Politics of the Criminal Justice System Chapter 14

Plea Bargaining

An agreement in criminal cases where the defendant pleads guilty in exchange for a reduced charge or sentence.  

Recidivism Rates

The frequency at which convicted individuals reoffend after being released back into the community. 

Focused Deterrence

A targeted strategy to prevent crime by concentrating resources on specific offenders or crime types, combining enforcement with community support. 

Legitimacy

The belief that institutions and authorities are fair, just, and deserve compliance and support. 

Community Policing

A strategy that builds partnerships between police and communities to address crime and improve safety in specific neighborhoods.  

Problem-Solving Orientation

An approach that focuses on addressing specific and limited crime problems rather than broadly tackling crime as a whole. 

Mass Incarceration

The large-scale imprisonment of individuals, often disproportionately affecting marginalized communities, with broad social and economic consequences. 

Evidence-Based Policies

Policies backed by research and empirical data, ensuring their effectiveness in achieving desired outcomes.  

Ecometrics

A method for studying the social ecology of individua's by observing them within their neighborhoods and environments.  

Collective Efficacy

Trust and shared expectations among neighborhood residents that enable social control over the local community. 

Co-Producers

Citizens who actively contribute to crime control effects by reporting problems, cooperating with law enforcement, and engaging in prevention programs.

Procedural Justice

The idea that fair and respectful treatment by criminal justice officials fosters trust, compliance, and cooperation. 

Cohesion

A sense of unity and cooperation among members of a community or neighborhoods. 

Social Disorder

Visible signs of neglect or disruptions in a neighborhood, such as graffiti or abandoned buildings, that may encourage criminal behavior. 

Citizenry

The residents or a neighborhood or community, particularly in their role as active participants in local governance or initiatives. 

Pulling Levers

A method of enforcing all legally available sanctions on key offenders to deter criminal activity. 

Rigorous Evaluation

The process of systematically assessing a program’s effectiveness through data collection, analysis, and comparison. 

Continuity of Reforms

The sustained application and institutionalization of policy innovations over time. 

Resource Crisis

A lack of adequate funding, personnel, or infrastructure to support essential criminal justice operations and programs. 

Community Prosecution

A strategy that redefines the role of prosecutors to include collaboration with communities and problem-solving approaches to enhance public safety. 

Problem-Oriented Policing

A strategy that identifies specific issues within communities and develops tailored responses, focusing on prevention rather than enforcement. 

Quality-of-Life Offenses

Minor crimes, such as graffiti and fare evasion, that may contribute to a sense of disorder and decline in a neighborhood. 

Restorative Justice

An approach that focuses on repairing harm through community service, offender accountability, and reconciliation with victims or the community. 

Visible Justice

The public demonstration of accountability and consequences for wrongdoing, used as a deterrent and to reinforce community standards. 

Alternative Sanctions

Punishments other than incarceration, such as community service, drug treatment, or counseling, often used in community courts. 

Reentry

The process and programs designed to help incarcerated individuals transition back into the community and avoid future criminal behavior. 

Front-Loading Services

The practice of focusing reentry support during the initial period after release, when former inmates are most vulnerable.

Intensive Supervision

A form of probation or parole that includes closer monitoring and more frequent contact with officers, though often with unclear benefits.

Prerelease Programs

Educational, vocational, and treatment initiatives offered in prison to prepare inmates for life after incarceration. 

Reintegration

The process of helping ex-offenders transition back into society after release. 

Disenfranchisement

The denial of voting rights to specific groups, including convicted offenders. 

Public Assistance

Government programs providing financial or social aid to low-income individuals and families. 

Sex Offender Registration

Laws requiring convicted sex offenders to register with local authorities, often restricting their housing and employment opportunities. 

Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI)

A policy movement redirecting funds from incarceration toward community-based crime prevention and rehabilitation programs. 

Community Supervision

Alternatives to incarceration that monitor offenders through probation, parole, or treatment programs.

Reinvestment

The process of reallocating resources from punitive measures like incarceration to rehabilitative and preventative programs. 

Overexpansion

Rapid growth of policies or programs without adequate planning, leading to inefficiencies or unintended consequences. 

Restorative Justice

A criminal justice approach that prioritizes repairing harm, fostering offender accountability, and rebuilding relationships between victims, offenders, and the community. 

Financial Restitution

Compensation paid by an offender to a victim or community to make amends for wrongdoing.

Community Service

A sentence requiring offenders to contribute labor or service to the community instead of incarceration. 

Drug Courts

Specialized courts that focus on rehabilitation for drug offenders rather than traditional punitive measures. 

Evidence-Based Policymaking

The practice of formulating policies based on empirical research and data analysis rather than ideology or assumptions.