NCJ Number
94072
Date Published
1984
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This report summarizes the National Institute of Justice's 1983 survey of corrections officials, police, prosecutors, court personnel, public defenders, and probation and parole officers to determine their assessment of criminal justice needs.
Abstract
Some 2,400 administrators in the aforementioned areas were sent questionnaires; just over 61 percent responded. Followup telephone interviews were held with 117 respondents to obtain more detailed information. Across all groups, 31.9 percent viewed prison overcrowding as the most pressing problem. Corrections officials wanted more funding and technical assistance on construction materials and building design. Police cited personnel shortages, financial problems, and narcotics enforcement as significant problems. Prosecutors viewed narcotics cases and the shortage of funds for investigations as pressing problems, and 36 percent of court personnel cited excessive caseloads as a major problem. Public defenders reported heavy caseloads and limited resources as principal problems. Probation and parole officers mentioned heavy caseloads three times as often as the next problem (lack of consensus in the criminal justice system). Officials in all fields valued training as an aid in retaining qualified staff, and many recommended computerized information processing as a means of coping with increased case volume.