Showing papers in "Criminal Justice Review in 1978"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors illustrate ways in which correctional officers exercise discretion to provide support to vulnerable inmates who need support, such as invoking non-custodial prison staff and circumventing resistances to change.
Abstract: A narrow definition of the correctional officer's role excludes important functions officers can serve in prison, including critical contributions they can make to inmate survival and mental health. Such functions are currently exercised by a significant minority of officers, whose contributions are neither recognized nor rewarded.Interview excerpts are presented in this paper to illustrate ways in which correctional officers exercise discretion to provide support to vulnerable inmates who need support. Such constructive exercise of discretion includes invoking non-custodial prison staff and circumventing resistances to change. Officers also form personal relationships with inmates which de-escalate conflict, ameliorate crises, and provide susceptible inmates with rehabilitative role models.Custodial goals and expanded services can be constructively combined, provided administrators provide a flexible climate. If they do not, sophisticated officers often become discouraged and regress to narrow, tradition...
38 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the applicability of the Work Environment Scale (WES) as a means to assess the social climate of police agencies is discussed in a case example, and uses of the WES to monitor and evaluate change in the organizational social climate in law enforcement agencies are presented.
Abstract: Law enforcement agencies are affected by a variety of factors. Evidence is increasingly denoting the importance of environmentalfactors as a variable in accounting for behavior within organizations. Much of this research indicates that police organizations, which are affected by a multiplicity of external varia bles, have an impact on the police workers. In light of such evidence, it is important to systematically evaluate the organizational setting of the law en forcement officer. The applicability of the Work Environment Scale (WES) as a means to assess the social climate of police agencies is discussed in a case example. Uses of the WES to monitor and evaluate change in the organizational social climate of law enforcement agencies are presented.
11 citations
TL;DR: This paper reviewed the literature relating physical appearance to perceptions of criminality or deviance, focusing on characteristics of perceived but including some data relative to the influence of perception characteristics in the perception process.
Abstract: This paper reviews the literature relating physical appearance to perceptions of criminality or deviance. The content focuses on characteristics of the perceived but includes some data relative to the influence ofperceiver characteristics in the perception process. Methodological procedures are analyzed along with the subject matter of the literature reviewed. The research settings of studies range from college classrooms to juvenile reformatories. The paper concludes with a discussion of future research directions and implications of the existing research for visual identification procedures utilized in police and court settings. One suggestion which emerges from this literature review, for example, is to monitor police lineups and other identification procedures to help offset the influence of physical appearance on the identification process.
9 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the relationship between alternative variables, from those traditionally used in the past, with the development and continuance of police cynicism, and found specific areas of difference between members of the two types of agencies, particularly on the dimensions of cynicism likely to develop in each.
Abstract: This research extends our understanding of the determinants of police cynicism. The focus of the research is on contrasting levels of cynicism among police officers fiom varying organizational types.The data for the project came from responses of 189 law enforcement officers (73 from the county agency; 1 16 from the city agency.) Each officer responded to a survey instrument which had him indicate his agreement or disagreement with a set of police cynisicm items. The data were analyzed through gamma correlation coefficients. The findings revealed specific areas of difference between members of the two types of agencies, particularly on the dimensions of police cynicism likely to develop in each.The significance of this project is that it demonstrates the importance of exploring the relationship of alternative variables, from those traditionally used in the past, with the development and continuance of police cynicism. Further, the research suggests ap propriate avenues of inquiry for additional research.
8 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors welcome the development of scientific skepticism beyond the "gadfly" functions of partisan skepticism in criminology, arguing that "the skepticism of science subjects all ideas to relentless questioning".
Abstract: Two kinds of skepticism-increasingly prevalent in recent social commentary -have spread to criminology. The skepticism of science subjects all ideas to relentless questioning. Another kind of skepticism is colored by political partisanship. In various forms, radical criminology has gained new visibility recently. This paper welcomes this development when it conveys scientific skepticism beyond the "gadfly" functions of partisan skepticism. Among the versions of radical criminology, the Marxist approach blurs the distinction between the two kinds of skepticism and has other characteristics which illustrate the special difficulties for radical criminologists endeavoring to develop a genuine critical theory. Marx had little interest in criminology, requiring his disciples to tear his concepts out of context. Marxian thought has its own contradictions. Consequently, radical criminology is ambivalent in its rejection of liberal values, in presenting subjectivism as the equivalent of scientific analysis of crim...
