolution ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Alternative Dispute Resolution ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Judicial Independence ◽  
Legal Services ◽  
System P ◽  
Civil Justice System

The English Legal System presents the main areas of the legal system and encourages a critique of the wider aspects of how law is made and reformed. The book is structured in five parts. Part I looks at the sources of law including domestic and international sources. Part II looks at the courts and the practitioners. It considers the structure of the courts and tribunals, judges and judicial independence, the legal professions, and funding legal services. Part III examines the criminal justice system. It describes issues related to lay justice, trials, and criminal appeals. The next part is about the civil justice system. It looks at civil litigation, remedies, appeals and alternative dispute resolution. The final part looks to the future.

Suggestibility in the Courtroom

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona Gabbert ◽  
Lorraine Hope
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Legal Process ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
System P ◽  
Investigative Process

Due to the constructive nature of memory, recollections for events are easily contaminated or distorted by information encountered after the event took place. People can therefore mistakenly report information that has been suggested to them, but that they have not in reality experienced. In light of this well-documented memory fallibility, the current chapter explores how memory can be distorted during the investigative and legal process. Key factors affecting the reliability of eyewitness statements are discussed, including stress and arousal, intoxication, and individual differences in vulnerability to suggestion. The chapter examines when people are most likely to be vulnerable to suggestion and focuses, in particular, on how memory can be distorted during the investigative process as a result of poor interviewing practice and co-witness contamination. The chapter concludes with consideration of how best to minimize the negative effects of suggestibility for the criminal justice system

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