NCJ Number
136396
Date Published
1992
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This report on the National Assessment Program survey for 1990 presents the opinions of criminal justice professionals on trends in staffing, workload, and agency operations.
Abstract
More than 2,000 criminal justice professionals responded to the survey and identified pressing problems facing their agencies at the time of the survey. Staff shortages were listed first or second for most types of criminal justice agencies and respondents. Judges and trial court administrators listed funding shortages among the top three problems. Correctional officials cited crowding as their most pressing problem. Comparisons between the 1986 and 1990 surveys illustrate the continued escalation of workloads in criminal justice agencies. Police departments report a 16-percent increase in citizen calls; almost 90 percent of police chiefs, sheriffs, and probation officials report that increased drug arrests have contributed significantly to increased workloads since the 1986 survey; Nearly two-thirds of all police departments (82 percent in large cities) increased their staffing for narcotics investigations between the 1986 and 1990 surveys. Fifty-six percent of large-city police chiefs and half of the sheriffs in large jurisdictions report increases in organized gang activities; prosecutors in large cities report significant increases in felony case filings; probation agencies report increases in caseloads per probation officers. These statistics reflect the increasing demands placed on criminal justice professionals across the justice system. These survey findings are intended to provide focus to the development of research and technical assistance priorities within the National Institute of Justice. 4 exhibits and 3 notes