MCJ 6530, Critical Analysis of Criminal Justice Public.docx

MCJ 6530, Critical Analysis of Criminal Justice Public Policy 1
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit I
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
1. Evaluate various types of public policy ideologies.
1.1 Summarize aspects of the problem-program-policy
continuum.
1.2 Explore the concepts of law, policy, program, and project in
criminal justice.
2. Compare and contrast internal and external influences on
criminal justice public policy.
2.1 Discuss the internal and external analytical lens through
which criminal justice public policy is
viewed.
Course/Unit
Learning Outcomes
Learning Activity
1.1
Unit Lesson

Chapter 1
Unit I Essay
1.2
Chapter 1
Unit I Essay
2.1
Chapter 1
Unit I Essay
Reading Assignment
Chapter 1: Introduction
Unit Lesson
Introduction
This course is designed to introduce certain ideas related to
criminal justice public policy. Also, during this
course you will be asked to assess the rationale of many topics:
-offender policy,

-collar offending policy,
rehabilitation, and
-based crime control.
UNIT I STUDY GUIDE
Introduction to Critical Analysis
of Criminal Justice Policy
(Dudko, n.d.)
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE

Title
Each of these areas has a certain history in the United States,
and students will be expected to be familiar
with that history to help formulate new and revised policies in
their professional roles as members of the
criminal justice system.
Gau (2019) points out that reaching consensus on a definition of
policy is a difficult task, and the author
utilizes a preferred definition from the Oxford English
Dictionary. Before delving into the specifics of the
various criminal justice policies covered in this course, it is
important to understand and differentiate between
a policy, a program, a project, and of course a law or statute.
Once that task is completed, you will focus on at
least one methodology used to assess public policy and examine
whether a current policy should be revised,
if it should be a planned revision, or if it is an unplanned
revision, which has its own set of disadvantages.
Additionally, a seven-stage model for policy revision espoused
by Welsh and Harris (2016) will be presented
as an effective method of addressing criminal justice policies.
Law
To begin, the United States is not a democracy, it is a
constitutional republic, and the U.S. Constitution and
the Bills of Rights are the law of the land. While the textbook
alludes to the United States being a
constitutional democracy, that is, in fact, not true. The United
States is a constitutional republic with
representative democracy in the elections process. The
constitutional republic is identified and is detailed by

the fact that the United States has an executive branch (the
president), a legislative branch (Congress), and a
judicial branch (the court system). Americans elect their
representatives through the democratic election
process. New laws are created through legislative enactment and
at the local, state, tribal, and federal levels.
Adherence to the law is enforced through the executive
branches at those same levels. The judiciary is the
third branch of government that makes decisions or judgments
related to the law in accordance with
substantive and procedural due process and the rules of
evidence. Finally, the U.S. Supreme Court is the
court of last resort for disputes, and the United States has a rich
history of decision-making related to the
Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, Tenth, and Fourteenth Amendments
to the U.S. Constitution. U.S. law is the
foundation of criminal justice policy in the United States, and
as such, policies involving immigration, three-
strikes laws, gun laws, and many others have a regular presence
at the U.S. Supreme Court.
Policy
Simply stated, a policy can be understood to be a rule or set of
rules that articulate an official position related
to the application of decision-making on an issue, topic, or
process. Policies can be fairly simple or highly
complex depending on how much discretion is afforded to
decision-makers and those who carry out policies
such as law enforcement officers, corrections officers, and
probation and parole officers, to name a few
criminal justice practitioner positions. To better understand the
complexity and sophistication of a policy, let’s
examine for a moment the three-strikes policy that became law
in many states.

Three Strikes—Policy and Law
There are essentially two distinct themes regarding criminal
sanctions: the crime control model and the due
process model (Packer, 1968). Let’s begin by using the policy
and law of three strikes. If we take the first
sentence to be true (that there are essentially two distinct
themes regarding criminal sanctions—the crime
control model and the due process model), then the next step is
to assess the rationale of the criminal law
that relies on three notions: offense, guilt, and punishment
(Packer, 1968). In this introduction, we will jump
forward with two preliminary questions, and then come back to
the essential questions. Do we criminalize too
many actions, behaviors, or situations?
The next question is do we incarcerate too many people for non-
violent offenses. While you think about those,
let’s refer to Packer. The three concepts of offense, guilt, and
punishment, as established by the state
legislature or Congress, can be viewed as substantive and
procedural, in this instance substantive. Thus, a
policy maker or committee examining three strikes might
examine the following questions.
to have committed a criminal offense?
committed criminal offenses?
strikes to be applied (Packer, 1968)?

UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
These three questions must be viewed in the United States
through a kaleidoscope or mixture of tests: actus
reus, mens rea, and concurrence—in other words, the act, the
intent, and the coexistence of both at the exact
time. Once that has been determined, U.S. justice provides for
defenses to what is otherwise known as
criminal conduct.
Taking all this into consideration, is the three strikes policy that
is in place in many states successful? Is the
policy too harsh? Did their action warrant the first step? Is the
process utilitarian in its implementation, and is
the purpose of punishment to inflict the necessary harm to
change anti-social behavior? Are these elements
met, and has this policy been successful?
Let’s assume for a moment that someone (male, 23 years old)
has been arrested, charged, and convicted of
shoplifting (over $500.00); two years later at 25 years old, this
person has been charged with shoplifting (over
$500.00) again and enters a plea agreement to avoid jail.
Finally, for his 29th birthday, this person is in a

restaurant with his wife and young child who is seated in a high
chair when someone passing by accidentally
bumps the high chair, which nearly tips over, scaring the young
child. The twice-convicted man jumps up,
grabs the child from tipping over, and then assaults the person
who accidentally bumped the chair. Police
officers arrive, take statements from everyone, and decide to
arrest the father who assaulted the other man,
hurting him badly. Do you believe this man, twice convicted,
should go to jail if convicted under the three-
strikes law in effect in his state?
Taking this example one step further, let’s take a look at the
concept of a program.
Programs
Programs are services designed toward satisfying specific goals
and objectives. Further, programs are
designed toward specific people, groups, organizations, and
communities. By design, programs could involve
certain things:
ving school for those convicted of driving while
intoxicated/impaired,
-term incarceration.
Using the example above, should the father who assaulted the
other man be sent to jail or made to pay any
medical expenses or fines and enter an anger management
course rather than incarceration? As a matter of
law and policy, should the district attorney and the judge have

the discretion to even consider this option? As
you can see, policies are complex and include more than just an
alleged offender; policies impact people,
agencies, organizations, and the community.
Projects
Let’s now consider projects. Projects focus on singular needs,
problems, or issues for people, agencies,
organizations, and groups. To understand the continuum of
problem-program-policy, we can use a current hot
topic: prison overcrowding. The problem is overcrowding; a
program could be the previously mentioned boot
camps, and the policy, which incorporates the boot camp
program, is part of a federal crime bill. Often,
projects are short-term services, but depending upon the success
or failure of a specific project, it could be
extended and become a policy. Establishing a policy requires
the foundations of law to prescribe the
necessary authorizations, financing, and goals and objectives.
The Influence of the Courts
Gau (2019) relates that historically the courts have played a role
in making law and influencing or creating
public policy. The reason is not always that the court is an
activist court but sometimes because there are
Constitutional questions that arise from vaguely worded
legislation. Often, state legislatures and Congress
enact vague legislation intentionally to provide wiggle-room or
latitude and discretion, but also, members of a
legislature and Congress cannot possibly anticipate every
circumstance and incident related to the legislation
they draft and enact.

UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
At other times, wars are fought, laws are passed, the U.S.
Supreme Court renders a decision, as they did in
Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857). The Dred Scott v. Sandford
decision was made null and void by the Thirteenth
Amendment (ratified on December 6, 1865) and then, the
Fourteenth Amendment (ratified on July 9, 1868) of
the U.S. Constitution. Congress enacted both those amendments
which nullified the decision and comments
by Justice Roger B. Taney in the Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)
decision.
Some of the U.S. Supreme Court decisions are important and
will discussed later in the course.
inois (1964)

There are many other cases that have had a profound impact on
criminal justice policies in the United States.
Cases not yet determined by the U.S. Supreme Court will also
have a profound impact on policies such as
immigration, abortion rights, and other important issues.
Conclusion
Without question, public policy in the United States is complex,
especially regarding the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth,
Eighth, Tenth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S.
Constitution. Our challenge as we navigate the next
seven units is to ensure that we can identify a problem by
examining a policy, project, or program and
debating how best to implement those suggestions. We can
accomplish this by first examining an existing
problem, establishing goals and objectives, and drafting a
program or policy. We will then create an action
plan to implement the policy, project, or program; set goals and
objectives for monitoring the implemented
policy, project, or program; and evaluate the outcomes. Finally,
we will reassess what has been done and
review it.
References

Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393 (1857).
Dudko, O. (n.d.). Criminal (ID 118207839) [Photograph].
Retrieved from
https://www.dreamstime.com/criminal-justice-day-education-
gavel-law-library-criminal-
image118207839
Gau, J. M. (2019). Criminal justice policy: Origins and
effectiveness. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Packer, H. L. (1968). The limits of the criminal sanction.
Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
U.S. Const. amend. XIII.
U.S. Const. amend. XIV.
Welsh, W. N., & Harris, P. W. (2016). Criminal justice policy
and planning: Planned change (5th ed.). New
York, NY: Taylor & Francis.
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit I

Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
1. Evaluate various types of public policy ideologies.
1.1 Summarize aspects of the problem-program-policy
continuum.
1.2 Explore the concepts of law, policy, program, and project in
criminal justice.
2. Compare and contrast internal and external influences on
criminal justice public policy.
2.1 Discuss the internal and external analytical lens through
which criminal justice public policy is
viewed.
Course/Unit
Learning Outcomes
Learning Activity
1.1
Unit Lesson
Chapter 1
Unit I Essay
1.2
Chapter 1
Unit I Essay
2.1
Chapter 1
Unit I Essay

Reading Assignment
Chapter 1: Introduction
Unit Lesson
Introduction
This course is designed to introduce certain ideas related to
criminal justice public policy. Also, during this
course you will be asked to assess the rationale of many topics:
-offender policy,
-collar offending policy,

rehabilitation, and
-based crime control.
UNIT I STUDY GUIDE
Introduction to Critical Analysis
of Criminal Justice Policy
(Dudko, n.d.)
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
Each of these areas has a certain history in the United States,
and students will be expected to be familiar
with that history to help formulate new and revised policies in
their professional roles as members of the
criminal justice system.

Gau (2019) points out that reaching consensus on a definition of
policy is a difficult task, and the author
utilizes a preferred definition from the Oxford English
Dictionary. Before delving into the specifics of the
various criminal justice policies covered in this course, it is
important to understand and differentiate between
a policy, a program, a project, and of course a law or statute.
Once that task is completed, you will focus on at
least one methodology used to assess public policy and examine
whether a current policy should be revised,
if it should be a planned revision, or if it is an unplanned
revision, which has its own set of disadvantages.
Additionally, a seven-stage model for policy revision espoused
by Welsh and Harris (2016) will be presented
as an effective method of addressing criminal justice policies.
Law
To begin, the United States is not a democracy, it is a
constitutional republic, and the U.S. Constitution and
the Bills of Rights are the law of the land. While the textbook
alludes to the United States being a
constitutional democracy, that is, in fact, not true. The United
States is a constitutional republic with
representative democracy in the elections process. The
constitutional republic is identified and is detailed by
the fact that the United States has an executive branch (the
president), a legislative branch (Congress), and a
judicial branch (the court system). Americans elect their
representatives through the democratic election
process. New laws are created through legislative enactment and
at the local, state, tribal, and federal levels.
Adherence to the law is enforced through the executive
branches at those same levels. The judiciary is the
third branch of government that makes decisions or judgments
related to the law in accordance with

substantive and procedural due process and the rules of
evidence. Finally, the U.S. Supreme Court is the
court of last resort for disputes, and the United States has a rich
history of decision-making related to the
Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, Tenth, and Fourteenth Amendments
to the U.S. Constitution. U.S. law is the
foundation of criminal justice policy in the United States, and
as such, policies involving immigration, three-
strikes laws, gun laws, and many others have a regular presence
at the U.S. Supreme Court.
Policy
Simply stated, a policy can be understood to be a rule or set of
rules that articulate an official position related
to the application of decision-making on an issue, topic, or
process. Policies can be fairly simple or highly
complex depending on how much discretion is afforded to
decision-makers and those who carry out policies
such as law enforcement officers, corrections officers, and
probation and parole officers, to name a few
criminal justice practitioner positions. To better understand the
complexity and sophistication of a policy, let’s
examine for a moment the three-strikes policy that became law
in many states.
Three Strikes—Policy and Law
There are essentially two distinct themes regarding criminal
sanctions: the crime control model and the due
process model (Packer, 1968). Let’s begin by using the policy
and law of three strikes. If we take the first
sentence to be true (that there are essentially two distinct
themes regarding criminal sanctions—the crime
control model and the due process model), then the next step is
to assess the rationale of the criminal law

that relies on three notions: offense, guilt, and punishment
(Packer, 1968). In this introduction, we will jump
forward with two preliminary questions, and then come back to
the essential questions. Do we criminalize too
many actions, behaviors, or situations?
The next question is do we incarcerate too many people for non-
violent offenses. While you think about those,
let’s refer to Packer. The three concepts of offense, guilt, and
punishment, as established by the state
legislature or Congress, can be viewed as substantive and
procedural, in this instance substantive. Thus, a
policy maker or committee examining three strikes might
examine the following questions.
d
to have committed a criminal offense?
committed criminal offenses?
strikes to be applied (Packer, 1968)?
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE

