NCJ Number
82197
Journal
Kriminalistik Issue: 4 Dated: (April 1981) Pages: Insert
Date Published
1981
Length
8 pages
Annotation
The report presents a panel discussion on West German criminal police policy issues from the viewpoints of a State criminal justice agency administrator, a criminology professor, a Federal legislator, and a Federal judge.
Abstract
The first speaker emphasizes police limitations, including lack of knowledge about crime causes, lack of information at all levels, lack of clarity in the definitions of crime, limits to the investigative and prosecutorial capacities of the police and the courts, and a changing public attitude toward crime (i.e., lenience toward petty crime forms). The judge reiterates the constitutional mandate of the state to protect its citizens from injustice against each other, which is shared in a formal 20-nation European agreement that defines citizens' basic rights to include the sanctity of private life, property, and correspondence. The legislator calls for uniform police regulations throughout the country, clear distinctions between the criminal police and other security agencies, and data security regulations. The criminology expert makes an appeal for enforceable legislation and simplified procedural rules in criminal processing, and for better education of trial judges in criminology and criminalistics. He also urges more extensive cooperation with juvenile authorities and private groups in the pursuit of preventive goals. Questions by fellow panelists and the audience further clarify speakers' viewpoints on the organization of the criminal police in relation to other branches of the police, the role of private security police, data security, criminal justice resources, and crime solution rates.