NCJ Number
131135
Date Published
Unknown
Length
58 pages
Annotation
The American Civil Liberties Union hosted a conference in 1989 on "Confronting Crime: New Directions" which included three major presentations and four panel discussions. The major themes which emerged where that a balance between law enforcement and fundamental individual freedoms is possible; that the underlying causes of crime including homelessness, unemployment, poverty, and lack of educational opportunity; and that law enforcement efforts must be based on cooperation between community groups, government, and police agencies.
Abstract
The keynote presentation addressed some of the fundamental issues in criminal justice today: the interface between constitutional protections and crime control, the affect of the criminal justice system on crime control, the unique problems of drug law enforcement, and the demographic characteristics of offenders. The second presentation discussed the relationship between public health and violence prevention and control and outlined current theories about preventive education and intervention. The final speech discussed policy issues related to crime control, particularly control of drug law offenses. The four panel discussions at the conference addressed these topics: the effectiveness of policing street crime, whether constitutional rights are an impediment to crime control, strategies for improving the criminal justice system, and the limits of the criminal justice system in terms of crime control and prevention. 2 appendixes