Criminal Justice Organizations and Outside Factors
As you learned this week, there are a variety of factors that affect the running of a criminal justice agency, and many of these “environmental” factors are outside the agency’s control. First, choose a specific criminal justice organization (such as a local police department, a jail, a probation office, etc.); in order to spur as much discussion as possible, try to choose a type of criminal justice organization that has not yet been discussed. Then address the following:
- Identify at least three specific environmental factors that may affect your chosen agency.
- Explain how these outside factors can influence the operation of your chosen agency.
- Suggest some strategies for handling adverse environmental factors.
- Lastly, consider interactions between the agency you selected and other organizations. Describe how the agency interacts with other organizations, listing the organizations your agency interacts with on a regular basis. (For example, a police department will regularly interact with the county jail.)
