National Criminal Justice Association

Last updated

The National Criminal Justice Association (NCJA) is a Washington, D.C. based organization that represents a variety of local, state, and tribal governments on crime prevention and control issues. The organization primarily works as a public policy liaison that promotes understanding of the best criminal justice practices between federal and state governments. [1]

Contents

Structure

Advisory Council

The NCJA is governed by the NCJA Advisory Council, which is composed of high level state and tribal officials from their respective jurisdictions. Members on the council are elected by the general NCJA membership, with members from each of the four regions of the United States. The Advisory Council in turn elects 16 members to the Board of Directors to oversee NCJA activities. Members of the Advisory Council are listed on the NCJA website. [2]

Policy Statements

The NCJA's positions on criminal justice policy, as approved by the NCJA Advisory Council, are posted on their website. [3]

Improving Public Safety and Ensuring Justice

The NCJA believes that the safety and security of the public, and of the public's constitutional protections are fundamental to the American Criminal Justice System. Adequate funding that is used effectively is seen as essential.

Addressing Fear and Violence in Communities

The NCJA encourages collaboration to combat fear of violence in communities.

Addressing Prison Overcrowding

The NCJA say that while prisons are necessary components of the criminal justice system, alternative sentencing options are important for relieving prison overcrowding, especially for non-violent offenders. Also, prisons should adequately address public and mental health concerns as institutions of last resort for individuals who need treatment in a prison institution.

Victim Assistance

The NCJA believes that crime victims must be treated with fairness, respect and dignity, and have any further harm from their involvement in the justice system prevented.

Crime Victims should have guaranteed rights, including "the right to privacy, to protection from intimidation, to case status information, to recovery of reasonable reparation, and to due process within justice proceedings." [4]

Juvenile Crime and the Prevention of Juvenile Crime

The NCJA supports the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act. Juvenile Justice practices should strengthen families, support core social institutions, provide strategic investments for proven prevention strategies, and should be able to effectively intervene when delinquency occurs. Adequate resources must also be present for Juvenile Justice programs to be effective.

Federal Funding Strategies

The NCJA say that federal funds in criminal justice, primarily distributed by the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Health and Human Services and other executive agencies help to assure the public that criminal justice problems are being addressed. Data-driven strategies that assess program effectiveness and accountability of grantees are necessary for effective use of funding.

Drugs and Substance Abuse

The NCJA states that public safety is improved by reducing the access and availability of illicit drugs. [5] Government and other policy makers should collaborate to find the most appropriate criminal justice response.

Prisoner Re-entry

The goals of prisoner reentry programs according to the NCJA should be job training, employment, housing and treatment. "Because most incarcerated offenders eventually return to local communities, their failure to remain crime free often threatens public safety." [6] Re-entry programs should also help to reduce the number of repeat offenders in the system, reducing the overall prison population over time. Successful re-entry programs should also focus on community ties and close supervision.

Over 600,000 prisoners are released into society each year, and they face many problems and obstacles with society and with themselves. It is harder for them to find work, housing, education, and have normal social relationships. Those who are not welcomed home by their families and aided by agencies have an even harder time adjusting to their new lives, and most will find that they fail at leading law-abiding lives. Re-entry programs are extremely vital to reducing the rates of recidivism and lowering the costs of incarceration. It would be in the best interests financially to invest in re-entry programs for prisoners with the intent of lowering the rates of offenders who return to prison, versus dealing with the extremely high costs of prisons and the number of prisoners that they hold. Re-entry programs are important not only after the prisoner is released, but before as well. Treatment in prison is the first step in helping a prisoner, but not enough prisoners actually go through a program, and are then at a higher risk for failing within the first year once they leave prison.

Information Technology

According to the NCJA there is a critical need for all public safety agencies to collect, analyze, and share information involving criminal justice data and trends.

Investments in technology should also adhere to federal and state standards, especially the National Information Exchange Model and Global Information Sharing Initiative.

The use of technology should not affect the rights and privacy of individuals, and confidentiality of records should be maintained.

Racial Disparity in the Criminal Justice System

The NCJA believe that the over-representation of victims of color and under-representation of minority professionals employed within the criminal justice system are issues that need to be addressed and present significant challenges for the justice system. Criminal Justice professionals should strive to have administration be representative of the population they serve, as well as work to seek out effective measures to reduce over-representation of minority victims and offenders in the criminal justice system.

Mentally Ill Persons in the Criminal Justice System

The NCJA states that prison systems are ill-equipped to address the problems and needs of inmates with mental disorders.

As recommendations to the justice system, the NCJA says that "early identification and treatment, law enforcement and correctional officer training, provision of housing, adequate discharge medication amounts, and standardized assessment and diagnostic tools" are necessary for inmates who are mentally ill. [7] Policy makers, law enforcement, and mental health providers should work together to determine what practices and methods of implementation are most effective in dealing with mentally ill inmates.

