NCJ Number
125304
Journal
Policy Review Issue: 43 Dated: (Winter 1988) Pages: 14-18
Date Published
1988
Length
5 pages
Annotation
The liberal theories that dominate criminal justice policymaking have led to an ineffective system of punishment based on imprisonment, rather than the appropriate approach, which is based on restitution and community-based alternatives.
Abstract
The basic liberal assumptions that humans are perfectible have shaped both public opinion and criminal justice policy, which focused on placing criminals in institutions where they can be rehabilitated. As a result, the rate of imprisonment in the United States is far greater than that of other industrial democracies. However, prisons not only fail to cure crime, they also appear to be a major cause of crime. The conservative view offers a different perspective. It places responsibility for criminal behavior on the criminal and focuses on punishment that forces the criminal to accept this responsibility. Thus, it focuses on restitution as a means of helping victims and giving criminals the means to restore themselves and undergo real changes of character. Therefore, conservatives who support increased use of imprisonment are supporting a major liberal myth, resulting in major costs to taxpayers. Photographs.