NCJ Number
185991
Editor(s)
George F. Cole,
Marc G. Gertz
Date Published
1998
Length
507 pages
Annotation
This collection of articles includes 27 classic and contemporary readings that encourage critical thinking about the criminal justice system and the links between politics, law, and the administration of justice.
Abstract
With a stronger focus on policy analysis than in past editions, the collection of articles includes readings on the ever-increasing role of policy-makers and the political community in the workings of the criminal justice system; new introductions to each article that offer current and concise information about criminal justice concepts and doctrines; current topics such as racial disparity in the criminal justice system, community-oriented policing, the death penalty, prison gangs, and prosecutorial discretion in domestic violence cases; and conservative and liberal views of crime control policies. The articles are organized in seven parts: (1) Politics and the Administration of Justice--models of the criminal process, theory of street-level bureaucracy, racial politics and disparities, and politics of crime control; (2) Police--police discretion, police and neighborhood safety, personal characteristics of police officers, police use of deadly force, and the future of policing; (3) Prosecutorial Discretion and Plea Bargaining; (4) Defense Attorneys, Case Settlement, and Indigent Defenders; (5) Courts--punishment, urban politics and policy outcomes, race and sentencing, individualized justice and probation pre-sentence reports, and public support for the death penalty; (6) Corrections--prison culture, prison management, and politics and economics of increased correctional discretion over time served; and (7) Policy Perspectives. References, notes, tables, and figures