CJ130 Report Writing: Criminal Justice Administration

Recommendations -- The bail process -- Who suffers? Bail and detention of low income defendants -- Factors influencing judges' bail decisions -- An alternative to pretrial detention : pretrial supervision -- Applicable constitutional and human rights law -- Acknowledgments.

As early as 1912 – 100 years ago – critics were concerned that poor people remained in jail while awaiting trial solely because of their inability to pay even small bail amounts, that bail bondsmen had become too prominent in the administration of justice and that corruption plagued the industry. Amazingly, these issues still apply to the for-profit bail bond system in today, the Justice Policy Institute shows in its report new report, For Better or For Profit: How the Bail Bonding Industry Stands in the Way of Fair and Effective Pre-Trial Justice.


There are approximately 15,000 bail bond agents working in the United States, writing bonds for about $14 billion annually. Bail bond companies take billions from low-income people, with no return on investment in terms of public safety and added costs to communities, according to JPI’s findings. Backed by multibillion dollar insurance giants, the for-profit bail bonding industry maintains its hold in the pretrial system through political influence.

For Better or For Profit recommends the U.S. should end for-profit bail bonding; promote and further institutionalize pretrial services; and require greater transparency within the industry.

“The Baltimore bail system relies almost exclusively on financial terms of release, or money bail, which means that someone’s financial resources are a major factor in determining whether they have to sit in jail pending trial,” said Bailing on Baltimore author Jean Chung, who produced the report as an Emerson Hunger Fellow with JPI. “It’s a system that disproportionately locks up low-income people and perpetuates the vicious cycles of poverty and incarceration in those communities. It’s a failure. It’s unfair.”

Bailing on Baltimore is a qualitative analysis to connect the first two quantitative reports on money bail and the for-profit bail industry to the actual experiences of people who have been involved in the system. Interviews gathered the perspectives of residents who have been through the city’s pretrial justice system, practitioners from pretrial service agencies and both prosecuting and defense attorneys.

Comprehensive and balanced, THE COLOR OF JUSTICE is the definitive book on current research and theories of racial and ethnic discrimination within America's Criminal Justice system. The best and the most recent research on patterns of criminal behavior and victimization, police practices, court processing and sentencing, the death penalty, and correctional programs are covered giving students the facts and theoretical foundation they need to make their own informed decisions about discrimination in the system. Uniquely unbiased, THE COLOR OF JUSTICE makes every effort to incorporate discussion of all major race groups found in the United States

Open this book and step into America's court system! With Neubauer and Fradella's best-selling text, you will see for yourself what it is like to be a judge, a prosecutor, a defense attorney, and more. This fascinating and well-researched text gives you a realistic sense of being in the courthouse--you will quickly gain an understanding of what it is like to work in and be a part of the American criminal justice system. This concept of the courthouse "players" makes it easy to understand each person's important role in bringing a case through the court process. Throughout the text, the authors highlight not only the pivotal role of the criminal courts but also the court's importance and impact on society as a whole.

This strong indictment of the current prison system, undertaken by two respected experts on behalf of the American Friends Service Committee, traces the history and features of our penal system, offers strong ethical and moral assessments of it, and lays out a whole new paradigm of criminal justice based on restorative justice and reconciliation. The book puts forward a 12-point plan for immediate changes. Beyond Prisons opens a long-needed national dialogue on our responsibilities as citizens and as a nation to provide remediation rather than mere retributive incarceration, answerable to the common good and the justice of God.

Judiciaries around the country are embracing a new way of business, one that emphasizes partnerships with stakeholders in and outside the courts, improved community access to the justice system, greater accountability for offenders and better community outcomes, such as increased safety and improved public confidence. This new way of doing business goes by various names; in California it goes by the name of "collaborative justice." This report attempts to capture the history of the California judiciary's involvement in collaborative justice courts, from their beginnings as isolated experiments to current efforts at statewide coordination. In recounting this story, the goal is to offer lessons to other states that are grappling with similar challenges

Dishonesty is ubiquitous in our world. The news is frequently filled with high-profile cases of corporate fraud, large-scale corruption, lying politicians, and the hypocrisy of public figures. On a smaller scale, ordinary people often cheat, lie, misreport their taxes, and mislead others in their daily life. Despite such prevalence of cheating, corruption, and concealment, people typically consider themselves to be honest, and often believe themselves to be more moral than most others. This book aims to resolve this paradox by addressing the question of why people are dishonest all too often. What motivates dishonesty, and how are people able to perceive themselves as moral despite their dishonest behaviour? What personality and interpersonal factors make dishonesty more likely? And what can be done to recognise and reduce dishonesty? This is a fascinating overview of state-of-the-art research on dishonesty, with prominent scholars offering their views to clarify the roots of dishonesty.

With a strong focus on problem solving and community-police partnerships, this comprehensive book provides a practical, up-to-date guide to effective community policing. After a thorough introduction to the history and philosophy of the movement that has profoundly shaped modern police operations, the authors strongly emphasize practical strategies and essential skills to help you apply effective, real-world problem solving within your community. The seventh edition maintains this trusted book's proven strengths while introducing valuable updates and innovations, including new material on key trends and practices such as community and officer diversity, ethics and corruption, CompStat and hot-spot policing, and citizen oversight of police, as well as new features exploring the impact and importance of technology. Practical, engaging, and current, this one-of-a-kind text is also supported by a full range of supplemental learning tools, making it an indispensible resource aspiring and active law enforcement professionals alike.

As most public safety professionals are aware, the events that require emergency response personnel also frequently attract members of the news media. Covering such essential topics as press releases, the types of media, and interviewing techniques, this book provides public safety professionals with the tools necessary to successfully interact with the media, from the department rookie to the seasoned Public Information Officer.