Criminal Justice as an Alternative in Dispute Settlement (From Selected Issues in Criminal Justice, 1985, P 40-65, Helsinki Institute for Crime Prevention and Control - see NCJ-133290)

• NCJ Number: 133294
• Author(s): A Yakovlev
• Date Published: 1985
• Length: 26 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services; United Nations European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control (HEUNI)
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: Finland

Annotation

The functioning of criminal justice in the broader area of social control, and specifically, its role as an alternative in dispute settlement, was examined through the administration of a survey in two small towns in the Soviet republic of Georgia.

Abstract

This approach allowed researchers to analyze the circumstances under which the criminal justice system is utilized in dispute settlement as opposed to other alternatives. In this survey, the results showed that 70 percent of the respondents voluntarily turned to official bodies, including local Soviets, the militia, and the police to resolve their disputes. However, these bodies actively contributed to settlement in only 31 percent of the cases. The findings showed two poles in dispute settlement: one, the modern community, characterized by the domination of formal-rigoristic alternatives and the other, the traditional community, characterized by the domination of informal-tolerant alternatives. 10 tables and 18 notes