Two Perspectives on the Assessment of Criminal Justice

In: Policy studies journal: an international journal of public policy, Band 5, Heft 3, S. 289-294

Abstract

Two approaches to analysis of the criminal justice system are considered: (1) the formal modeling approach & (2) the systematic application of ethical intuition. The formal modeling approach looks at the impact of policies on criminal decision making. Criminal activity is modeled as an enterprise, to understand why the rate of return to criminal activity is perceived by some to be so persistently high. One of the direct effects of felon processing technology is its impact on this perceived rate of return. The formal modeling approach, however, can do little to assess the desirability of alternative corrections processes. The systemic application of ethical intuition, on the other hand, may provide considerable insight into the desirability of correctional alternatives. This second approach involves an analysis of the effects of the felon processing technology on widely subscribed values or "primary social goods." B. Hubinger.