Supporting Criminal Justice Policy
Abstract
Criminal justice policies have been implemented or
mandated with statistical research data. Protection of the common public and
implementation of anti-crime programs have been established by criminal justice
professionals through quantitative and qualitative strategies, numeric data
about crimes, and in-depth information about a variety of social issues and
concerns. Evaluating statistical data is a crucial part of any effective
administering of criminal justice policy. Both statistical research and
criminal justice policy go hand in hand. Reliable statistical data is a
necessary component of the criminal justice system.
Fighting crime is only one aspect of the criminal justice
system. Countries are growing, changing, and evolving. Social issues continue
to be a major concern of populations. Young offenders are now tried as adults.
Police practices are scrutinized and often police brutality reports are on the
rise. Media coverage is rampant and citizens with smartphones can record
incidents as they unfold. Now, more than ever, statistical data is important
when it comes to researching the number and types of crimes committed, the
criminal type (male, female, serial, repeat offender, etc.), along with
political, social, and geographic unrest in parts of some countries. The need
for policy implementation changes as the needs of society change.
Governments are undertaking the task of researching and
compiling data reports. With ever increasing technological advances, it is
easier to collect and compile data. Local data can be compared to the national
averages in order to implement changes in policy on the city or county levels. Economic
changes and political unrest as well as public demand make way for justice
policy changes. Collecting and analyzing data is crucial in implementing new
policies.
Policy Research and Analysis is a
Good Thing
Several factors are involved with combining policy and
analysis and implementing policy changes. First and foremost, the data must be checked
for accuracy. If data contains errors, then the analysis produces faulty
results. If results are published without checking for accuracy, populations
and government administrations are misled. Data analysis, quite possibly, will
uncover errors. It is crucial in getting the data accurate, whether it be the
participant’s data or numerical values (Hurley, 2014). No one wants the
embarrassment of misinformed information, not to mention the backlash it would
presumably cause.
Administering Policy
The criminal justice system relies heavily on information
systems to process sound statistical analysis in order to deliver effective
programs from local communities to international communities. This broad
collection of data allows the criminal justice system to apprehend fugitives,
alert the public of safety issues such as Amber Alert, budget, build new
facilities and acquire equipment, and respond to issues plaguing many programs
already in place. Political candidates, U.S. Congress, state and federal
governments, and public demand all play a role in criminal justice policy
analysis. The administering of policy is not new; police, prosecutors, judges,
probation and parole officers have all long since been required to make
subjective judgment calls on policy implementation (Mayson, 2019).
Policy Evaluation
Evaluation is an important stage of policy implementation.
For instance, many states have attempted to legalize marijuana for medicinal
purposes only. Washington and Colorado have been successful in changing their
laws as early as 2012. These states have also implemented a list of approved
growers of the plant. How did this process come about? By evaluating a growing
need to better process criminals in the justice system; thereby decriminalizing
the use of marijuana for medical reasons alone (Sage Publishing Company, 2017).
Evaluating this change in order to help patients with debilitating illnesses
has spurred this controversial debate. As more and more states are changing
laws to enable the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, it is only a matter
of time before marijuana will be legalized; therefore, changing laws
nationwide.
Bias in Criminal Justice Policy is not a Good Thing
Most of today’s software programs are also filled with bias
against certain races of people. Automated prediction programs have been used
to make decisions that affect government and commercial activity such as who
gets hired or promoted, who is extended credit by credit card companies, what
advertisements are displayed, and policing (Mayson, 2019). One suggestion is to
hide the race of the alleged offender from information reports supplied by
police to prosecutors. The mugshot and race identifiers are included in their
file automatically and solely for police identification only; not relevant
information for the prosecution. By allowing only the necessary information to
be exposed, bias can be eliminated and removed.
Conclusion
The criminal justice system relies on statistical research
data to collect reliable results for anti-crime programs and other initiatives.
Testing this data for accuracy and evaluating the results is a crucial step
towards creating effective policies that will affect communities and
populations. Many social issues and concerns have been solved through effective
policy implementation. Many states are taking initiatives to change policies
and laws by allowing citizens more leniency with marijuana, an illegal drug
still in many areas of our nation. Past history is still prevalent in society
today with bias against certain races of people. Statistical research attempts
to find ways to eliminate bias. Even with all our technological advances in
software programs, bias remains an issue. Finding and eliminating errors is a
crucial function of reliable criminal justice policy.
References
Hurley, M. (2014). Cleaning a data
set to make ready for analysis. Sage
Research Methods Cases.
Retrieved from http://methods.sagepub.com/case/cleaning-a-data-set-to-make-ready-for-analysis?
Mayson, S. G. (2019, July). Bias in,
bias out. The Yale Law
Journal, 128(8), 2218. Retrieved from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=4c93199d-96b3-46c4-8bb2-2d58e07defe8%40sessionmgr4006
Sage Publishing
Company. (2017). Criminal justice policy. Retrieved from
https://us.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/chapter_6._criminal_justice_policy_0.pdf
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