If you have issues viewing or accessing this file contact us at NCJRS.gov. " ~ .. -----.-~---... ... /i3157 Two Hundred Years of American Criminal Justice An LEAA Bicentennial Study Law Enforcement Assistance Administration U.S. Department of Justice Washington: 1976 Independence Hall. Foreword Lucy Gray (front row, in black), pictured with the As American society has developed, its Los Angeles Police Department-. She was the first perception of and response to crime have Los Angeles police matron and a pioneer woman in the criminal justice system. Her family had traveled changed. In the years since colonial times, West in a covered wagon during the 1850's. By the when the groundwork for American legal 1880's she had created a police department posi­ institutions was laid, many improvements tion to aid women and children-both victims and offenders-who were not receiving appropriate have been made. Often they resulted from care. She was fearless and kind-lmown for her the work of a few concerned individuals or ability to calm unruly prisoners. She earned the organizations. More recently, the Federal title City Mother, and although not a policewoman, performed many of the duties associated with that Government, through the Law Enforce­ position. (1889) ment Assistance Administration, has begun to assist State and local governments in 143157 their crime prevention and reduction U.S. Oepartm!nt ~f JUltlce efforts. Nltlon~! Inltltute of JUltlce This study presents an historical view of This document has been reproduced exactly as received from the the origins and development of American person or organization originating It. Points of view or opinions stated In criminal justice. It frames LEAA's work in this document are those of the authors and do nol necessarily represent the oHlclal posilion or policies of the National Institute of Justice. a larger historical context and provides a measure of the Agency's accomplishments Permission to reproduce this. ...",,1 tri material has been since it was established in 1968. gra~ric Dornain/LEAA The study is appropriate in this bicen­ " U. s. Department of Justice .. - tennial year, when Americans are assessing to the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS). their progress in attaining the goals of the Further reproduction outside of the NCJRS system requires permission Declaration of Independence and of the of the.o z;J;ht·owner. Constitution. Among those goals are the 'r 2 protection of life, liberty, and property, and the fair and equal administration of criminal justice. How well the. nation has acheived these goals remains for the individual citizen to determine. At this nation's foundil).g the criminal justice system consisted of a loose arrange­ ment of policing services, many manned by citizens or part-time watchmen. Its courts had just been freed from a foreign sover­ eign's control. Corrections facilities were characterized by unspeakable conditions. At that moment the American people stated in their Declaration of Independ­ ence their intention to form a nation in which the individual's rights would be paramount. The laws would be applied equally to all who came before the bar of justice. In the subsequent 200 years, as this report shows, there have been many attempts by dedicated Americans to reform and improve the criminal justice system. Men and women from all parts of society have contributed. Some well inten­ tioned r. forms, especially those in correc­ tions, have failed, and some created new problems. Other reforms, such as those in professionalizing police services and remov­ ing the judiciary from political control, have succeeded, perhaps beyond the Tille page of a Benjamin Rush speech about the expectations of some early reformers. effects of public punishment on criminals and society-delivered at the home of Benjamin Despite those efforts the problem of Franklin in 1787. (Photo from a 1787 reprint) crime has remained a serious one through­ out our history. As this study shows, crime at the time of the Revolution was a matter of citizen concern in major cities. (It should be noted that comparatively little scholarly research has been done on crime rates during various periods in the history of the Republic.) The problem continued through the 19th century and into this century. As this study shows, too, the American people have continued to see the control of crime as essentially one of local, not Federal, responsibility. Faced with an alarming increase in crime throughout the nation, Congress enacted the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. The Act created LEAA and charged it with assisting States and municipalities in preventing and reducing crime and in improving the performance of the criminal justice system 3 undergone a virtually complete turnabout, from harsh punishment to education and rehabilitation. In the American criminal justice system's history LEAA's lifespan of only seven years appears short. But during that time the crime control program has developed criminal justice planning organizations in each State, increased knowledge about what anticrime programs work and about how to measure their success, and estab­ lished federally supported training and education programs for criminal justice professionals. LEAA clearly recognizes the magnitude of the task the entire country faces in im­ proving the criminal justice system and in preventing and reducing crime in America. Courthouse in Franklin, Ga .. The local courthouse It appears fitting, nonetheless, in this has been a traditional gathering place in many bicentennial year, to observe that the towns in America. (1941) Federal system established by the Founders is intact and functioning well. With Fed­ eralleadership and assistance, the States have shouldered the burden of improving in all its components. Since then, LEAA the delivery of police services and the has distributed to States or otherwise operation of the courts and corrections expended more than $4.1 billion in fulfill­ systems. ment of its mandate from the Congress. The final goal of the LEAA program, as Other expenditures include those to sup­ it must be for all governments at all levels port innovative projects and for research in this nation, is to protect and enhance in law enforcement and criminal justice. the very rights-"life, liberty, and the The Congress has amended the enabling pursuit of happiness"-that are the founda­ legislation three times, adding more respOli" tions of this society. sibilities in corrections in 1970 and in juvenile justice through the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974. This study is a general overview of the history of crime and of the criminal justice RICHARD W. VELDE sy~tem in this nation during the past 200 Administrator years. The recurrent theme of that history Washington, D.C. is one of change, of a persistent redefini­ July 4,1976 tion of problems, of testing, of invention, and of new approaches. This study also suggests that Americans have made substantial progress in develop­ ing a responsive criminal justice system. Today police service is far more efficient and far better serves the people than it did in the Revolutionary period. The judicial and corrections systems are much more fair and humane to defendants and offenders than was the case in earlier times. And the treatment of children has 4 Table of Contents Foreword Antecedents and Beginnings ............................. 6 Police ............................................. 14 Courts ............................................. 30 Corrections ......................................... 46 Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention .............•. 62 Technology and the Criminal Justice System ............... 78 Research .......... , ................................ 98 Management and Operadons of LEAA .................. 116 Appendix ......................................... 148 Tables .......................................... 148·156 Publications of the National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice ............................... 156 Fiscal Year 1975 Publications of the National Criminal Justice Information and Statistics Service ............... 159 The Exemplary Project Program ...................... 160 References ...................................... 166 Directory of State Criminal Justice Planning Agencies ..... 169 LEAA Regional Offices ............................ 173 Addresses of Office of Inspector General Field Offices .... 174 5 Antecedents and Beginnings The Constitution. In considering the development of the American criminal justice system from its colonial beginnings, it is important to maintain a historical perspective. The early English, Scotch, Dutch, and German set­ tlers brought legal traditions to the New World that had deep roots in European history. Centuries of previous political and social development had formed their cus­ toms and laws. Every human society devises means for dealing with crime and the criminal of­ fender. No community known to mankind lacks a criminal justice system. Criminality is a universal phenomenon, as the Bible, Homer, the Icelandic sagas, Chinese his­ tory, American Indian legends, and other oral and written traditions attest. Its causes have been variously attributed to the wor­ ship of false gods, pride, sin, heredity, fate, a lack of respect toward one's elders, deprived childhoods, and social defi­ ciencies. Attempts to control crime have been equally variegated, ranging from the simple banishment practiced by nomadic tribes