Tribal Nations and the Criminal Justice System

The NCJA is an advocate for the respect of tribal justice systems and tribal nations’ sovereignty. "Criminal justice and tribal justice systems should cooperate in matters of mutual concern, on an individual tribal basis, as appropriate." [8] Governments should work with tribal governments based on their individual and cultural needs.

Role in Criminal Justice Policy

Public Policy Liaison

The primary role of the NCJA in public policy is as a liaison between federal and state, local, and tribal government for criminal justice issues. Expressing state, local, and tribal concerns to the federal government to prevent and reduce the harmful effects of criminal and delinquent behavior is a part of its mission statement. [9]

Identifying Promising Practices

The NCJA actively "seeks exemplary programs that significantly improve the administration of justice." An example of a program that has received an award from the NCJA is the Berks County (PA) Community Reentry Program. [10]

Membership

The NCJA primarily serves their organization's members through benefits such as the Justice Bulletin, a weekly news letter detailing congressional updates and criminal justice research; Connect2Grants, a weekly publishing and searchable, comprehensive database of the availability of funding for criminal justice initiatives; and through National Conferences and Policy Forums, which allow for networking among criminal justice practitioners, updates on emerging criminal justice issues and practices, and information on criminal justice policy, among other things. [11]

Related Research Articles

Prison abolition movement Movement to end incarceration as a means to address harm

The prison abolition movement is a network of groups and activists that seek to reduce or eliminate prisons and the prison system, and replace them with systems of rehabilitation that do not place a focus on punishment and government institutionalization. The prison abolitionist movement is distinct from conventional prison reform, which is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons.

Recidivism Person repeating an undesirable behavior following punishment

Recidivism is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have either experienced negative consequences of that behavior, or have been trained to extinguish that behavior. It is also used to refer to the percentage of former prisoners who are rearrested for a similar offense.

Rehabilitation (penology) Process to make a person again a functional part of society

Rehabilitation is the process of re-educating and retraining those who commit crime. It generally involves psychological approaches which target the cognitive distortions associated with specific kinds of crime committed by particular offenders - but may also involve more general education such as literacy skills and work training. The goal is to re-integrate offenders back into society.

American juvenile justice system

The American juvenile justice system is the primary system used to handle minors who are convicted of criminal offenses. The system is composed of a federal and many separate state, territorial, and local jurisdictions, with states and the federal government sharing sovereign police power under the common authority of the United States Constitution. The juvenile justice system intervenes in delinquent behavior through police, court, and correctional involvement, with the goal of rehabilitation. Youth and their guardians can face a variety of consequences including probation, community service, youth court, youth incarceration and alternative schooling. The juvenile justice system, similar to the adult system, operates from a belief that intervening early in delinquent behavior will deter adolescents from engaging in criminal behavior as adults.

Deterrence (penology)

Deterrence in relation to criminal offending is the idea or theory that the threat of punishment will deter people from committing crime and reduce the probability and/or level of offending in society. It is one of five objectives that punishment is thought to achieve; the other four objectives are denunciation, incapacitation, retribution and rehabilitation.

Mental health courts link offenders who would ordinarily be prison-bound to long-term community-based treatment. They rely on mental health assessments, individualized treatment plans, and ongoing judicial monitoring to address both the mental health needs of offenders and public safety concerns of communities. Like other problem-solving courts such as drug courts, domestic violence courts, and community courts, mental health courts seek to address the underlying problems that contribute to criminal behavior.

Texas Department of Criminal Justice Department of the government of Texas

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is a department of the government of the U.S. state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jails, and private correctional facilities, funding and certain oversight of community supervision, and supervision of offenders released from prison on parole or mandatory supervision. The TDCJ operates the largest prison system in the United States.

Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections

The Department of Public Safety and Corrections (DPS&C) is a state agency of Louisiana, headquartered in Baton Rouge. The agency comprises two major areas: Public Safety Services and Corrections Services. The Secretary, who is appointed by the Governor, serves as the department's chief executive officer. The Corrections Services Deputy Secretary, Undersecretary, and Assistant Secretaries for the Office of Adult Services and the Office of Youth Development report directly to the Secretary. Headquarters Administration consists of centralized Divisions that support the management and operations of the adult and juvenile institutions, adult and juvenile probation and parole district offices, and all other services provided by the department.

Second Chance Act (2007)

The Second Chance Act of 2007, titled "To reauthorize the grant program for reentry of offenders into the community in the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, to improve reentry planning and implementation, and for other purposes," was submitted to the House by Representative Danny Davis (D-IL) to amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to reauthorize, rewrite, and expand provisions for adult and juvenile offender state and local reentry demonstration projects to provide expanded services to offenders and their families for reentry into society. H.R. 1593 was signed into law April 9, 2008.

Prison Place in which people legally are physically confined

A prison is a facility in which inmates are forcibly confined and denied a variety of freedoms under the authority of the state. Prisons are most commonly used within a criminal justice system: people charged with crimes may be imprisoned until their trial; those pleading or being found guilty of crimes at trial may be sentenced to a specified period of imprisonment. In simplest terms, a prison can also be described as a building in which people are legally held as a punishment for a crime they have committed.

