NCJ Number
93616
Editor(s)
B Beinart,
W H B Dean,
W deVos,
R Graser,
B Helm,
I Leeman,
J H Steyn,
H J Swart
Date Published
1976
Length
279 pages
Annotation
Conference papers present an interdisciplinary and international perspective on crime problems, the strengths and weaknesses of modern criminal justice systems, and proposals for reform that can improve the effectiveness and quality of justice of criminal justice systems.
Abstract
The conference papers deal with the relationship of crime and punishment to an historical setting, the overreach of the criminal law, the investigation and prosecution of crime, a proper trial, sentencing, alternatives to imprisonment, the treatment of offenders, and the crime victims. Some of the conference themes point toward the roots of crime (as defined by a particular culture at a given time in history) in the broader socioeconomic problems and injustices of a nation; the need to reduce the intrusion of the criminal law into those areas of human behavior that pose no serious threat to life, property, and the social order; the need for sentencing to balance the objectives of punishment and rehabilitation; the need to develop alternatives to imprisonment, given the ineffectiveness of prison in reducing recidivism; and the importance of providing services and compensation for crime victims. Those summarizing the conference discussions note that the criminal justice structures for dealing with crime apparently have very little impact on it but that the systems still should aim at dispensing equal and humane justice to citizens while offering the most realistic opportunities for rehabilitation. A symposium on capital punishment held at the conference is included.