NCJ Number
86152
Journal
Mid-American Review of Sociology Volume: 6 Issue: 2 Dated: (Winter 1981) Pages: 79-95
Date Published
1982
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This paper surveys the literature produced in the 1970's by scholars in the criminal justice field and then addresses the impact applied evaluation research on practitioners as well as academics.
Abstract
Civil disturbances in the 1960's stimulated new interest in criminal justice as a field of study. Another impetus came from protestors who believed that the criminal justice system contained forces opposing needed social change and developed radical criminology. The criminal justice literature generally can be classified as descriptive, prescriptive, evaluative, or technical. Textbooks and surveys are considered descriptive, while publications by the National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals and the National Institute of Justice are prescriptive. Evaluation studies compose the largest literature group, partly because of mandated evaluations of federally funded programs. The paper cites examples of specific evaluation types and journals devoted to evaluation. Technical literature traditionally was law and police science, but now encompasses numerous specialized works ranging from rape intervention handbooks to patrol techniques. Collections of readings and bibliographies supplement the technical literature. Numerous journals are devoted to criminal justice, as evidenced by 98 publications being covered in the Criminal Justice Periodical Index. A review of major bibliographic sources of criminal justice information considers annual reviews, abstracts, and indexes. Most theory has been borrowed from other fields, and the area has been dominated by a debate between traditionalists who see crime as the problem to be solved and neo-Marxists who view society as the problem. The paper also discusses the impact of evaluation research in discrediting the rehabilitation ideal and specific studies which have disrupted traditional criminal justice practices. With the current scarcity of new ideas and funds, it seems that criminal justice research will either concentrate on evaluating ongoing portions of the system or analyze offender populations. The paper provides approximately 60 references.