Decision Making in Criminal Justice Toward the Rational Exercise of
The study of decisions in the criminal justice process provides a useful focus for the examination of many fundamental aspects of criminal jus tice. These decisions are not always highly visible. They are made, or dinarily, within wide areas of discreti
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LAW, SOCIETY, AND POLICY Series Editors: Joel Feinberg, Travis Hirschi, Bruce Sales, and David Wexler University of A rizona
Volume 1 DISABLED PERSONS AND THE LAW: State Legislative Issues Bruce Sales, D. Matthew Powell, Richard Van Duizend, and Associates Volume 2 VICTIMIZATION IN SCHOOLS Gary D. Gottfredson and Denise C. Gottfredson Volume 3 DECISION MAKING IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Toward the Rational Exercise of Discretion (Second Edition) Michael R. Gottfredson and Don M. Gottfredson
A Cont inuati o n Orde r Plan is avai lable for this se ries. A co ntinua tion orde r w ill bring deliver y of each new volum e immediat ely up on publi cation. Vo lumes are billed on ly up on actual shipme nt. For furth er informa tion please co ntact the pub lisher.
DECISION MAKING IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE Toward the Rational Exercise of Discretion SECOND EDITION Michael R. Gottfredson Department ofManagement and Policy University of Arizona Tucson, Arizona
and
Don M. Gottfredson School of Criminal Justice Rutgers University Newark, New Jersey
Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Gottfredson, Michael R. Decision making in criminal justice. (Law, society, and policy; v. 3) Bibliography: p. Includes index . 1. Criminal justice, Administration of-United States-Decision making. 2. Police discretion-United States . 3. Judicial discretion-United States . 4. Sentences (Criminal procedure)-United States-Decision making. 5. Probation-United States-Decision making. 6. Parole-United States-Decision making. I. Gottfredson, Don M . II. Title. III.Series. HV9950.G68 1987 364 87-7260 ISBN 978-1-4757-9956-9 ISBN 978-1-4757-9954-5 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-4757-9954-5
109876
© 1988 Springer Science+Business Media New York Originally published by Plenum Press, New York in 1988. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 2nd edition 1988
All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system , or transmitted in any form or by any means , electronic, mechanical. photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher
PREFACE
The study of decisions in the criminal justice process provides a useful focus for the examination of many fundamental aspects of criminal justice. These decisions are not always highly visible . They are made, ordinarily, within wide areas of discretion. The aims of the decisions are not always clear, and, indeed, the principal objectives of these decisions are often the subject of much debate. Usually they are not guided by explicit decision policies. Often the participants are unable to verbalize the basis for the selection of decision alternatives. Adequate information for the decisions is usually unavailable. Rarely can the decisions be demonstrated to be rational. By a rational decision we mean "that decision among those possible for the decisionmaker which, in the light of the information available , maximizes the probability of the achievement of the purpose of the decisionmaker in that specific
