NCJ Number
170774
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 66 Issue: 10 Dated: (October 1997) Pages: 14-21
Date Published
1997
Length
8 pages
Annotation
A professor considers the perspective of criminal justice agency managers to discuss the efforts that police, prosecutors, public defenders, courts, and correctional agencies can and must make to ensure the support of the public they serve by focusing on the nature and quality of their encounters with citizens.
Abstract
The public expects the criminal justice system to achieve many goals. These goals include protecting citizens from crimes and from the fear of crime, apprehending offenders and giving them their just deserts while protecting their constitutional rights, and using money and authority fairly. The President's Crime Commission of the late 1960s framed society's understanding of criminal justice agencies as a large funnel that channeled cases to their ultimate disposition. This funnel presented a reactive approach to crime and omitted the importance of those outside the criminal justice system. In subsequent decades, the criminal justice system became fairer and more competent while losing popular legitimacy. To increase legitimacy, criminal justice personnel need to make a focused effort to ensure quality in all kinds of encounters with citizens, render their organizations transparent and accountable to citizen overseers and their representatives, and engage citizens as coproducers of crime control and justice. Photographs