NCJ Number
79447
Date Published
1981
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This videotape evaluates American criminal justice policies, compares them to those in Western Europe, and suggests improvements in the system.
Abstract
Prison overcrowding, uncivilized conditions in jails and prisons, and the high rate of incarceration illustrate the barrenness of the U.S. criminal justice system. Many State correctional institutions have been found to operate unconstitutionally; 26 States are facing court orders to reform their institutions. Capital punishment is not the answer to this problem nor is building more prisons or lengthening prison sentences. Factors which affect prison populations are career criminal programs, minimum sentences, probation and parole programs, and judicial interventions. Prison officials in Sweden and Denmark emphasize diverting offenders from the criminal justice system and creating more humane prison environments for those sentenced to such institutions. The average time an inmate is incarcerated in Sweden is only 3.4 months; the country has a low serious crime rate but an amount of street crime similar to that of the United States. U.S. policymakers must examine current policy toward serious crimes and must focus their attention on the mass murderer, organized crime, political terrorism, white-collar crime, and official lawlessness.