Chapter 9: Social Policy in Criminal Justice Systems
Chapter 9: Social Policy in Criminal Justice Systems
Social/Public Policy
The material in this section discusses the ways policy is influenced by social, political, economic, legal, and ideological forces. It should not be a secret that each of these forces plays some role in policy formation. Marion & Oliver, (2006; 2012) assert that the formulation of policy is influenced by social, political, economic, legal and ideological factors. The reader should pay close attention to these criteria in preparation for future evaluations. According to Marion & Oliver (2006: 2012) “The end result is crime policy that is rarely about reducing crime but policy that plays well with the public and the media” (p.23). None the less formulation of policy is the choice of those in charge either by position or authority, may be the inclination of fear mongering rather than factual contextual reporting.
Sentencing Policies
Consider the following three areas that have contemporary impacts on the CJ system. They are plea bargaining, truth-in-sentencing, and mandatory sentencing. This section offers a brief policy proposal on plea bargaining. The reader should consider their own policy for the remaining two that will offer guidelines to enhance the equity, efficiency, and efficacy of this policy. Truth in sentencing and mandatory sentencing is discussed further on in the material.
I would not change the process per se but would offer some minor tweaking. First all petty offenses of a non-violent nature would meet with administrative law judges and receive an opportunity to be heard and a civil compromise would be levied in the finding of guilt. An Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) is a legal scholar (retired judge or lawyer) with authority of a sitting criminal judge in a less formal setting (relaxed rules of evidence) not requiring a bogged down system with lawyers, as the ALJ will be the guardian of rights for defense and prosecution. A civil compromise is a finding that does not label the defendant or provide them with a criminal record, much like the traffic court system (much like a driving record there is a recording of the event but not criminal). Second, if the defendant is habitual then the system is no longer available to this person. This system is based on the ability of the accused and accuser to negotiate justice. This will be particularly effective for bad checks, code violations, traffic, public intoxication, underage drinking etc.
The actual plea bargaining process will be limited to misdemeanors and felonies of less substance (non-violent matters or identity theft or larcenies less than $5,000) for the first time offender. If there exists a specialized court for a specific offense such as DWI Court, Drug Court, Mental Health Court, or Domestic Court, then that becomes the court of original jurisdiction. Pleas will be categorized by type of offense, prior criminal history and victim impact statement. The ALJ retains the authority to bump an offender to a h