NCJ Number
86267
Date Published
1982
Length
17 pages
Annotation
Rational planning based upon systematically acquired information and public discussion of that information should prompt criminal justice agencies in Canada and the United States to adopt more effective strategies for public protection.
Abstract
Expenditures for crime control in the 1970's were up, but so was crime. Fear of crime has affected citizens' lifestyles, and experiments in crime control do not appear to have had much effect. Little has been done to assist crime victims, while court procedures frustrate the victim's receiving just redress or even the state's getting a criminal conviction. This state of crime and criminal justice has been largely influenced by growth, incrementalism, and syndicalism. Growth has included an increase in the number of males in crime-prone age groups and the development of high-crime urban minority ghettos. Incrementalism has involved increasing fiscal allotments for criminal justice agencies by fixed percentages of previous budgets, such that agencies have gradually grown in size but continued to function as they have since 1890. Syndicalism is the process whereby unions or professional associations have a disproportionate effect on policy, usually an effect that maintains the status quo. If criminal justice agencies are to become oriented toward public needs, rational planning based on systematically acquired information must become the norm. If the public wants protection, then research and development should be undertaken to identify programs that will give some protection. Once alternative programs have been identified, they must be implemented and evaluated. Most important is the commitment of political officials to this strategy. A bibliography of 78 listings is provided.