What's Wrong With the Criminal Justice System

by Merlo, Alida V.; Benekos, Peter J.

• ISBN13: 9780870849336
• ISBN10: 0870849336
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-09-01
• Publisher: Anderson Pub Co

Summary

Reviews concepts, information, and points of view that help to explain the context and constraints of the criminal justice system. Engages the reader in a critique of criminal justice as a means of moving the discussion to a more informed and insightful level, and creates understanding about what can be done by the criminal justice system. Contains chapters on dynamics of criminal justice, police, consequences of court policy, correctional policy in crisis, deconstructing adolescence and dismantling the juvenile court, and changing course.

Table of Contents

Dedication	p. iii
Acknowledgments	p. v
Preface	p. vii
Dynamics of Criminal Justice	p. 1
Media	p. 4
Ideology	p. 8
Politics	p. 10
Crime as a Surrogate Social Problem	p. 11
Ideology and Crime	p. 12
Getting Elected	p. 13
War Model	p. 16
Unintended Effects	p. 17
Cycles of Social Control and Crime Policy	p. 20
Seeking Balance	p. 22
Race and Exclusion	p. 23
Note	p. 24
Discussion Questions	p. 25
References	p. 25
Police: Maintaining a Delicate Balance	p. 29
Images	p. 29
Dichotomy and Distortion	p. 31
Politics and Reform	p. 33
Ideology	p. 35
Community Policing	p. 38
What Works?	p. 41
Third-Party Policing	p. 44
Discussion: The Balance	p. 45
Discussion Questions	p. 46
References	p. 47
The Court Conundrum: Confronting the Consequences of Policy	p. 51
Crime News, Public Perceptions, and Policy	p. 51
Consequences of Felony Conviction	p. 55
The Judiciary, Prosecution, and Defense Counsel	p. 56
Defense Attorneys	p. 57
Guilty Pleas and Trials	p. 58
The Evolution from Indeterminate to Determinate Sentencing	p. 58
Current Trends in Sentencing in the United States	p. 60
Sentencing Guidelines	p. 61
The Reality of Federal Sentencing Guidelines	p. 62
Sentencing Commissions and Politics	p. 65
Sentence Enhancements: "Three Strikes and You're Out"	p. 66
Three-Strikes Legislation Litigation	p. 67
The Effect of Three-Strikes Legislation	p. 68
Race and Sentencing: Disproportionate Representation of Blacks	p. 69
Sentencing in the 1990s	p. 72
Capital Punishment	p. 72
Prison and Jail Sentences	p. 74
Sex Offender Sentencing and Notification Statutes	p. 75
Probation	p. 77
Discussion: Promising Approaches in the Courts	p. 79
Specialty Courts	p. 79
Sentencing Reform	p. 80
Restorative Justice	p. 80
Discussion Question	p. 82
References	p. 83
Cases	p. 86
Punishment and Prisons: Correctional Policy in Crisis	p. 87
Prisons and Incarceration in the 1990s	p. 88
The Prison Boom	p. 88
The Politics of Corrections	p. 90
Prisoner Demographics	p. 93
Elderly Inmates	p. 93
Consequences of Drug Policy	p. 95
Response to Prison Crowding	p. 97
Construction	p. 97
Privatization	p. 98
Alternative Strategies	p. 101
The Impact of Three-Strikes Legislation	p. 103
Consequences of Long-Term Incarceration	p. 104
Post Modern Punishment	p. 106
Discussion: Revising Correctional Policy	p. 108
Get-Tough Politics	p. 108
Rational Thinking About Correctional Policy	p. 109
Discussion Questions	p. 112
References	p. 113
Juvenile Justice: Deconstructing Adolescence and Dismantling the Juvenile Court	p. 119
Youth Crime: Media Images versus Data	p. 119
Justice for Juveniles	p. 123
Transforming Juvenile Justice	p. 125
Rational Choice	p. 125
Jurisdictional Reform	p. 125
Legislative Reform	p. 126
Youth Violence and Moral Panic	p. 129
Zero Tolerance	p. 130
Get Tougher	p. 133
What Can Be Done?	p. 135
Strategies	p. 136
Risk Factors	p. 136
Prevention	p. 138
Drugs	p. 139
Guns	p. 139
Schools	p. 140
Intervention	p. 140
Balance and Collaboration	p. 142
Programs	p. 144
Schools	p. 145
Gangs	p. 145
Guns	p. 146
Community Mobilization	p. 147
Alternatives to Placement	p. 148
GROW	p. 148
CICTP	p. 149
Boot Camps	p. 150
Summary of Programs	p. 150
System Reform	p. 151
Policy Options	p. 152
Specialty Courts	p. 152
Discussion: Changing the Focus	p. 155
Discussion Questions	p. 156
References	p. 157
Cases	p. 162
Changing Course	p. 163
Drugs: Criminal Justice or Medical Model?	p. 164
Alternatives to Drug Wars and Dualistic Policy Debates	p. 165
TASC: Treatment Alternatives to Street Crime	p. 165
Drug Courts	p. 166
Harm Reduction	p. 167
Issues in Criminal Justice	p. 169
Limits of Law	p. 170
Good News: Decline in Crime	p. 172
Explanations for Crime Reduction	p. 172
Consequences for Criminal Justice	p. 174
Capital Punishment	p. 174
Police	p. 176
Courts	p. 177
Corrections	p. 178
Prison-Industrial Complex	p. 182
Challenges and Context for the Twenty-First Century	p. 183
Federalization	p. 183
Public Perception	p. 184
Early Intervention	p. 185
Discussion Questions	p. 186
References	p. 187
Name Index	p. 191
Subject Index	p. 197
About the Authors	p. 207
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