NCJ Number
78818
Journal
Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume: 71 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1980) Pages: 113-117
Date Published
1980
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This study measured the success of career criminal programs by surveying prosecutors' attitudes toward the program.
Abstract
The survey had three goals: (1) to determine perceptions of program success in a general sense and to measure these perceptions against the goals that prosecutors regard as most important, (2) to determine prosecutors' perceptions of the ingredients of program success, and (3) to record any changes in prosecutive practices that have resulted from the program. In June 1979, questionnaires were mailed to the chief prosecutor and the program director in each of the career criminal jurisdictions that 50 State planning agencies had previously identified. A total of 72 percent of the chief prosecutors and 73 percent of the program directors responded. The survey findings generally were favorable, with 9 out of 10 respondents rating the program as excellent or very good. However, prosecutors claimed that police, courts, and correctional officials are less than cooperative and that this lack of cooperation blunted program effectiveness. A total of 89 percent of respondents believed that enhancing crime control through effective prosecution was a very important or absolutely essential program goal. Stimulating improvements in prosecutive techinques was regarded as a means to this goal. In addition, prosecutors believed that the program should enhance the public's image of the criminal justice system, that the program would result in a decreased crime rate, and that the program should improve relations between the prosecutor and other officials in the criminal justice system. However, prosecutors differed in their opinions of the program's success. Detailed findings and implications for future evaluation of the program are discussed. Tables are provided.