6 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a comparison of the disposition of charges against competent and initially incompetent defendants revealed few significant differences, and the most consistent differences were found for defendants charged with violent crimes, including murder and assault.
Abstract: Comparisons of the disposition of charges against competent and initially incompetent (but returned to court as competent) defendants revealed few significant differences. The most consistent differences were found for defendants charged with violent crimes, including murder and assault. Incompetent defendants charged with these offenses were significantly more likely to befound innocent, usually the result of dismissal of charges. Once convicted, however, the fact that a defendant had previously been found incompetent, and had spent several years on the average in a state hospital, had little influence on the type and length of sentence. Comparison of type of offense suggested that the competency issue was more likely to be raised when the charges and consequences were more severe, especially when the probability of conviction was high. It was also found that mental health reports to the court contained recommendations not related to the question of competency, including recommendations for dismissal of ...
4 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors address the difficult problem of establishing the value of criminal justice education in higher education, and propose a framework for evaluating the quality of a program based on the premises upon which it is constructed.
Abstract: The growth and development of criminal justice education has resulted in a substantial investment of time, human resources, and money. Criminal justice educators make many assumptions about their objectives, competencies, and effectiveness in higher education, and it is important for them to respond to fundamental challenges regarding their activities and the premises upon which they construct criminal justice education programs. Much of the future character of criminal justice as an academic discipline will depend on the manner in which educators address the question of quality in higher education. Therefore, confronting the difficult problem of establishing the value of criminal justice education is appropriate.
3 citations
TL;DR: This article examined the use of determinate sentences in academic, legislative, and professional circles and found that a good deal of debate about determinate sentence usage and attendant proposals is taking place within academic and legislative circles.
Abstract: Currently, a good deal of debate about the use of determinate sentences and attendant proposals is taking place within academic, legislative, and professional circles. This study examines these pro...
3 citations
TL;DR: The Human Resource Development (HRD) model, developed by Dr. Robert Carkhuff and associates, has been tested in a variety of correctional settings across the country as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The correctionalfield is receiving criticism from all sectors of afrightened and angry society as the crime rate rises and offenders continue to be releasedfrom institutions with the same basic deficits which brought them there in the first place. Although billions of dollars have been spent in an attempt to make these institutions more effective, they have not harvested acceptable returns for the investment.The Human Resource Development (HRD) model, developed by Dr. Robert Carkhuff and associates, has been tested in a variety of correctional settings across the country.This model is based on the assumption that people make out "for better orfor worse" in life, depending on the quantity and quality adjustment skills that they possess in their repertoire. The offender is confined, basically, because he/she has deficits in these areas. Itfollows, therefore, that the more effective method of delivering these needed skills to offenders is to have qualified staff members fulfill the role of trainer of skills....
2 citations
TL;DR: The non-intervention argument that the official processing of such offenders can have negative consequences of stigmatization and the production of increased levels and more serious forms of delinquency involvement is discussed in this paper.
Abstract: The official response by agents of the juvenile justice system to adolescent involvement in victimless and status offenses currently is under attack from a variety of sources. While several complex issues are involved in the debate concerning the proper handling of such offenders (the inherent vagueness of the statutes, and whether or not their codification and enforcement violates constitutionally guaranteed rights, for example), this paper is concerned only with the non-intervention argument that the official processing of such offenders be discontinued. The primary rationale underlying the non-intervention strategy is that not only are such offenders involved in relatively petty forms of delinquency, but also that they are unlikely to participate in more serious types of misbehavior. As such, proponents of this view suggest that since official processing only can have the negative consequences of stigmatization and the production of increased levels and more serious forms of delinquency involvement, it...
2 citations
TL;DR: The problems of bail bond systems are similar in most states and the proposed solutions are much the same as discussed by the authors, and it is very easy to believe that change itself is progress and assume that it must be good because other states and federal government are doing it.
