NCJ Number
74414
Date Published
1980
Length
270 pages
Annotation
A complex overview of the American criminal justice system is given, major interpretations of the functions and intent of the system are identified and analyzed, and a new criminal justice theory is introduced and explained.
Abstract
Intended for the reader with a background in criminal justice system theory and operations, the book begins with a consideration of two basic schools of criminal justice thought. Moralists are concerned with preserving and protecting societal functions and institutions, and view the criminal justice system as a crime deterrence and punishment mechanism. Welfarists view the criminal justice as an agent for improving the condition of offenders under its control through the utilization of behaviorist technologies. Although the two groups differ in many ways, they essentially agree about the relationship of man and society and the ability of the criminal justice system to reduce deviance. Both the American social system and the criminal justice system are too varied, however, to permit the application of a single, unifying social theory. Therefore, analyses of the criminal justice system based on a normative approach are unsound. Instead, criminal justice systems should perform certain functions and meet the needs of the communities which they serve. The book's basic conclusion is that criminal justice may continue to be irrelevant to social order if analysis and policy making continue to be made from inside the criminal justice system rather than outside this system and in the context of social structure and human needs. Extensive notes and bibliography listing over 200 references are included.