U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Organizational Cooptation or Social Change? A Critical Perspective on Community-criminal Justice Partnerships

NCJ Number
184238
Journal
Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice Volume: 16 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2000 Pages: 293-320
Author(s)
Nancy C. Jurik; Joel Blumenthal; Brian Smith; Edwardo L. Portillos
Date Published
August 2000
Length
28 pages
Annotation
Case study data from a community partnership program developed by university administrators and staff from a State juvenile corrections agency formed the basis of an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the increasingly popular partnership strategies for preventing and reducing crime.
Abstract
This partnership aimed to develop a transitional service center in which university personnel and community members worked with paroled youth in mentoring and community service projects. Study information came from interviews, surveys, participant observations, and record reviews for the process evaluation of program implementation. The analysis of the competing goals and implementation struggles in this case were used to consider the validity of conflicting positive and negative perspectives on criminal justice partnerships. Results of the multilevel analysis revealed the innovations and limitations of a partnership approach. Findings indicated that full understanding of both the potential and the pitfalls of partnership models requires consideration of the structural, organizational, and interactional levels of a project’s emergence and implementation. 63 references (Author abstract modified)