NCJ Number
163686
Date Published
1995
Length
141 pages
Annotation
This text shows how politics in its everyday sense affects the workings of the criminal justice system and the generation of criminal definitions.
Abstract
In looking at the relationship between political science and criminal justice, the text examines liberal versus conservative approaches to crime control and notes that both the political system and the criminal justice system involve actions of the President, Congress, courts, bureaucracies, interest groups, campaigns and elections, and the media. Elected officials define criminal justice through their actions, and policies they enact define what criminal justice personnel will do and how they will do it. Links between major components of government and the criminal justice system are explored, especially the three branches of government. Particular attention is paid to the influence of the legislative and judicial branches on Federal criminal justice policies, the evolution of criminal justice into an interdisciplinary field, the complexity of relationships between political science and criminal justice, techniques used by interest groups to influence the criminal justice system, and the effect of crime as a campaign issue on public opinions about crime. References and tables