NCJ Number
133301
Journal
Social Problems Volume: 38 Issue: 3 Dated: (August 1991) Pages: 395-411
Date Published
1991
Length
17 pages
Annotation
Corporations use some of their enormous wealth to support private justice systems complete with investigative, adjudicatory, and sentencing powers; a sociological analysis of one private justice system is presented.
Abstract
The research setting was a full line store of one of the nation's largest corporations. The focus was on private justice for shoplifters in a civil recovery State. It was found that the implementation of civil recovery legislation was profoundly consequential. Civil recovery reduced arrest by giving store police an appealing civil penalty alternative. Within the confines of civil recovery, private justice rendered by store police was powerfully shaped by guidelines established by the corporation's legal department. Retail value of the merchandise, physical resistance, and the absence of ties to the local community all increased the probability of arrest. In addition, it was determined that civil recovery makes perceptions of the ability to pay a civil penalty an important determinant of disposition. Store police tend to skim the affluent for civil recovery and turn the less affluent over to the public criminal justice system. The role of private justice systems in shaping public images of crime and criminals is discussed. 55 references and 2 tables (Author abstract modified)