NCJ Number
163541
Date Published
1996
Length
124 pages
Annotation
This manual presents the content of criminal justice policies, procedures, and tasks and proposes formats for putting them in writing so as to provide clarity and simplicity.
Abstract
The introductory chapter discusses the rationale for putting policies, procedures, and tasks in writing and in such a format that they are presented clearly and briefly. The sample written format pertains to transporting probation and parole violators. The second chapter examines why so many policies and procedures fail due to their flawed written styles and formats. The chapter describes and illustrates correct writing style, page layout, and organization. Definitions that distinguish policy, procedure, and task are presented in another chapter, followed by a chapter with guidelines for putting a policy concept into writing. Other chapters suggest how to put procedural and task concepts into writing. A chapter provides instruction in how to use numbers to organize and clarify directions. The steps discussed are the labeling and listing of services, the categorization of services, the assignment of numbers, and the adding of activity titles and numbers. A chapter on "Manual Management" considers how to manage the written documents on policies, procedures, and tasks so that they are used properly and effectively. An included writer's kit contains reproducible pages for the making of worksheets to help users plan and write directions.