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Low Level Criminal Suspects

ARREST, DETENTION AND DISPOSITION OF LOW LEVEL CRIMINAL SUSPECTS

This research paper discusses the way in which the American criminal justice system processes and deals with adult persons suspected of having committed low level criminal offenses.

1. Types of Cases

a. Kinds of behavior involved. Lower level criminal courts process and dispose of petty offenses, usually misdemeanors, crimes involving maximum sentences of less than one year, and sometimes lesser felonies. Crimes involving defendants under the age of 18 are generally handled by juvenile courts. Traffic offenses not involving vehicular homicide are generally handled in summary fashion by special traffic courts. According to Feeley (1979), his study of the operations of the lower Court of Common Pleas in New Haven, Connecticut in the late 1970s showed that petty offenses account for 80 to 90 percent of all criminal prosecutions (p. 5). The two major classes of petty offenses are crimes against public order and crimes against property. Crimes against public order include breaches of the peace and disorderly conduct, such as those resulting from barroom brawls, family disputes and conflicts between neighbors, and may also include offenses such as vagrancy, loitering, public drunkenness, prostitution, illegal gambling and the possession of illegal drugs. Crimes against property mostly involve petty theft or larceny, such as trespass, shop lifting and purse-snatchings. In Feeley's study, the most common crimes were breaches of the peace and disorderly conduct (p. 4). Walker (1985) estimated that offenses against public order accounted for more than one half of cases in the lower criminal courts (p. 23).

b. Differences and Similarities between Cases. Cases in the lower level criminal courts differ in the severity of the alleged crimes, including the degree of violence involved. Many of them, Walker (1985) estimated two-thirds, are 'victimless' ...

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Low Level Criminal Suspects. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 09:20, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1707442.html