1: Crime, Criminal Justice, and 
Criminology 
Learning Objectives 
This section will broadly introduce crime, criminal justice, and criminology. This section is designed to be a 
broad overview of what the subsequent chapters will cover in detail. It also demonstrates how the United States 
create laws, policies enacted to enforce laws, and the role of the media. After reading this section, students will be 
able to: 
• 
Understand the differences between deviance, rule violations, and criminality 
• 
Explain the differences between the interactionist, consensus, and conflict views in the creation of 
laws 
• 
Identify the three components of the criminal justice system 
• 
Discuss the differences between crime control and due process model, and application examples to 
each 
• 
Describe the wedding cake model theory and application examples to each tier 
• 
Briefly explain the role of the media and how media may spread myths in society 
• 
Briefly understand the unique role of victims in the criminal justice process 
Background Knowledge Probe: The goal here is to assess current knowledge about the criminal 
justice system at the start of the course. Each of these topics is covered throughout the course, and they will 
often be a controversial topic and topic for debate. 
You will indicate whether you know each statement to be True or False, but there is no right or wrong 
answer since it is just to assess your background knowledge. 
1. Blacks commit more crime than any other racial group. 
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