After reading the Unit VIII Lesson (ATTACHED), please select one item from Unit VIII Lesson, and give your final thoughts on that subject. ANSWER THE ABOVE QUESTION THEN REPLY TO MY CLASSMATE’S RESPON

To be successful, community -based strategies must begin with the family and the immediate circle of associates in the neighborhood; th is is a private method of control espoused by Hunter (as cited in Gau, 2019). Once the private method of control is demonstrated to be effective, control expands to a larger area (parochial) that involves similar cooperation from the business community, co mmunity associations, and spiritual leaders. After both of these levels of cooperation have been established, the third level is incorporated. Local government and the plethora of services the government provides support to the private and parochial entiti es. One of the areas of local government is law enforcement, and herein lies one of the problems. Historically, the relationship between the police and the community has been strained, especially in lower socioeconomic areas. Place -Based Crime Prevention Gau (2019) relates that policy makers, scholars, and others became weary of certain criminological theories as tools to deter and reduce crime and pushed for what they called place -based crime prevention . The idea was to isolate the areas where crime was prevalent and to send resources to those areas to understand why crime was happening. This was a good first step in deterring and reducing crime, but it was not enough, and scholars began working on a revised notion of the traditional deterrence theory. Th is led to additional steps and theories. One of the most successful theories or initiatives was problem -oriented policing introduced by Herman Goldstein. Problem -Oriented Policing Unlike many countries around the world, law enforcement in the United Stat es is created and derives its power, authority, and jurisdiction through legislative enactment —they are civilian in nature even though in the last two decades there are some militaristic similarities. Law enforcement is part of the executive branch of gove rnment at the local, state, and federal levels, and they are responsible for enforcing the law, maintaining the peace, and serving and protecting citizens. Arresting alleged offenders is part of serving and protecting citizens and often means there will b e conflict and debate over the tactics used by the people society has entrusted with this responsibility. Goldstein (1990) points out that policing needed to change; it had to improve so they could be more effective and earn and keep the respect of citizen s. The public depends on the police to be effective but to also be fair and impartial in their application of the law. Essentially, police needed to focus more on the ends rather than the means, the latter being the focus of police administrators for decad es. For decades, police responded to calls for service and, quite truthfully, only dealt with the immediate and obvious problems —microscopic, superficial manifestations of an unknown, deeply rooted, larger issue or issues. Many policy makers would point t o poverty, unemployment, poor housing, lack of self -esteem, racism, and poor education; however, longitudinal research indicates crime and criminality are caused by the early experiences in one’s life such as family; neighborhood; temperament; and values, morals, and ethics (Wilson & Petersilia, 1995). Gau (2019) states “social disorganization — while a reliable predictor of crime — does not operate uniformly across all types of troubled neighborhoods. Some socioeconomically distressed areas suffer high levels of disorganization, but others are better described as differentially organized” (p. 245). The fact remains; community -based strategies must begin with the family and their immediate affiliates in their neighborhood in order to guide, mentor, and deter cr ime. Problem -oriented policing (POP) is a strategy that requires police to identify problems, assess the microscopic details of that problem, relate similar incidences, and then formulate a response to the problem.

After the application of the proposed solution , an assessment is made, followed by adjustments. The heart of POP is that the response to future problems of a similar nature be addressed by something other than the criminal justice system (Goldstein, 1990). For more information on POP and associated is sues including 25 techniques of situational prevention, please visit the Center for Problem -Oriented Policing . MCJ 6530, Critical Analysis of Criminal Justice Public Policy 3 UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title Broken Windows Theory The broken windows theory foundation for success is through the control of disorder, reduction in the fear of crime (a perception), and strict order maintenance (Wilson & Kelling as cited in Gau, 2019). Unfortunately, some deemed the broken windows theory as a broken or unfulfilled attempt because it was implemented im properly (Gau & Pratt; Harcourt; and Taylor as cited in Gau, 2019). In fact, Taylor (2001) wrote a wonderful book called Breaking Away From Broken Windows: Baltimore Neighborhoods and the Nationwide Fight Against Crime, Grime, Fear, and Decline. Taylor’s ( 2001) thesis is that while some of the elements of broken windows are a good start, they do not go far enough, and political leaders, policy makers, business owners, community leaders, and others must change the economic fortunes of the lower socioeconomic class in Baltimore and other similarly situated urban centers. Third -Party Responsibility Third -party responsibility is an idea that is long overdue. Absentee landlords who neglect their properties or are considered absentee landlords must be held accountable for the properties they own and manage. It is not good enough to simply ignore problems in apartment buildings. Additionally, this idea relies on city zoning officials, code enforcement officers, and the civil justice system to enforce laws ass ociated with these issues. Gau (2019) states, “This strategy entails leveraging civil and regulatory laws against the owners of locations where trouble recurs” (p. 250), which includes commercial outlets, such as bars and taverns. This type of action is us ually prompted by citizens and citizen groups, neighborhood associations, and others. W hen the government takes its responsibility seriously and provides the necessary resources to enforce civil and regulatory laws, the community is better served. At the s ame time, problems may get out of hand because wealthy people who have influence in city and state government use their influence to delay or side -step such actions. Community Courts Community courts are modern outgrowths of specialized courts, and their function is “to provide localized justice sensitive to community wishes and problems, and to use arbitration, mediation, and restorative penalties like victim restitution in lieu of formal prosecution and punishment” (Alper & Nichols as cited in Gau, 2019 , p. 252). These courts serve a few purposes. First, they serve as a tool to avoid entry into the criminal justice system. Next, they serve as deterrents in some ways. Finally, they give confidence to residents who feel as though their voices are being hea rd and they have a say in what happens in their communities (Gau, 2019). However, they do have their detractors who claim that what the community courts do is widen the net to include minor offenses and violations. Restorative Justice Dorne (2008) relate s that restorative justice has become widespread because it is a system of justice that includes forming relationships between the victim, offender, community, and government. At the same time, while restorative justice has been around since approximately 1978, it is claimed to be used sparingly. It is seen as a holistic approach in some circumstances such as dealing with juveniles, but it is not going to replace the criminal or juvenile -justice system. Restorative justice relies on restitution that can be monetary or services rendered. Of course, this does not apply in all cases such as crimes of violence, and there is not a conclusive definition of restorative justice. Conclusion In the United States, there is a tendency to declare war on everything (war on crime, war on drugs, war on homelessness, etc.). W hen war is declared, the people become the enemy (those who commit crimes), and this only serves to denigrate the relationship between the people and the government (especially police). New ways must be found to deter crime, reduce crime, and reduce the number of people we incarcerate. This course has provided you with information on criminal justice public policy. Hopefully, you are better informed and the information in this course will help you in you r professional career. MCJ 6530, Critical Analysis of Criminal Justice Public Policy 4 UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title References Dorne, C. K. (2008). Restorative justice in the United States. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Gau, J. M. (2019). Criminal justice policy: Origins and effectiveness. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Goldstein, H. (1990). Problem -oriented policing. New York, NY: McGraw -Hill. Taylor, R. B. (2001). Breaking away from broken windows: Baltimore neighborhoods and the nationwide fight against crime, grime, fear, and decline . Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Wil son, J. Q., & Petersilia, J. (1995). Crime: Twenty -eight leading experts look at the most pressing problem of our time. San Francisco, CA: ICS.