Criminal Justice Research and Policy Development

Research and Policy Development Paper
Introduction
Irrespective of how advanced the devices and systems used in receiving and sending information are, much success would not be achieved in crime reduction until important information and facts about crime is accessible and worked on by policymakers (Andrews & Bonta, 2010). The idea of research, with emphasis laid on the discoveries made from criminal justice investigation, being actively utilized by policymakers forms the subject matter which this paper studies.
Identify the purposes and types of policies within the field of criminal justice
i. Count Policies
An important function of a corrections officer is the knowledge of the location of all offenders and where each one should be at a particular moment in time. All organizations have a different style and number of counts, nonetheless, the role the counts play remain straightforward and it is; to have the knowledge of the exact number of offenders existing under the agency’s care. This form of policies is the first within the criminal justice system (Andrews & Bonta, 2010). To a corrections officer, these policies determine when a head count of the offenders should be done, the steps to take if the offenders don’t keep to the rules and the ways to properly ensure that all tasks are carried out smoothly and timely.
ii. Use of Force Policies
An average corrections officer applies and takes off handcuffs more times daily than an average police officer. The criminal justice system possesses a strong policy regarding the use of force and the offender restraint. These policies supplies a detailed method and explanation of the way to restrain an offender, the ways and times when an offender is supposed to follow orders and the punishments when an offender doesn’t follow orders (Andrews & Bonta, 2010). The policies exist to shield corrections officers, the offenders themselves and all others who are involved one way or another. Also via these policies, the corrections officers are held responsible for anything that happens to the offender when in their custody.
iii. Medical Policies
The offenders present within the corrections system of a state are seen as the state’s wards. What this implies is that they should have access to quality medical care which is also timely and reasonable. Also, if any one of them has medical problems, proper recording and reporting to superiors should be done (Andrews & Bonta, 2010). The correctional officers have very little medical training and expertise, despite their excellent skills in human understanding, hence, they cannot properly conclude on the genuineness of any mental condition. Therefore these policies are crucial as they give the answers to questions on the reasons and processes involved in meeting the medical needs of offenders.
iv. Emergency Response Policies
Within the criminal justice system, officers have to respond to several emergencies daily. Within corrections, response units exist whose duty is to respond to these sorts of emergency situations. The remaining officers take up positions at a particular cell, block or complex (Andrews & Bonta, 2010). As a result of the emergency response policies, corrections officers have all necessary equipment to control almost all situations that might occur during their shift.
Describe the relationship between research and policy development
A particular issue which has a significant impact on research as well as its connection to policymaking is the level of interest, or specifically, the dearth of interest, in criminal justice research. Why this is quite surprising is that crime is one of the main concerns the people have (Maxfield & Babbie, 2014). Criminal justice studies have found it difficult to demonstrate its importance. Immediate results are not common and when they are present, they are most times speculative and filled with limitations and conditions. Equally, these studies take time and realistically, the answers they seek are needed right away. For criminal justice studies, however, irrespective of how innovative, extensive or sound the research is, there can’t be any instant or specific answer to criminal issues, like we see in medical research where the solutions are specific and are in drugs and medication form.
Therefore, doubts about the effectiveness of criminal justice research often prevent its use. In fact, significant doubts exists that there is a solution at all. Crime is seen as difficult and inflexible and the criminal prevalence in the general society definitely backs up this mindset. However, it is debated that the difficulty of crime shouldn’t stop us from increasing our knowledge base. Regularly, instead of taking actions based on unbiased research findings, inherent beliefs about offenders and the general justice system take the upper hand. At the worst levels, criminal policymakers ignore objective research facts (Maxfield & Babbie, 2014; Maxfield, 2015).
Provide examples of how research can assist policy makers by informing their policy decisions
The police reaction to various forms of crime, like, domestic violence has been studied by researches. Previously, domestic violence issues specifically spouse abuse was addressed separately from other forms of assault by the police. This difference was due to the belief that the issue of spouse abuse is “a family issue” and the couple/family should be left to resolve their differences. Sadly, this crime is often repeated and in some cases, ends up in murder. Of recent, studies have successfully swayed a number of police departments and they are reevaluating their stance regarding spouse abuse (Petersilia, 1987).
The overcrowding problem in the prisons have pressured research into focusing on aiding administrators of correctional facilities manage parole, probation and imprisonment activities using the restricted resources provided for them by strained public budgets. Research has made efforts to divide inmates into classes based on the possibility of violent behaviour when under detention as well as the possibility of reoffending if released. Research had forewarned the policy community on the imminent corrections problem and the demand for proper planning. The researchers affiliated with Abt Associates, using previous sentencing data, forecasted the future prison numbers and pinpointed correlations with current imprisonment rates (Petersilia, 1987). These researchers also gave suggestions for handling this population. Subsequently, researchers based in various states have created prison classification frameworks which are meant to better the designation of criminals to minimum-, medium-, and maximum prison facilities. Many other states, presently, have used these same classification tools, instead of clinical verdicts, for determining prison security delegations.
The information on criminal behaviour equally has a significant impact on bail resolutions. Research has discovered that defendants with roots ad history within a community have low risk of absconding, irrespective of their economic ability to settle a bondsman. Vera Institute of Justice’s researchers have created a point technique which evaluated information on the defendant’s family contacts, residential stability, previous crime record and employment. The final point score gotten by a defendant is used in classifying him/her under a specific flight-risk category. This technique has been approved in many cities and is currently in use by more than 200 U.S. court systems (Petersilia, 1987).
Identify two examples of policies that were developed within the past 10 years that resulted from research within the field of criminal justice
i. Evidence-Based Programs and Practices
This policy, which was adopted in year 2011, states that, public safety, which is the principal objective of the criminal justice system, will be most benefited if policy planning, funding and its implementation is carried out based on experimental knowledge on the key practice elements which are proven to have profitable effect when established with commitment to related problems and populations (Bachman & Schutt, 2017). This policy, which was created due to support information and research, recognizes the importance of research to criminal justice and demands that criminal justice system practitioners and policy makers adopt and back evidence-based and high-potential practices while remaining flexible as regards innovative processes which are based on experimental research.
ii. Pretrial Justice
This policy, which was adopted in year 2015, demands that, pretrial justice processes should identify and balance the constitutionally-based freedom interests of an individual as well as the society’s public safety concerns and lastly, the organized court processes (Bachman & Schutt, 2017). The policy was created based on support evidence and research on the impact of overdependence on bail schedules or cash bonds which causes needless incarceration of low risk persons and the unwise discharge of high risk persons.
References
Andrews, D. A., & Bonta, J. (2010). Rehabilitating criminal justice policy and practice. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 16(1), 39.
Bachman, R. D., & Schutt, R. K. (2017). Fundamentals of research in criminology and criminal justice. Sage Publications.
Maxfield, M. G. (2015). Basics of research methods for criminal justice and criminology. Cengage Learning.
Maxfield, M. G., & Babbie, E. R. (2014). Research methods for criminal justice and criminology. Nelson Education.
Petersilia, J. (1987). The influence of criminal justice research. Santa Monica, CA: Rand.