NCJ Number
81254
Date Published
1980
Length
17 pages
Annotation
The structure and efforts of the Lower Saxony Justice Ministry's Report Group for Planning and Research as well as problems of intra-agency research are discussed.
Abstract
The first of its kind, the Report Group was established in 1979 within a State criminal justice system in West Germany. Research models tested to date relate to social work as a preventive measure, prevention through social education for juveniles, social training in correctional institutions and through postrelease centers, development of an interdepartmental State plan for crime prevention policy and resource allocation, and recidivism studies. Among the intra-agency difficulties encountered by the Report Group is the discrepancy between scientific theories and their practical application. Practitioners are disappointed in the meager results of research for which seemingly disproportionate resources have been expended, while researchers complain of the narrow perspectives of practicing officials. Further problems in intra-agency work are that data and interpretations may become one-sided, reflecting agency interests at the expense of autonomy and objectivity of the research perspective. Nevertheless, agency-sponsored criminal justice research is being done by LEAA in the United States and government research divisions in Canada, France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and Sweden. It is important that the organizational structure not seek to dominate the research component of an agency and that research results be shared on an international basis. The study of crime should always remain above political and self-serving interests. Footnotes and charts are given.