The Center for Court Innovation is an American non-profit organization headquartered in New York which helps the justice system aid victims, reduce crime and improve public trust in justice.

Correctional psychology is the application of basic and applied psychological science or scientifically-oriented professional practice to the justice system to enable the proper classification, treatment, and management of offenders. Its goal is to reduce the risk of offender misconduct and thus to improve public safety.

Youth incarceration in the United States

The United States incarcerates more of its youth than any other country in the world through the juvenile courts and the adult criminal justice system, which reflects the larger trends in incarceration practices in the United States. In 2010, approximately 70,800 juveniles were incarcerated in youth detention facilities alone. Approximately 500,000 youth are brought to detention centers in a given year. This data does not reflect juveniles tried as adults. Around 40% are incarcerated in privatized, for-profit facilities.

Prison overcrowding is a social phenomenon occurring when the demand for space in prisons in a jurisdiction exceeds the capacity for prisoners. The issues associated with prison overcrowding are not new, but have been brewing for many years. During the United States' War on Drugs, the states were left responsible for solving the prison overcrowding issue with a limited amount of money. Moreover, federal prison populations may increase if states adhere to federal policies, such as mandatory minimum sentences. On the other hand, the Justice Department provides billions of dollars a year for state and local law enforcement to ensure they follow the policies set forth by the federal government concerning U.S. prisons. Prison overcrowding has affected some states more than others, but overall, the risks of overcrowding are substantial and there are solutions to this problem.

Right on Crime is a conservative U.S. criminal justice reform initiative that aims to gain support for criminal justice reform by sharing research and policy ideas, mobilizing leaders, and by raising public awareness. Right On Crime reforms are focused on "reducing crime, lowering costs and restoring victims." The initiative primarily focuses on eight issues: over-criminalization, juvenile justice, substance abuse, adult probation, parole and re-entry, law enforcement, prisons and victims. Right on Crime is a project of the Center for Effective Justice at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank, and Prison Fellowship. After its founding in Texas, Right on Crime has contributed to many criminal justice reforms throughout the country, working with conservative and liberal organizations.

Incarceration prevention in the United States

Incarceration prevention refers to a variety of methods aimed at reducing prison populations and costs while fostering enhanced social structures. Due to the nature of incarceration in the United States today caused by issues leading to increased incarceration rates, there are methods aimed at preventing the incarceration of at-risk populations.

Criminal justice reform in the United States

There are many organizations that advocate to reform the criminal justice system such as: ACLU, Penal Reform International, Sentencing Project, Brennan Center for Justice, Cut 50 and the Innocence Project. Most states have a criminal justice reform act as well. These organizations use legal disputes and public events to make the problems aware to the public but mostly the state and federal governments.

The Georgia Council on Criminal Justice Reform is a fifteen-member, non-partisan state commission tasked with conducting annual comprehensive reviews of criminal laws, criminal procedure, sentencing laws, adult correctional issues, juvenile justice issues, enhancement of probation and parole supervision, better management of the prison population and of the population in the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice, and other issues relates to criminal proceedings and accountability courts in the state of Georgia.

Prisoner reentry is the process by which prisoners who have been released return to the community. Many types of programs have been implemented with the goal of reducing recidivism and have been found to be effective for this purpose. Consideration for the conditions of the communities formerly incarcerated individuals are re-entering, which are often disadvantaged, is a fundamental part of successful re-entry.

Decarceration in the United States

Decarceration involves government policies and community campaigns to reduce the number of people held in custody or under custodial supervision in the United States. Decarceration, the opposite of incarceration, also entails reducing the rate of imprisonment at the federal, state and municipal level. Home to 5% of the global population but 25 percent of its prisoners, the U.S. possess the world's highest incarceration rate: 655 inmates for every 100,000 people, enough inmates to equal the populations of Philadelphia or Houston.

References

  1. ↑ "National Criminal Justice Association". Archived from the original on 2009-08-30. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
  2. ↑ "NCJA Advisory Council". Archived from the original on 2010-02-01. Retrieved 2009-11-12.
  3. ↑ "NCJA Policy Statements". Archived from the original on 2009-01-06. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
  4. ↑ "Policy: Victim Assistance". Archived from the original on 2007-05-22. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
  5. ↑ "Policy: Drugs and Substance Abuse". Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
  6. ↑ "Policy: Reentry". Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
  7. ↑ "Policy: Mentally Ill Persons in the Criminal Justice System". Archived from the original on 2007-05-22. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
  8. ↑ "Policy: Tribal Nations and the Criminal Justice System". Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
  9. ↑ "NCJA Mission Statement". Archived from the original on 2010-02-01. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
  10. ↑ "DC Public Safety" . Retrieved 2009-11-24.
  11. ↑ "NCJA Membership Benefits". Archived from the original on 2010-02-01. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.