NCJ Number
10576
Date Published
1973
Length
69 pages
Annotation
FOUR PAPERS DISCUSSING THE RESPONSIBILITIES AND PROBLEMS FACING THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE FIELD IN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A VALID CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM.
Abstract
THE PAPERS INCLUDED IN THIS MONOGRAPH WERE SELECTED FROM PRESENTING IN A SEMINAR SERIES ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR - USES AND STATE OF RESEARCH. IN THE FIRST ARTICLE, PROFESSOR DON GIBBONS REVIEWS SOME PROMINENT EXAMPLES OF TYPOLOGICAL ANALYSIS - CAUSAL AND DIAGNOSTIC CLASSIFICATIONS AND CATEGORIZATIONS BASED ON PATTERNS OF CRIME, PATTERNS OF OFFENDERS, AND PERSONALITY TYPES. HE ESTABLISHES THE MAJOR CRITERIA FOR CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS AS WELL AS THE REQUIREMENT THAT THEY BE CONGRUENT WITH REALITY. DR. MARGUERITE WARREN VIEWS CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS AS ESSENTIAL IN PLANNING INTERVENTION STRATEGIES. HER PAPER CONCENTRATES ON THE CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM CALLED INTERPERSONAL MATURITY LEVEL (I-LEVEL), WHICH IS BASED UPON SEVEN SUCCESSIVE STAGES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT. IN THE PRESENTATION, DR. LAWRENCE BENNETT EMPHASIZES CHANGING THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE THROUGH ITS DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES RATHER THAN ATTEMPTING TO CHANGE THE BEHAVIOR OF THE INDIVIDUAL OFFENDER. THE FOCUS OF DR. JEROME MILLER'S PAPER IS ON THE LATENT SOCIAL CONTROL FUNCTIONS OF PSYCHIATRIC, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND SOCIAL WORK PRACTICES AS THEY RELATE TO THE DIAGNOSIS AND CLASSIFICATION OF CRIMINAL OFFENDERS. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)