Criminal justice: Portrait of a discipline in process

Criminal justice is an academic discipline in practice but not yet in theory. An analysis of intellectual resources used in recent criminal justice books shows that theory development is still tied to established disciplines, does not accurately reflect and incorporate the multiple intellectual traditions from which the discipline of criminal justice arose, and has failed to achieve a genuine multidisciplinary and multitheoretical stance or project. Some reasons for this state of affairs and some suggestions for training and practice in the new discipline of criminal justice are advanced.     

Criminal justice plannimg: Case for a comprehensive approach

All too often the task accomplishment of one actor in the criminal justice system is frustrated by the actions of other components of the system. Decisions within the components of the criminal justice system often are not made from a stystemic perspective, therefore frustrating the objective of reducing crime. While there may be an abundance of people concerned with a plethora of small problems and roles, what is lacking is a group of officials viewing the system in its totality. By failing to develop a holistic approach within which to analyze the problems each component of the criminal justice has, these problems will not be successfully resolved.The use of comprehensive planning as a mechanism which will coordinate all of the diverse activities within the criminal justice system and direct these activities to clearly articulated systemic goals has the potential to overcome the problems each component of the criminal system generates internal to the system itself. This paper seeks to explain and evaluate the potential of comprehensive planning.     

Criminal justice education: The dilemma of articulation

There exists a major problem for criminal justice students in transferring from the two- to four-year institution. This article addresses the historical foundation of this dilemma and provides a path toward solution.     

Criminal justice: An emerging academic profession and discipline

The recent history and current trends of criminal justice educational programs are examined in light of traditional definitions of professions, disciplines, and sciences. The author concludes that criminal justice is clearly emerging as a unique academic profession and as a nontraditional discipline. The nature of contemporary criminal justice education is discussed to develop predictions of its directions.     

Criminal justice faculty and criminal justice students: A case for the missing data

This article reviews the most current criminal justice education research. It examines the interrelationship between the work of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, the Joint Commission on Criminology and Criminal Justice Education and Standards, and the National Advisory Commission on Higher Education for Police, and describes and compares some of their more important findings. Discussed are types of criminal justice programs; characteristics of criminal justice faculty, particularly in terms of earned academic degrees; agency work experience; commitment to research and teaching; types of criminal justice curricula, as typified by certain educational philosophies; and criminal justice students. Although this article notes several areas with which future research might become fruitfully involved, the area in need of most immediate attention, and the area that current research has all but ignored, is the criminal justice student.     

Criminal justice and the voluntary sector: a policy that does not compute

The profile of the women who tend to get caught up in the criminal justice system has changed little over the past 30 years. Compared to the general population, they are socially and economically disadvantaged, poorly educated and have high incidence of mental health and substance misuse problems. Experience of physical violence and sexual abuse is depressingly prevalent in their biographies (see for example, Gelsthorpe et al., 2007). In addition, the steep rise, compared to men, in the imprisonment of women throughout the 1990s, most commonly for short sentences of six months or less, exacerbated their marginalisation and failed to reduce reoffending.     

Criminal justice and ethical ideology: an exploration of a loyalty-truthfulness dilemma

The notion of loyalty is well established in the criminological literature pertaining to ethics, ethical decision making, and ethical and ideological orientations. The present research addresses the topic of ethics and loyalty in an attempt to address three research questions germane to these areas within criminal justice and criminology. Using two samples equivalent in characteristics other than academic major, this research examines: (1) what impact gender, college major, and the ethical perspective of the observer and the nature of the actor’s action have upon the observer’s attitude toward the action (specific act of deception/truth); (2) what impact gender, college major, and the ethical perspective of the observer and the nature of the actor’s action have upon the observer’s perception of the social attractiveness of the deceiver; and (3) what impact gender, college major, the ethical perspective of the observer, and the nature of the actor’s action have upon the observer’s perception of the task attractiveness of the deceiver. Using a vignette design in this exploratory research, attempts are made to shed light on the impact of gender, major (criminal justice v. others), and ethical orientation on perceptions of an actor confronted with an ethical dilemma of loyalty versus disloyalty involving deception.     

Book review: Criminal justice history and co‐corrections

Lawrence M. Friedman and Robert V. Percival, The Roots of Justice: Crime and Punishment in Alameda County, California, 1870–1910 Chapel Hill, N.C.: The University of North Carolina Press, 1981, 335 pp.

Charles Campbell, Serving Time Together: Men and Women in Prison Fort Worth, Texas Christian University Press, 1980, 237 pp.     

Criminal justice as an academic discipline: Costs and benefits

One of the stages through which any new field must pass is academic legitimation. The field of criminal justice is presently in this stage of striving for acceptance within the academic community. Recently, criticism of the field as well as legitimizing activities seem to have increased. In the course of the debate about the appropriate location and identity of criminal justice, it can be expected that the issue of disciplinary status for criminal justice will gain prominence.The issue of disciplinary status for the field of criminal justice is considered in terms of the advantages and disadvantages of disciplines. Also, assets of a multidisciplinary status are presented and “cost” comparisons are made between disciplines and multidisciplinary fields.While there seem to be points in favor of disciplines, an analysis of some of the weaknesses of disciplines suggests that continuance of a more synthetic and open approach is preferable for the field.     

