NCJ Number
203540
Journal
Journal of Crime & Justice Volume: 26 Issue: 2 Dated: 2003 Pages: 77-100
Date Published
2003
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This study examined the perceptions of criminal justice professionals toward themselves, other criminal justice professionals, and selected criminal justice practices.
Abstract
Social psychological research has indicated that an actor’s behavior is influenced by the actor’s perceptions of their environment and their interactions with significant others. While it may be important to examine how any worker’s environment affects their actions, it is especially important in the field of criminal justice, where workers regularly come into contact with people whose lives may be greatly impacted by the decisions these criminal justice professionals make. As such, the authors set out to uncover the perceptions of criminal justice professionals in an effort to discover how these perceptions shape their interactions with one another and the public. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire survey of 13 judges, 69 police officers, 35 probation officers, and 19 prosecutors practicing in a city with a population of approximately 400,000. The questionnaire consisted of three major components, which included demographic items, semantic differential scales, and Likert-type items. Results of statistical analyses indicate that judges and police officers perceived themselves in a more positive light than they perceived other criminal justice professionals, while probation officers and prosecutors did not view themselves positively. In terms of perceptions of others, police officers were perceived negatively by other criminal justice professionals, while judges were perceived in the most positive light. Perceptions of criminal justice practices indicate that police officers had the strongest opposition to early parole and to Supreme Court rulings, while judges and probation officers viewed these criminal justice practices more favorably. All the criminal justice professionals indicated that communication and cooperation within the justice system was inadequate and may be the result of negative attitudes based on misperceptions of one another. The authors speculate that increased communication between criminal justice professionals may help break down negative misperceptions, thereby increasing cooperation between various components of the criminal justice process. Future research should include an analysis of informal links between groups of practitioners. Tables, references, appendix