sizable property loss. But millions of these crimes go unpunished because the victims never report them. 
Only 15 million serious crimes come to the attention of the police.” 
9 
Samuel Walker referred to the criminal justice system as a funnel. In 1967, The President’s Commission on 
Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice published a report on the funneling effect of the criminal 
justice system. 
10 The criminal justice system is often referred to as a funnel because most cases do not go 
through all steps in the system, some because of discretion, and a large portion because they are unknown 
to police. The question remains: is the criminal justice system effective at catching, prosecuting, convicting, 
and punishing offenders? Does the system properly do its job at all levels? Walker was critical of this report 
and said the report did not account for the crimes unknown to police, often referred to as the dark figure of 
crime. He also recognized that the most serious crimes get reported the most, which may confuse the public 
about the reality of other crimes. 
11 
Others also criticized the report for only looking at reported crimes and adult crimes, but those issues 
will get highlighted in our next chapter on data in the criminal justice system. It is important to recognize 
that the disparity between crimes that were reported and not reported. This discrepancy was a shock in 
the 1970s, especially after the United States started asking people about their victimization. The number of 
crimes people say they experienced far exceeded the crimes they reported to the police. 
12 
The main idea to understand is that the funnel effect is said to represent how cases move through the 
system by the offenses unknown to police verse known, arrests then made, prosecutions, plea bargains or 
trials, sentencing, and whether the individual receives probation, prison, or parole. 
13 
Funnel Effect Example 
Imagine selling marijuana to friends every week. No one alerts the cops and the person never gets caught, which 
means this remains in the category of offenses unknown to police. However, a friend gets busted selling too close 
to an elementary school, so the offense immediately is classified as known to police. An officer can choose to arrest 
or not, depending on the amount. If it is illegal in that state to deal, then an ethical officer would arrest and set 
discretion aside. However, it is up to the prosecutor to decide whether or not to file charges. If charges get filed, the 
friend may be encouraged to plead guilty and ‘get it over with.’ This would be more likely under a crime control 
model. However, his/her mom may say “No, I want you to go to trial,” which would be more likely under a due 
process model and now that friend now has to decide. If he/she takes the plea bargain, they can skip the trial and 
go straight to sentencing. Let us say the plea bargain allowed the friend to avoid jail time and serve 300 hours of 
community service, but if convicted this friend could serve one year. Most may take the community service option 
9. Anderson, D. (1994). The crime funnel. The New York Times. 
10. The challenge of crime in a free society. 1967. NCJRS. https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/42.pdf 
11. Walker, S. (2006). Sense and nonsense about crime and drugs. Cengage: Wadsworth. 
12. Anderson, D. (1994). The crime funnel. The New York Times. 
13. The Challenge of crime in a free society. (1967). NCJRS. https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/42.pdf 
Introduction to the American Criminal Justice System
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