NCJ Number
125442
Date Published
1990
Length
174 pages
Annotation
Criminal justice in New York City is examined in relation to the structure and function of police, courts and corrections; legal actors in the criminal justice system; and the relation between offenders and victims.
Abstract
Many subjective elements characterize the criminal justice system. Critics of the system and those who administer the system's various components are often in conflict. Even within the system, judges, defense attorneys, prosecutors, probation and parole officers, and others are often in disagreement about what is right and what is wrong with the criminal justice system. Further, the public is divided on punishment; some opt for severe penalties, while others support more lenient sentences. Prominent criminal cases in New York City also demonstrate that the actions of different offender classes involve divergent value systems. Some of the major problems faced by New York City police are a high crime level, discrimination between white and black police officers, high prosecutor caseloads, overcrowded jails and prisons, and police corruption. Despite all the defects in New York City's criminal justice system, the system still survives, and public opinion and periodic reform continue to improve the system. The author concludes that most offenders are not really dangerous, that much of the city's crime is intraracial, that offenders lead a crime-free life most of the time, that most New Yorkers are law-abiding citizens, that the city's criminal justice system is operating in the best way it can, and that the concern of citizens with the crime problem and criminal justice system institutions is encouraging. 457 notes, 98 references.