A systematic review of the literature comparing male non-serial sexual killers and sexual aggressors: examining homogeneous and heterogeneous characteristics of these groups

ABSTRACT

This systematic review considers what is known about the characteristics of sexual killers and sexual aggressors. The aim was to identify which characteristics have consistently been shown to be similar (homogeneous) and which are different (heterogeneous) across these two groups. Ten studies, including approximately 300 sexual killers, were analysed. Only studies where the samples were directly compared and where sexual killers were male, predominantly non-serial and perpetrated against adult female victims were included. Results indicate that levels of loneliness and anger appear to be more prevalent in the sexual killer sample while mental health disorders, criminal history, family structure and history of sexual abuse as well as some crime scene behaviours seem to be similar across the two groups. The results of this review have also highlighted some methodological problems inherent to these types of studies and these issues are discussed from the perspective of improving research on these crimes.     

Criminal justice policy and the psychology of peacemaking

Psychology which once was a primary influence on the development of criminal justice policy has, in recent decades, lost much of its ability to inform how laws and policies are made that concern punishment and social control. The reason for psychology's loss of inluence can be traced to the war on crime political rhetoric adopted by politicians and criminal justice administrators. This paper argues that an emerging peacemaking perspective in the criminal justice system allows the discipline of psychology to once again inform the discourse on criminal justice policy. Issues such as drug abuse, gun control, and capital punishment are appropriate subjects for a psychological perspective in the national debate on criminal justice policy.     

Criminal justice theory: A case of trained incapacity?

Theories are scientific tools which give meaning to the social and physical reality that scientists study. They also play a crucial role in generating and storing the information of a discipline. The academic field of criminal justice has a wealth of facts but a dearth of theory. As a result, this field is still only partially developed. This article is a call for greater attention to theory so that the analysis of the criminal justice system and its components can be more fruitful.A survey of 25 criminal justice textbooks published since 1975 shows that the analysis of criminal justice retains a facts-without-theory flavor. For criminal justice as an academic field of study to grow, theory must be integrated much more into criminal justice research and education than has been the case. The theoretical frameworks of such social theorists as Durkheim, Marx, and Weber, among others, are suggested as sources to draw upon to develop an integrated comprehensive theory of the criminal justice system.     

Criminal justice pioneers: A content analysis of biographical data

This study used relational content analysis to assess the relative importance of criminal justice pioneers (N = 44) as identified by Jones (2005). Comparisons were made in terms of race, gender, area of focus, level of education, era of birth, longevity, and the amount of space (i.e., pages) devoted to each biography. The results were threefold: (1) most of the designated pioneers were born between 1901 and 1950 where a significant number contributed in the area of law enforcement, (2) all women pioneers were Caucasian and outnumbered African American pioneers by more than more than a 2:1 ratio, and (3) men were ten times more likely than women to be regarded as pioneers. The implications of these findings are discussed regarding the perceived relative importance of certain personalities based on the amount of space devoted to their bibliography.     

Criminal justice programs in higher education: Course and curriculum orientations

The growth of criminal justice education programs at institutions of higher learning has been largely a phenomenon of the 1960s and 1970s. This rapid growth has resulted in a variety of program types in terms of both subject area and content orientation. Programs appear to be moving toward a total-system approach with both a social science and professional emphasis. The type of program developed by educational institutions has implications for instructor selection, practitioner relationships, and organizational location within the institution of higher learning.     

Youth justice conferencing and police referrals: The gatekeeping role of police in Queensland, Australia

Youth justice conferencing in Queensland, Australia relies on the discretionary referral of young offenders by the police. The low rate of police referrals to conferencing is an ongoing concern for conference organizers. The research presented in this study explored Queensland police officers' training, experience, understandings of youth justice conferencing, and their individual discretionary policing style. The impact of these factors on officers' attitudes towards conferencing and their reported likelihood of referring to conference were examined. One hundred eighty-four Queensland police officers stationed in police regions where conferencing was available participated in the study. Of these officers, 15 percent had never heard of conferencing. Of officers who had heard of conferencing, 35 percent had received training, 21 percent had referred a young person to a conference, and 20 percent had attended a conference. Officers' understandings of conferencing were significantly related to their reported likelihood of referring a young person to a conference. The results indicated that to increase police referrals of young people to conferences, police need to be exposed (both through training and attendance) to the philosophy of and procedures involved in conferencing.     

Criminal justice curricula in the United States: A decade of change

This research on criminal justice programs and curricula in 1999–2000 is a follow-up to Southerland's study of baccalaureate programs in 1988–89, published in the Spring 1991 issue of the Journal of Criminal Justice Education. A national overview and regional differences are presented. Positive and negative changes are highlighted, and recommendations for improvement are included. The findings are evaluated in light of the ACJS Minimum Standards for Criminal Justice Education and the broader context of general trends in higher education.     

通感——象征主义的风格标志——中西文论中通感现象比较研究

西方象征主义诗人们提出的通感理论极大地推动了诗歌艺术的创作发展,而数千年以来的中国文论却不乏与通感理论相符的实例。文章试图就此对中西方文艺创作的通感现象作进一步的比较研究。