Author Description

Concentrating on the conflicts of interest among criminal justice system components, between the public and its perception of crime, and among policymakers, this analysis promotes new public policy directions. First, an analysis of crime, criminals, and the criminal justice system provides a perspective to help distinguish myths about ideal system operation from the reality of its functioning. This conceptual framework focuses on the conflicting priorities of private motives and public interests, perceptions (and misconceptions) of crime, theories about what constitutes a criminal, and the implementation of criminal justice policy from these perceptions. The workings of each of the major components of the criminal justice system are then examined, with attention to the real roles and interests of the police, lawyers (attorneys and the defense counsel), the courts, and corrections. Interests and goals that are prime points of conflict between these components are detailed, as is the impact of these conflicts on law enforcement and crime. Third, four policies currently being used in the U.S. to deal with crime are explored -- deterrence, rehabilitation, decriminalization, and diversion. Attempts are made to fit each policy into its historical beginning a and to highlight reasons for its emerging as an important policy; each policy's assumptions about the nature of crime and the nature of criminals are discussed. Finally, processes for assessing policies and their impact on society and crime are presented; the processes are evaluated for advantages and pitfalls. Evaluations of research designed to assess policies then lead to proposals for improving criminal justice policy.