CRIMINAL JUSTICE PLANNING - AN ALTERNATIVE MODEL

• NCJ Number: 66005
• Journal: Criminology Volume: 17 Issue: 4 Dated: (FEBRUARY 1980) Pages: 403-418
• Author(s): R A SMITH; R E KLOSTERMAN
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 16 pages
• Corporate Author: American Soc of Criminology
• Sale Source: UMI Dissertation Services
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THIS CRIMINAL JUSTICE PLANNING MODEL ADAPTS PLANNING TO THE PRESENT CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE FIELD AND UTILIZES AN APPROACH THAT IS RESTRICTED, CONCURRENT, AND FRAGMENTED.

Abstract

THIS ALTERNATIVE MODEL IS RECOMMENDED BECAUSE THE GENERAL PLANNING PROCESS MODEL TRADITIONALLY USED IS UNSATISFACTORY FOR THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE FIELD, FOR WHICH THE STRICT SEQUENCE OF PROBLEM ANALYSIS, GOAL IDENTIFICATION, ALTERNATIVE ANALYSIS, AND PROGRAM SELECTION, IMPLEMENTATION, AND EVALUATION IS TOO RIGID. THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE FIELD LACKS CLARITY IN PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION, INTERNAL COORDINATION, AND AGREEMENT ON GOALS, OBJECTIVES, AND PRIORITIES. THE PROPOSED ALTERNATIVE MODEL REFLECTS THESE CHARACTERISTICS OF IMPRECISION BY REQUIRING RESTRICTED, CONCURRENT, AND FRAGMENTED ANALYSIS IN THE PLANNING PROCESS. WITH THIS MODEL, PLANNERS WOULD RESTRICT THEIR ANALYSIS TO THE CURRENTLY IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF THE PROBLEM AND LIMIT ALTERNATIVES TO THOSE THAT ARE REALISTIC AND DIFFER INCREMENTLY FROM EACH OTHER AND FROM EXISTING PROGRAMS. CONCURRENT PLANNING ELIMINATES THE TRADITIONAL MODEL'S SEQUENTIAL ORDER, ALLOWING THE ANALYSIS OF PROBLEMS AND ALTERNATIVES TO BE CONDUCTED CONCURRENTLY WITH GOAL, PRIORITY, AND OBJECTIVE IDENTIFICATION. FRAGMENTING THE PLANNING PROCESS DOES AWAY WITH SYSTEMWIDE COORDINATION REQUIREMENTS AND ALLOWS PLANNING TO BE DISPERSED AMONG THE SUBSYSTEM ELEMENTS. ACCORDINGLY, PLANNING BODIES WOULD BE LOCATED AT EACH FUNCTIONAL AND JURISDICTIONAL LEVEL, WITH RESPONSIBILITY FOR PROBLEM ANALYSIS, GOAL IDENTIFICATION, PROGRAM SELECTION, IMPLEMENTATION, AND EVALUATION WITHIN THEIR SPECIFIC AREAS OF CONCERN. THIS TYPE OF PLANNING WOULD PROVIDE EFFECTIVE RESPONSE TO RESOURCE AND KNOWLEDGE CONSTRAINTS, KEEP INFORMATION FOR DECISIONMAKERS TIMELY AND RELEVANT, AND AVOID SERIOUS NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES OF IMPLEMENTING LARGE-SCALE, POORLY UNDERSTOOD PROGRAM CHANGES. REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (MRK)