Criminal justice system

This manual contains the standards for reform in the management and operation of the criminal justice system, focusing on planning, education, and information systems. Planning for resource allocation is one of the most important functions that a criminal justice agency performs. The 1968 Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act required the creation of state criminal justice planning agencies and the development of annual state comprehensive plans as a contingency for state participation in federal criminal justice funding. In the initial section of this volume, the National Advisory Commission points out the need for additional planning at the metropolitan and regional levels, and indicates the necessity for quantifying performance objectives. It also stresses participation in the planning process by criminal justice agencies, government departments and private citizens. The Commission recommends the development of state integrated multiyear planning and the establishment of criminal justice coordinating councils by all major cities and counties. Other areas of concern to the Commission, in addition to management and budget planning, include systems analysis, information systems, evaluation, personnel training, and criminal code revision. These and other commission proposals appear in the form of specific standards and recommendations -- nearly 70 in all -- that spell out in detail what the segments of the criminal justice system-the police, courts, and correctional agencies can do to upgrade and modernize many of their functions. This manual is a reference work for the practitioner as well as the interested layman.