NCJ Number
213873
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 23 Issue: 1 Dated: March 2006 Pages: 127-146
Date Published
March 2006
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This essay examines the "McDonaldization" ("McJustice") of criminal justice, which is a term used by sociologist George Ritzer (2004) to refer to the bureaucratic process by which principles of the fast-food industry are applied to other sectors of society.
Abstract
The particular characteristics of "McJustice" examined in this essay are efficiency, calculability, predictability, control, and irrationality. Regarding efficiency, the practice discussed is the administration of justice by plea bargaining, which aims to reduce the time and cost of case processing. The "McJustice" feature of calculability refers to the quantitative aspects of case processing, which pertains to the ability to produce large amounts of products rapidly, thus reducing costs and the amount of time it takes to process a case. The discussion of predictability focuses on the reduction of sentencing and parole discretion so there will be more uniformity in sentencing and parole decisions. Control in "McDonaldized" institutions involves the ability to get employees and customers to follow the rules and regulations that govern the process. This means training employees to do a few things in a prescribed manner as managers and inspectors provide close supervision. This requires a host of rules and regulations and a fixed structure for job tasks. Technology facilitates this control. According to Ritzer, "McDonaldized" institutions are rational systems, and rational systems inevitably produce irrationalities "that limit, eventually compromise, and perhaps even undermine their rationality." This essay discusses the irrational aspects of "McJustice" in the areas of plea bargaining, criminal justice fiscal policies, determinate sentencing, and efforts to control criminal justice officials job tasks and decisionmaking. The issue is whether a system that involves individual human beings--criminal justice professionals, offenders, and victims--with varying needs, circumstances, attitudes, values, and cultural conditioning can be subjected to "McJustice" without compromising the principles of justice. 89 references