NCJ Number
188182
Editor(s)
Kittipong Kittayarak
Date Published
1999
Length
345 pages
Annotation
This report profiles the proceedings of the 1999 seminar in which Japanese experts of the United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (UNAFEI), Thai criminal justice officials, and legal scholars featured varieties of practical tools and mechanisms available to improve the criminal justice system through creative and valuable involvement from the community and crime victims.
Abstract
This report presents the addresses of an inaugural session, the introduction to UNAFEI, and two keynote speeches. Following these presentations, six seminar sessions were held. Papers presented in these seminar sessions are also provided in this report. The seminars addressed community and victim involvement in the following crime-control efforts: crime prevention, investigation, prosecution, trial, corrections, and rehabilitation. Among the topics discussed in the crime-prevention seminar were partnerships between the police and community members, community policing, and how community institutions impact the quality of life in a society. The seminar on investigation focused on citizen cooperation with the police in crime investigations; the accessibility of police to citizens; and the use of certain civilian experts, such as social workers, psychologists, and accountants, in criminal investigations. The seminar on prosecution encompassed community and victim involvement in prosecution, media involvement in monitoring the use of prosecutorial discretion, victim involvement in prosecutorial diversion decisions, and notification of the victim regarding case processing events. The seminar on trial considered such topics as the pros and cons of a jury system, the court's role in protecting witness's rights, and shortening the amount of time required to try a case. The seminar on corrections considered victim-offender mediation and restitution sessions, notification of the victim regarding offender rehabilitation progress, and community involvement in vocational-training aspects of corrections. The seminar on rehabilitation considered community resources for offender rehabilitation and how community resources can be used in probation services. References and relevant tables accompany the presentations.