Title
These three questions must be viewed in the United States
through a kaleidoscope or mixture of tests: actus
reus, mens rea, and concurrence—in other words, the act, the
intent, and the coexistence of both at the exact
time. Once that has been determined, U.S. justice provides for
defenses to what is otherwise known as
criminal conduct.
Taking all this into consideration, is the three strikes policy that
is in place in many states successful? Is the
policy too harsh? Did their action warrant the first step? Is the
process utilitarian in its implementation, and is
the purpose of punishment to inflict the necessary harm to
change anti-social behavior? Are these elements
met, and has this policy been successful?
Let’s assume for a moment that someone (male, 23 years old)
has been arrested, charged, and convicted of
shoplifting (over $500.00); two years later at 25 years old, this
person has been charged with shoplifting (over
$500.00) again and enters a plea agreement to avoid jail.
Finally, for his 29th birthday, this person is in a
restaurant with his wife and young child who is seated in a high
chair when someone passing by accidentally
bumps the high chair, which nearly tips over, scaring the young
child. The twice-convicted man jumps up,
grabs the child from tipping over, and then assaults the person
who accidentally bumped the chair. Police
officers arrive, take statements from everyone, and decide to
arrest the father who assaulted the other man,
hurting him badly. Do you believe this man, twice convicted,
should go to jail if convicted under the three-

strikes law in effect in his state?
Taking this example one step further, let’s take a look at the
concept of a program.
Programs
Programs are services designed toward satisfying specific goals
and objectives. Further, programs are
designed toward specific people, groups, organizations, and
communities. By design, programs could involve
certain things:
intoxicated/impaired,
-term incarceration.
Using the example above, should the father who assaulted the
other man be sent to jail or made to pay any
medical expenses or fines and enter an anger management
course rather than incarceration? As a matter of
law and policy, should the district attorney and the judge have
the discretion to even consider this option? As
you can see, policies are complex and include more than just an
alleged offender; policies impact people,
agencies, organizations, and the community.
Projects
Let’s now consider projects. Projects focus on singular needs,
problems, or issues for people, agencies,
organizations, and groups. To understand the continuum of

problem-program-policy, we can use a current hot
topic: prison overcrowding. The problem is overcrowding; a
program could be the previously mentioned boot
camps, and the policy, which incorporates the boot camp
program, is part of a federal crime bill. Often,
projects are short-term services, but depending upon the success
or failure of a specific project, it could be
extended and become a policy. Establishing a policy requires
the foundations of law to prescribe the
necessary authorizations, financing, and goals and objectives.
The Influence of the Courts
Gau (2019) relates that historically the courts have played a role
in making law and influencing or creating
public policy. The reason is not always that the court is an
activist court but sometimes because there are
Constitutional questions that arise from vaguely worded
legislation. Often, state legislatures and Congress
enact vague legislation intentionally to provide wiggle-room or
latitude and discretion, but also, members of a
legislature and Congress cannot possibly anticipate every
circumstance and incident related to the legislation
they draft and enact.
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title

At other times, wars are fought, laws are passed, the U.S.
Supreme Court renders a decision, as they did in
Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857). The Dred Scott v. Sandford
decision was made null and void by the Thirteenth
Amendment (ratified on December 6, 1865) and then, the
Fourteenth Amendment (ratified on July 9, 1868) of
the U.S. Constitution. Congress enacted both those amendments
which nullified the decision and comments
by Justice Roger B. Taney in the Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)
decision.
Some of the U.S. Supreme Court decisions are important and
will discussed later in the course.
do v. Illinois (1964)
There are many other cases that have had a profound impact on
criminal justice policies in the United States.
Cases not yet determined by the U.S. Supreme Court will also

have a profound impact on policies such as
immigration, abortion rights, and other important issues.
Conclusion
Without question, public policy in the United States is complex,
especially regarding the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth,
Eighth, Tenth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S.
Constitution. Our challenge as we navigate the next
seven units is to ensure that we can identify a problem by
examining a policy, project, or program and
debating how best to implement those suggestions. We can
accomplish this by first examining an existing
problem, establishing goals and objectives, and drafting a
program or policy. We will then create an action
plan to implement the policy, project, or program; set goals and
objectives for monitoring the implemented
policy, project, or program; and evaluate the outcomes. Finally,
we will reassess what has been done and
review it.
References
Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393 (1857).
Dudko, O. (n.d.). Criminal (ID 118207839) [Photograph].
Retrieved from
https://www.dreamstime.com/criminal-justice-day-education-
gavel-law-library-criminal-
image118207839

Gau, J. M. (2019). Criminal justice policy: Origins and
effectiveness. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Packer, H. L. (1968). The limits of the criminal sanction.
Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
U.S. Const. amend. XIII.
U.S. Const. amend. XIV.
Welsh, W. N., & Harris, P. W. (2016). Criminal justice policy
and planning: Planned change (5th ed.). New
York, NY: Taylor & Francis.

MCJ 6530, Critical Analysis of Criminal Justice Public.docx

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to MCJ 6530, Critical Analysis of Criminal Justice Public.docx

Similar to MCJ 6530, Critical Analysis of Criminal Justice Public.docx (13)

More from joney4

More from joney4 (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

MCJ 6530, Critical Analysis of Criminal Justice Public.docx