Coordinating Justice in California, 'There Ought To Be a Law About It:' Excerpts From a Survey Report on the Expansion of the Criminal Justice and Penal System During the 1980s

• NCJ Number: 115122
• Author(s): M Davies
• Date Published: Unknown
• Length: 7 pages
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: An issue of the 'BCS (Bureau of Criminal Statistics) Forum.'

Annotation

To obtain views about the current state of the criminal justice and penal system in California, a questionnaire was mailed on February 22, 1988, to 420 notables responsible for the local criminal justice system in the 58 counties of California.

Abstract

A total of 289 (69 percent) respondents completed the questionnaire. In probing aspects of the criminal justice culture in California, the survey focused on problems of individual criminal justice agencies and the system as a whole, lack of coordination in the criminal justice system, State intervention to promote coordination, jail overcrowding and incarceration costs, and the need for and direction of change. The overwhelming majority of respondents identified resource issues as the paramount problem. The lack of long-term planning and the inability to develop a long-term strategy were other identified problems. Strong views about the dysfunctional nature of the system were expressed through comments on inadequate communication, noncooperation, rivalry between agencies, and short-term crisis management. Jail and prison overcrowding and the operational costs of incarceration were viewed as major resource constraints. There was no consensus among respondents about how system problems could be resolved. More resources was the most popular solution. 3 tables.