NCJ Number
103276
Date Published
1985
Length
148 pages
Annotation
Addresses and workshop discussions of the 1985 Seminar on Criminal Justice Liability Management focus on areas in which criminal justice agencies are vulnerable to liability litigation; ways to reduce vulnerability to such litigation; reasons for the increase in liability suits against criminal justice agencies; and related training, personnel, and management issues.
Abstract
A review of trends in liability litigation against criminal justice agencies notes that the concept of 'blanket immunity' is not being accepted by the courts and identifies the following areas in which criminal justice agencies are vulnerable to liability: hiring and retention, training, discipline, direction and supervision, and entrustment. A paper on ways to reduce vulnerability to liability suggests the establishment of clear agency policies and procedures, their incorporation in training curricula, their enforcement in agency discipline, and their updating in the context of changed circumstances. A paper on the plaintiff's perspective in litigation against criminal justice agencies attributes the increase in such suits to citizens' increasing willingness to litigate injury or loss rather than to a general decline in public support for criminal justice agencies. The three workshop discussions address issues in reducing liability through training, personnel administration, and general management.