DIAGNOSIS, CLASSIFICATION AND PREDICTION (FROM DECISION-MAKING IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM - REVIEWS AND ESSAYS, 1975, BY DON M GOTTFREDSON - SEE NCJ-31371)

• NCJ Number: 55589
• Author(s): D M GOTTFREDSON
• Date Published: 1975
• Length: 8 pages
• Corporate Author: US Dept of Health, Education, and Welfare
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

DIAGNOSIS, CLASSIFICATION, AND PREDICTION ARE DEFINED AS ASPECTS OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE DECISIONMAKING, AND THEIR INTERRELATIONS IN DECISIONMAKING ARE DISCUSSED.

Abstract

'DIAGNOSIS,' WHICH ORIGINALLY MEANT A DISTINGUISHING DECISION OR A DISCRIMINATION, REFERS IN MEDICINE TO A DECISION CONCERNING THE NATURE OF A DISEASED CONDITION. IT INITIALLY CARRIED A SIMILAR MEANING IN PSYCHIATRY, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY, AND SOCIAL WORK. LATER, THE APPLICATION OF THE WORD WAS EXTENDED SO THAT A DIAGNOSIS WAS SAID TO REFER NOT ONLY TO THE IDENTIFICATION OF AN APPROPRIATE CATEGORY OF ILLNESSES, BUT ALSO TO A FULL UNDERSTANDING OF THE PATIENT. FOR A PERSON TO BE DIAGNOSED 'DELINQUENT' OR 'CRIMINAL' DOES NOT REFER APTLY TO A CONDITION OF THE PERSON, AS WOULD BE THE CASE OF DIAGNOSIS OF PHYSICAL OR MENTAL DISORDER. IT REFERS ALSO TO THE CONDITION OF THE SOCIAL SYSTEM WITH WHICH THE PERSON IS INVOLVED. A DIAGNOSIS THUS INVOLVES ASSESSING SOME STATE OF THE PERSON WHICH MAY OR MAY NOT BE RELATED TO PRESENT OR FUTURE EVENTS DEFINED AS DELINQUENT OR CRIMINAL. 'CLASSIFICATION' REFERS TO THE ALLOCATION OF ENTITIES TO INITIALLY UNDEFINED CLASSES IN SUCH A WAY THAT INDIVIDUALS IN A CLASS ARE IN SOME SENSE SIMILAR OR CLOSE TO EACH OTHER. AS USED IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE AGENCIES, CLASSIFICATION HAS INVOLVED CATEGORIZING OR TYPING OFFENDERS. 'PREDICTION' REFERS IN CRIMINOLOGY TO AN ASSESSMENT OF A PERSON'S EXPECTED FUTURE BEHAVIOR. IN THE PROCESS OF PREDICTING, SOME CRITERION OF FUTURE PERFORMANCE MUST BE DEFINED. THIS DEFINITION MUST BE INDEPENDENT OF ANY STEPS PERFORMED IN ARRIVING AT THE PREDICTION. THUS, PREDICTION INVOLVES TWO INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENTS OF PERSONS, SEPARATED OVER TIME. THESE CONCEPTS ARE INTERRELATED IN THAT DIAGNOSIS MAY PROVIDE INFORMATION USEFUL FOR CLASSIFICATIONS FOR A VARIETY OF PURPOSES. PERSONS MAY BE CLASSIFIED IN VARIOUS WAYS TO SERVE ANY NUMBER OF OBJECTIVES. ONE OBJECTIVE IS THAT OF PREDICTION. DATA FROM DIAGNOSTIC PROCEDURES AND CLASSIFICATION EFFORTS CAN THUS PROVIDE INFORMATION USEFUL FOR PREDICTION OF SOME SINGLE CRITERION OR VARIOUS CRITERIA. REFERENCES ARE PROVIDES. (RCB)