Discuss the consensus model of criminal justice.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answers will vary. The term consensus refers to general agreement among the majority of any particular group. Thus, the consensus model rests on the assumption that as people gather together to form a society, its members will naturally share similar norms and values. Those individuals whose actions deviate from the established norms and values are considered to pose a threat to the well-being of society as a whole and must be sanctioned (punished). The society passes laws to control and prevent unacceptable behavior, thereby setting the boundaries for acceptable behavior within the group.The consensus model, to a certain extent, assumes that a diverse group of people can have similar morals. In other words, they share an ideal of what is "right" and "wrong." Consequently, as public attitudes toward morality change, so do laws. In seventeenth-century America, a person found guilty of adultery (having sexual relations with someone other than one's spouse) could expect to be publicly whipped, branded, or even executed. Furthermore, a century ago, one could walk into a pharmacy and purchase heroin. Today, social attitudes have shifted to consider adultery a personal issue, beyond the reach of the state, and to consider the sale of heroin a criminal act.