Perceptions Of Federal Management In The Clinton Era

This article examines aspects of planning, budgeting and reorganization in order to evaluate what improvements have been undertaken during the Clinton presidency to improve government performance in the United States national government 1 . The authors develop a model of government reform based upon a series of escalating steps. These are: (1) internal government improvements; (2) fundamental restructuring and reorganization of agency operations; (3) programme reforms, driven by internal management; (4) programme reforms – driven by policy and political change; (5) reform of the political system itself. The authors conclude that while the National Performance Review and Government Performance and Results Act are the centre-pieces of this effort, reform will continue in the US after NPR
and GPRA wither away because the time is right for reform for a variety of reasons discussed in the article. The findings are then focused in a broader context in terms of their applicability to western democracies which could result in smaller more successful governments in the twenty-first century.     

Detention and desistance from crime: Evaluating the influence of a new generation jail on recidivism

New generation jails represent a fundamental reform to the structure and management style of traditional jails. Evaluations have investigated the effects of this innovation on the internal operations of detention facilities, although no study has yet examined the potential impact of new generation designs on the postrelease criminal behavior of inmates. Using a sample of 600 inmates housed under indirect or direct supervision, the present study began to address this issue. The results suggest that the new generation model does not increase recidivism and may reduce postrelease offending in some situations.