Using statistics in criminal justice leads to evidence-based policy and practice. Criminal justice leadership can rely on statistical data to understand which policies are working and why, and how to change policies that are not yielding desired results. Leaders who rely on statistics are less likely to base policy decisions and judgments regarding criminal justice practices on politics rather than on achieving specific goals such as crime rate reduction. Therefore, criminal justice statistics can help improve organizational efficiency and integrity, allowing leaders to focus resources on policies and programs that yield demonstrable and significant results. Statistical data helps criminal justice policy makers divert resources appropriately to fund studies that yield measurable results. Moreover, statistical research can help promote new techniques, tactics, programs, policies, procedures, and technologies that can help reduce rates of crime and create safer communities. According to the United States Department of Justice (2017), “research is critical to the development of sound criminal justice policy, as well as to the development of advanced technologies that support the work of law enforcement agencies,” (p. 1). Evidence-based practice seems like common sense, but has not always been fully integrated into criminal justice policy. As Bouchey (2016) points out, stereotyping and bias factor strongly into policy decisions in criminal justice. The Bouchey (2016) study finds, “state...
198). The failed war on drugs is a prime example of how criminal justice policy has been based too long on superstition, bias, and political whims rather than on statistical evidence. Increased reliance on statistical data can prevent public policy from being biased, so long as the research itself is conducted ethically, reliably, and validly.References
Boushey, G. (2016). Targeted for diffusion? American Political Science Review 10(1): 198-214.
Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS, 2017). Criminal Justice Data Improvement Program. Retrieved online: https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=4
Gill, C., Weisburd, D. & Telep, C. (2016). Community policing. In Advancing Criminology and Criminal Justice Policy. Routledge, pp. 119-129.
Khan, K. & Martin, K.D. (2016). Policing and race. Social Issues and Policy Review 10(1): 82-121.
United States Department of Justice (2017). Research, statistics, and evaluation. Retrieved online: https://ojp.gov/programs/research_stats.htm
Statistics in the Hospital Setting During the course of performing my professional duties at College Hospital, which is a psychiatric facility located in Cerritos, California, I encounter patients who are struggling to maintain some semblance of a normal life despite struggling with one or more mental illnesses or psychological impairments. College Hospital is a 187-bed, free-standing psychiatric care unit which is accredited by The Joint Commission and licensed by the
Human Trafficking: An Ethnographic Study Opening Statement Human trafficking is not a problem that only affects developing nations. Every nation and region of the globe is plighted by the problem of human trafficking, including the world's wealthiest countries. In fact, it is often the wealthy nations that provide the lucrative market that drives human trafficking to begin with. "Human trafficking represents perhaps the worst form of labor exploitation and can be regarded
Rape in Conflict There are various situations in life that results in rape in conflict; Patriarchy The feminist perspective on the various forms of violence perpetrated against women does suggest strongly that such acts are a reinforcement of patriarchy. This is portrayed in the unequal bargaining power that exists in the various sexual encounters in the societies that are increasingly patriarchal. The fact that the traditional male privilege has continuously faded away through
Based on the foregoing considerations, it is suggested that the DCMP restructure their existing training programs and administration so that a more unified and centralized plan is in place, as well as providing for better instructor qualifications, evaluation, learning retention and more efficient and effective use of resources which are by definition scarce. These broad general issues were refined for the purposes of this study into the research questions stated
history of crime measurement as well as the major strengths and limitations of current measurement techniques. I have also included the discussion regarding the importance of crime measurement in criminology. In the end, I have put emphasis on the need of the development of more crime measurement techniques. The measurement of crime is done with the objective of monitoring and this is mostly done in the same manner as the
role of prisons in the society. I have included the theories of deterrence, rehabilitation, retribution, incapacitation, non-interventionism and restoration to support my discussion along with their positive and negative aspects. In the conclusion, I have given my preferred theory of imprisonment as the most effective and important ones. A prison can be defined as a protected and locked institution where juvenile and grown-up offenders are housed with punishments that vary
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now