Accessible justice (tribunals), integrated justice (drug courts), community justice (sentencing circles or “conferencing”), group justice (ulysses agreements), and contractual justice (private ...“settlements”) are new ways of tackling old problems; often ones involving vulnerable groups. Vulnerable groups pose particular challenges about whether the state should intervene, in what ways, and whether through the legal, medical, or welfare systems. New programs, with new objectives and new sectoral boundaries, necessarily raise new questions. Questions about ethical foundations. Questions about implications for “citizenship”, or for the rule of law, or for distributional equity. And questions about program “effectiveness”. This paper identifies common themes and patterns in the reforms, including “active” rather than passive adjudication, judicial commitment to realisation of identified goals, intersectoral collaboration, community in-put or control, and use of privatised “contractualist” metaphors. It considers the extent to which this reflects globalisation (harmonisation with civil law experience), or is emblematic of “postmodernism” (better attuning programs to diversity and fluidity), or other theoretical positions (such as contractualism and republican citizenship). It is argued that these experiments should be cautiously welcomed, subject to rigorous assessment of their merits, since their over-enthusiastic adoption risks breaches of fundamental ethical, civil citizenship, or medico-legal precepts, and may allow theory to outstrip its evidentiary base.
A crime reduction strategy should be based on identifying and incapacitating the chronic offenders who commit the greater portion of crimes. Accurate identification is very important in this process ...and must be based on many factors, including number of prior convictions, incarceration history, and drug abuse. The use of targeting for incapacitation is fair and reduces the subjectivity of the present system. Prosecutors, police, legislators and judges, and prison and parole officials should apply the criteria to target repeat offenders. For example, prosecutors should look to these criteria in selecting those offenders against whom extra resources and tougher policies should be applied. In establishing sentencing and pre- and post-trial release laws, legislators will need to consider which factors relate to recidivism. Finally, prison and parole officials making release decisions should consider the effect of their decisions on future felony crime rates.
The Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 contained some of the most significant changes in the federal criminal justice system ever enacted at one time. The act overhauled the bail provisions, the ...sentencing system, the insanity defense, and the forfeiture laws, as well as created a number of new substantive offenses. The enactment was accomplished through years of effort by the Department of Justice to develop most of its provisions. However, the passage of the act by Congress required steady political pressure by the White House and some unusual maneuvering in the House of Representatives. This article discusses the passage and basic provisions of the act, and then focuses on the Department of Justice's role in implementing it.
State prison populations have doubled over the past 10 years, resulting in serious overcrowding problems and prompting massive prison construction programs costing billions of dollars. Recently, ...however, both crime rates and the rate of increase in prison populations have declined, suggesting that prison overcrowding will be a short-term problem. To address these issues, the authors present a series of prison population projections through the year 2020. The projections, which were made for eight states as well as the entire nation, indicate that even with the current decline in the crime rate, the need for prison capacity will not likely diminish in the decades ahead.
The strategy document was favorably reviewed by the IDB Board of Executive Directors on July 23, 2003. The objective of this strategy is to establish the basic concepts that should guide Bank ...operations with regards to modernization of the State.
In the past decade, a movement to establish rights and provide services for crime victims has developed. Its origins were in the law enforcement concern about victim dissatisfaction with the justice ...system and the interest of the women's movement in victims of rape and domestic violence. The movement is manifested in more than 2,000 programs that provide services, such as counseling, notification of court appearances, shelter, and emergency financial help, to all types of victims. As a result of the disparate beginnings of the movement, structures of victim programs vary widely. Despite their organizational differences, however, a consensus exists that a crime inflicts feelings of powerlessness, guilt, and rage on the victim, and that the most effective response helps to restore the victim's sense of control. This can be achieved by practical assistance, counseling, and participation in the criminal justice system.
Documents the under-explored reassertion of emotionality in law and locates it in the late modern social context. Illustrates these developments in relation to specific contexts, and considers this ...countertendency as representing one of 2 principal legal paradigms (the technocratic and the emotional) which have emerged as countervailing patterns of positive/rational law. Suggests that a recognition and understanding of the relations between all 3 of these paradigms (positivist/rational, technocratic and emotional) is crucial to understanding the durability of legal order.
Criminal Justice: Retribution vs. Restoration presents new answers and unconventional suggestions addressing America's overcrowded prisons and jails, high recidivism rates, and weakened family and ...community relationships with ex-prisoners. This groundbreaking book introduces encouraging, therapeutic approaches to criminal justice that include treatment, rehabilitation, and the direct involvement of the victims, families, and communities. Its holistic, empowering, and strength-based perspective provides insight and suggestions that are valuable for students, social workers, policymakers, and criminal justice professionals.
