Criminal Justice Policy and Planning

Unlike other textbooks on the subject, this book presents a comprehensive and structured account of the process of administering planned change in the criminal justice system. The authors detail a simple yet sophisticated seven-stage model, which offers students and practitioners a full account of program and policy development from beginning to end. Within these stages, students focus on performing essential procedures, such as conducting a systems analysis, specifying an impact model, identifying target populations, making cost projections, collecting monitoring data, and performing evaluations. In reviewing these steps and procedures, students can develop a full appreciation for the challenges inherent in the process and understand the tools they require to meet those challenges. To provide for a greater understanding of the material, the text uses a wide array of real-life case studies and examples of programs and policies. By examining the successes and failures of various innovations, the authors demonstrate both the ability of rational planning to make successful improvements and the tendency of unplanned change to result in undesirable outcomes. The result is a powerful argument for the use of logic, deliberation, and collaboration in criminal justice innovations.

This readable volume is ideal as a primary or supplemental text in criminal justice policy-related courses, and also serves as a useful reference for practitioners in the field tasked with strategic planning for policy change.