NCJ Number
147025
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Education Volume: 4 Issue: 2 Dated: (Fall 1993) Pages: 307-324
Date Published
1993
Length
18 pages
Annotation
Examples of criminal justice theories and policies that originated in other countries are given to support an argument in favor of including a cross-cultural perspective in criminal justice education.
Abstract
This article supports the inclusion of a cross-cultural perspective in criminal justice education. Culture is defined for this article as the "values, ideas and behaviors which may be associated with one or more than one social or national group." The focus is on the desirability of seeking out criminal justice theories and policies that are developed in other countries. Criminal justice ideas originating in other cultures can help in the shaping of solutions in this country. Examples of theories developed in Latin America and Russia provide support for cross-cultural study of criminal justice theories. Examples from China are used to illustrate a cross- cultural perspective on responses to crime. According to the author, criminal justice policies can be judged on the basis of their impact on the crime rate, a difficult thing to assess given our limited knowledge about the causes of crime, or on the theoretical content. Crime policy reflects beliefs about causes of crime and attitudes about justice, human nature, social relations and the role of government. China's response to crime clearly has a different ideological foundation than policies found in the United States. It may be desirable to emulate some of their practices, but in any case, it is of value to understand other practices. Some guidelines for incorporating a cross-cultural perspective into criminal justice education are provided.