Social Policy and the Administration of Justice

• Published in: Criminology (Beverly Hills) 1970-11, Vol.8 (3), p.295-300
• Main Author: NEJELSKI, PAUL
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Administration/Administrations/ Administrative/ Administrator/ Administrators; Justice; Law/Laws (see also Legal, Legislation); Policy/Policies; Social
• ISSN: 0011-1384
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1745-9125.1970.tb00747.x

Some of the sources of soc policy & some aspects of the admin of justice are reviewed. Problems which confront an org such as the Nat'l Instit of Law Enforcement & Criminal Justice when it attempts to study & foster innovation in this setting are analyzed in terms of decision-making dilemmas for the individual policeman, the prosecuting attorney, & the judge. Measuring the effectiveness of the system as a whole is difficult, because of the often self-serving nature of criminal justice statistics. Society has tended to overload the criminal justice system with many problems which might better be resolved by some non-criminal procedure. Previous projects point to the need to re-examine the traditional use of the criminal process, & to explore a wide range of noncriminal alternatives, including such diverse tactics as counseling, arbitration, hosp'ization, or referral to soc services depending on the type of problem involved. 'Too often these alternatives & esp our soc services are inadequate, & the criminal justice system is used by default.' Res & innovation should focus on: (1) definition of the relevant decision-makers & analysis of the scope of their discretion; (2) determination of the responsibility & accountability of the participants; (3) improvement in the measure of effectiveness; & (4) re-examination of the uses of criminal process & development of noncriminal alternatives where appropriate. M. Maxfield.