NCJ Number
179235
Date Published
1999
Length
267 pages
Annotation
The purpose of this book is to acquaint students, practitioners, and policymakers with scientific techniques for analyzing criminal justice problems and developing solutions.
Abstract
In achieving this goal, the authors analyze existing criminal justice interventions to determine to what degree they have been guided by logic and planning rather than partisan politics or untested hunches. Examples of criminal justice interventions include intermediate sanctions, mandatory arrest for domestic assault, "three strikes" laws, and juvenile waiver laws. The concept of "planned change" discussed throughout the book is "any project, program or policy, new or revised, intended to produce a change in some specific problem." The three approaches to planned change are policy, program, and project. The need for planned change has been sharpened by three trends: declining resources, accountability, and expansion of knowledge and technology. The proposed seven-stage model for planned change specifies the sequence of steps required for analyzing a problem, determining its causes, and planning and implementing some intervention. The seven stages consist of analyzing the problem, setting goals and objectives, designing the program or policy, developing an action plan, developing a plan for monitoring program/policy implementation, developing a plan for evaluating outcomes, and initiating the program or policy design. Chapter outlines, discussion questions, case studies, and endnotes, and appended seven-stage checklist for program and policy planning