Abstract: The problems of bail bond systems are similar in most states and the proposed solutions are much the same. Bail bond reform by means of establishing an OR (own recognizance) system is becoming a national trend. Once a reform of this kind does become popular with criminal justice personnel, there is a danger that we will stop studying it and assume that it must be good because other states and the federal government are doing it. It is very easy to believe that change itself is progress.Alabama is struggling to join the national trend to overhaul its bail bond system. This paper starts with a brief description of a small empirical study done for the purpose of providing a rationale for introducing reform legislation. This study is used as a vehicle to illustrate how the problems and process of bail bond reform are national in scope.The discussion of the national issues of bail bond reform is conceptually divided into three broad categories of problems: (I) bureaucracy issues; (2) cost effectiveness issues;...
TL;DR: The use of bail for preventive detention, in essence, constitutes a misuse of the bail process since the original purpose of bail is simply to insure the accused's appearance in court.
Abstract: The administration of bail in the United States is a process which has a tendency to be misunderstood and often misused by the general public and practitioners of the criminal justice system. It is generally thought that the bail process prevents those accused from fleeing frotn justice. Additionally, it is presumed that bail may be usedfor the purpose of preventive detention, that is, to protect the community from the release of dangerous persons.Though the original purpose of bail was to insure the accused's appearance in court, this being the only legitimate use of bail today; we contend that it does not satisfy this purpose. The primary result of the bail process is the incarceration of indigent and inexperienced offenders. Not only does this process fail to insure a released offender's appearance in court, it is actually an impediment to justice.The use of bailfor the purpose of preventive detention, in essence, constitutes a misuse of the bail process since the purpose of bail is simply to insure th...
TL;DR: In this article, it is shown that the good-time provisions of determinate models and the de emphasis on treatment programming may ultimately have serious implications for the humaneness of imprisonment under this reform model.
Abstract: Determinate sentencing is one of the most widely advocated contemporary criminal justice reforms. The impetus for reform is provided by increased fear of crime, the failure of rehabilitation and the inequities of sentence disparity. However, fixed sen tencing models also have serious shortcomings. First, it is unlikely that the removal of parole release discretion will substantially reduce sentence disparity. Much of current disparity is related to urban-rural discrepancies and differences in prosecutorial charging and bargaining patterns. These are not changed by fixed-sentence reform. Second, the operation of "good-time" provisions of determinate models and the de emphasis on treatment programming may ultimately have serious implications for the humaneness of imprisonment under this reform model. Finally, the current repressive political environment makes it likely that this reform will create increasingly harsh sentences. While it is clear that current patterns of sentencing need reform, alternatives t...
TL;DR: In the case of as discussed by the authors, the authors focused on the guarantee to counsel for indigents in the many stages of criminal proceedings from arrest to sentencing, and appeal, and provided bridges of procedural precedents that ensure fairness for the poor defendant.
Abstract: The poor are often far removed from the legal system not only as a result of the lack of funds, but also because the law is complicated to the point that it is all but completely alien to them. Yet, in society the legal problems of these people are multitudinous, ranging from everyday relationships with landlords and welfare agencies to the area of criminal cases in which so many impoverished citizens find themselves embroiled.The Supreme Court, since the milestone case of Gideon v. Wainwright in 1963, focused upon the guarantee to counsel for indigents in the many stages of criminal proceedings from arrest to sentencing, and appeal. Judicial activism in the Escobedo (1964), Miranda (1966), Wade (1967), Coleman (1970), Argersinger (1972), and Mempa (1967) cases provided bridges of procedural precedents that ensure fairness for the poor defendant. The procedural criteria established in those six key cases are sweeping remedies for the vulnerable position in which the destitute accused finds himself upon be...
TL;DR: In this paper, a police role perception instrument was used to identify the personality and job characteristics of a police respondent, along with indicators of the community, the government structure, and the nature of crime in a particular community.
Abstract: Several authors have noted that police do much more than capture criminals. Perhaps the most cited role typology was developed by James Q. Wilson, who divided the police role into three categories: law enforcement, order-maintenance and services. Wilson suggested that police departments assumed a particular role through depart mental policies consistent with community values communicated through the govern ment structure. Regardless of the method of communication, according to Wilson's thesis, there should be a consistent policy held by officers in a particular community, and this policy should differ according to the community characteristics within which the particular department is located. This study operationalized a police role perception instrument and conducted a preliminary correlational analysis with indicators of the community, the government structure, the nature of crime in the particular community, along with the personality and job characteristics of the police respondent. What was found wa...