NCJ Number
87705
Editor(s)
S Nagel,
E Fairchild,
A Champagne
Date Published
1983
Length
291 pages
Annotation
This integrated study of the connections among criminal justice, political science, and policy studies concerns the political dynamics of crime and criminal justice decisionmaking.
Abstract
Discussion focuses on the politics of capital punishment in California, the symbolic politics of criminal sanctions, and interest group politics in Federal criminal code reform. Two papers examine the effectiveness of Supreme Court mandates and jail reform in Dallas as a case study of the theory of limited judicial impact. Contributors discuss how discretion is exercised within constitutional constraints by police, courts, and corrections. The text highlights specific administrative concerns: police department size and the quality and cost of police services, the political dimension in expediting criminal trials, and bureaucratic politics and changing corrections policy. Articles on policy evaluation consider elections and the politics of crime, the application of computer simulation to criminal justice policymaking, and efforts to contain white-collar crime. Study data, chapter references, footnotes, and subject/name indexes are provided. For separate articles, see NCJ 87706-87719.