NCJ Number
76233
Date Published
1978
Length
23 pages
Annotation
This report summarizes the proceedings of a seminar held in November 1977 on comparative criminal justice research, with 27 criminal justice and legal scholars from the United States, Western Europe, Canada, and Israel participating.
Abstract
In spite of the attention and funds given to criminal justice research during the last decade, participants agreed that results have been disappointing in the face of rising crime rates and increased dissatisfaction with the system. This failure was attributed to the newness of criminology as a discipline, confusion among funding agencies and the academic community about the definition of research, and uncertainty about the role of researchers in relation to policymakers. In discussing the objectives of the criminal justice system, seminar participants emphasized that criminal justice research cannot be separated from other aspects of society and civil justice. Criminological research must evaluate the social risks against the social cost without losing sight of fiscal considerations. The seminar devoted substantial attention to how research needs should be determined and who fixes the research agenda. Some scholars felt that they should be absolutely independent, while others thought that policymakers should be able to identify areas where information and alternative solutions are needed. Suggestions to assure the independence and integrity of criminal justice research included pluralistic funding of projects and the development of procedures to isolate research commissioned by the Government-commissioned research were media distortion, time restraints, and evaluations. Administrative bodies responsible for planning should be aware of what is needed, the status of existing research, and time constraints in order to coordinate the entire research endeavor. International cooperation in criminal justice research has been limited because of inadequate resources and few comparable data bases. Several European researchers noted that the existence of ongoing research often affected current judicial processes, and the U.S. representative commented that research had contributed to policy formation concerning sentencing practices, elimination of status offenses, curtailment of parole, and modification of the treatment model. The appendixes contain the seminar's agenda, a directory of participants, a flow chart showing communications between researchers and clients, and a paper on international cooperation in comparative criminal justice research. A list of materials distributed to seminar participants is also provided.