Influence of Public Opinion on the Operation of Criminal Justice Organizations

Planned Change

The agency’s dependence on a public opinion does impede planned change, and on the other hand encourages it because public opinion sets limits by which policymakers are deemed to operate (Green, 2006). Public opinion seeks to satisfy the common demand and influences its beliefs to be widely unpopular (Hough, & Roberts, 2005). This brings both positive and negative impacts to the agency’s decisions since it denies it the required independence that does not match the public mood; change will be influenced based on the majority of the public voices’ demands which may not always be legitimate (Reddick, Chatfield, & Jaramillo, 2015).

Public opinion seems to take an upper hand in influencing agencies in making policies at local levels than at the national level due to bureaucratic barriers between policymakers and common people (Hough, & Roberts, 2005). The public has the choice of approving and disapproving the decisions of a given agency (Reddick, Chatfield, & Jaramillo, 2015).  However, it can also provide a just and accurate analysis of the distribution of decisions on almost any opinion of a given population. Notably, it can predict whether the majority of people holding an opinion of change can be thought of to be instituting a cohesive community or not (Green, 2006).

Changes that Should be Made by the Management of a Troubled Correctional Facility to Keep the Employees Happy and Prevent the Public from Going Against the Facility

Most troubled correctional facilities treat employees as tools for production; a change based on performance management that considers employees as assets should be made to keep them happy (Block, 2016). Employees should be involved in the organization’s decision-making process for them to spearhead the process in line with the organizational goals, policies, and objectives (Hiatt, & Creasey, 2003). Similarly, reward management policies that tend to reward employees in line with both extrinsic and intrinsic needs should be considered.  Employees should also be evaluated based on their performance, abilities, and skills, and internal succession planning and promotion should be practiced by the organizations vis-à-vis appraisals which tend to be influenced by the employer’s attitude and personality (Shields et al., 2015). Lastly, employees should be well remunerated, and life balance policies should be enacted to help them realize their personal needs, and not just organizational needs (Kotter, 2012). 

An Example of a Significant Study in the Criminal Justice Field

One of the significant studies in criminal justice is research on appellate opinions defining criminal conduct. In this kind of study, the opinions of the appellate are relied on for the purposes of defining a crime, typically pinpointing out how local law could have an effect on the validity of the generalizations as put forward by any specific state (Kleck, Tark, & Bellows, 2006). The study postulates that the concern with the appellate process is vindicated if its opinion if effectively relevant and acts in line with the legal system as far as criminal law administration is concerned (Copes, Brown, & Tewksbury, 2011). One striking example of such a significant study is criminal homicide, which may breed inconsistency, confusion, and duplication in appellate case legislation. In 1953, the court of Military Appeals, in its definition of murder, was not bound by precedent but used prior analysis of the problem hence differed with the majority of courts in the U.S. which were called to interpret the same case (Tewksbury, DeMichele, & Miller, 2005).

Positive Effects of Research in the Criminal Justice Profession since President’s Commission in 1967

Some of the positive effects include the inclusion of the federal government in taking primary responsibility of offering resources and support for a comprehensive criminal justice study agenda and the justice policy and practice, which is required to develop and maintain an effective study effort in criminal justice (Bennett, 2004). This has contributed to the development of criminal justice study into a recognized academic field of study. It has also shaped the way criminal practitioners and policymakers view, identify, and handle criminal issues (Kleck, Tark, & Bellows, 2006). The negative part of it is that it does not reflect the commission’s true intentions to validate and justify the federal investment study (Shelley, Waid, & Dobbs, 2011). It has also affected the enforcement of legislation and other criminal functions by influencing they deal with cases of crime.