NCJ Number
230361
Date Published
2010
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This chapter develops the argument that current trends in criminal justice suggest a different model of criminal justice than that described by the 1967 President's Crime Commission.
Abstract
The President's Commission viewed the criminal justice system as moving cases forward from one agency to the next, almost always in one direction, but having some built-in feedback and self-regulating mechanisms. The depiction of this "Systems Model" was translated into an iconic diagram that has been reprinted in nearly every criminal justice textbook since it first appeared in the President's Commission's summary report. Under the new model proposed in this chapter, however, the organizations of criminal justice no longer operate in a sequence, connected through the hand-off of criminal suspects or cases. Instead, in many jurisdictions across the country, representatives of the principal components of the criminal justice system interact directly and regularly. They pool their powers and their resources in order to address crime problems. Most often, the primary goal is to reduce violent crime. In pursuit of determined goals, police and prosecutors prioritize targets of investigation and prosecution; and parole and probation agencies add special search and seizure powers, while jails and prisons are often providers of intelligence information. Federal and local authorities negotiate prosecution based on who has the greatest likelihood of conviction and the potential for the most serious sanction. Thus, the "New Criminal Justice" is a model of cooperation and collaborative problem solving that bears only limited resemblance to the system depicted by the 1967 President's Commission. This chapter discusses the origins of this new model, elaborates on its characteristics, projects its future, and identifies some "cautions" about a rigid application of this new model.