Start studying Chapter 12: Metapopulations (Exam 2). Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.
The Structure of Criminal Justice. The phrase criminal justice system refers to a collection of federal, state, and local public agencies that deal with the crime problem. These agencies process suspects, defendants, and convicted offenders and are interdependent insofar as the decisions of one agency affect other agencies.
Punishment should be swift and certain. The purpose of the criminal justice system is to prevent crime through deterrence. According to this line of thinking, a potential criminal will decide against committing a crime because the punishment would be too costly.