NCJ Number
157466
Date Published
1994
Length
184 pages
Annotation
This publication provides background information on and analysis of many key issues to be considered in a conference designed to inform the debate on crime and punishment policies in the United States.
Abstract
A paper that analyzes the mix of law enforcement and prevention strategies necessary to respond to violence is followed by an assessment of crime rates, demographics, drug policies, and future crime-control strategies. A number of papers on incarceration address the relationship between crime and incarceration, the characteristics of inmates, and the economic interests involved in prison expansion. Another paper analyzes the destructive impact of the "war on drugs" in contributing to increasing racial disparity within the criminal justice system. Other materials link heightened concern about crime to increased media reporting on dramatic crimes, analyze funding prospects through the new crime bill, assess the role of policing and issues in community policing, and analyze the problem of youth violence and the role of the juvenile court. A paper provides an overview of North Carolina's new sentencing guidelines system that ties sentencing to prison capacity. A commentary on the "three strikes and you're out" policy by one of its originators is assessed by the author of "facts and fallacies" associated with the proposal. Finally, there is an overview of the restorative justice model and a proposal for a victim orientation for community corrections.