In criminal justice, risk management procedures and plans help police officers and law enforcement agencies to foreshadow and prevent possible crisis and problems caused by environment and social changes. In criminal justice, the pace of advancement, drives continual change and development, Risk management should capitalize on the most important external opportunities and internal strengths, The main activities of risk mitigation are related to the organization culture of in terms of control consciousness and climate. They result in changes to the formal organization (architecture) in terms of a realignment of the reporting structure for corporate control and internal audit. The risk management reports usually stipulate changes in internal processes, such as standardizing policies and procedures and strengthening internal audit functions and procedures. The criminal justice management should reevaluate the mechanisms for planning and goal setting of the divisional structure, as well as establishing at world headquarters a greater capacity for monitoring and evaluating division financial performance (Kemshall, 2003).
Inherent risk should also have been considered to be relatively high. Consistent with an entrepreneurial management philosophy and a decentralized organization design, In criminal justice system, there is no attempt to establish a uniform chart of all actions but for the main processes and procedures. The timing and format of quarterly reports varies by division. Policies for timing, valuation, and recording of transactions were not uniform across divisions and foreign affiliates. Negative community attributes suggest to citizens that social controls are weak and lead them to a logical but not always accurate perception of crime. Signs of incivility may have little to do with official crime rates. Fear of crime is thus triggered by a broad range of neighborhood conditions and to a certain extent is independent of the official rate of crime. If incivility is not viewed as a problem, then people appear to be able to cope with higher levels of crime (Kemshall, 2003).
The task of the risk management is to predict and plan possible threats and develop the course of actions to reduce their impact on society. Standards for authorization procedures are often not formalized and also varied across divisions and affiliates. The circularity of effects should be dear. As communities changed, fear of the unfamiliar and unknown, and consequently that of crime, rose. As a result, when people encounter illegal acts they are more likely to call the police, out of fear, whereas in the past, when the situation did not contain the element of unfamiliarity, the issue would be handled informally. So increasing fear is a cause of acceleration in reported crime when the actual incidence of crime has remained stable. The relationship of fear to incivility has important implications for policymakers and law enforcers. Ways of ameliorating fear, other than directly reducing crime, should be sought (Kemshall, 2003). Urban cleanup and renewal may actually be more viable methods of controlling the effects of crime than an actual reduction of incidence itself. Also, those aspects of the crime problem which influence the public’s sense of safety may be the aspects that law enforcement agencies tend to ignore. Local codes concerning abandoned buildings, unsightly graffiti, and other forms of vandalism are often not strictly enforced.
The task of crisis management is to stipulate roles nad duties of the personal and avoid chaos and panic situations. Given the events that have transpired, one might hope for a return to a way of life known in the past, but such stepping back into history is impossible. Social changes that have occurred–many of which are positively valued by most people-cannot and should not be undone. It is not the same old America, nor should it be. It is important that the present status not be evaluated with viewpoints that are no longer appropriate. Crime is not increasing, but the sense of insecurity is. The police must come to grips with this issue and not allow it to become an issue blown out of perspective. These changes have made the population feel more isolated and increasingly unable or unwilling to deal with problems as individuals. Now more than ever before, Americans live in a society of strangers where interpersonal problems must be dealt with by formal means. With this, an important basis for personal security–familiarity–has been lost. As a result, the sense of control has decreased and fear has risen (Kemshall, 2003).
The benefits of risk management are fast response to crisis situations and ready-made decisions which can be easily altered. This is not to suggest that criminal-justice personnel are devoid of human compassion or motivated solely by self-interest. Police officers risk their lives to arrest violent offenders, public defenders work overtime to represent their clients, jurors deliberate in stuffy rooms for days to arrive at proper verdicts, and probation officers loan clients their own money to help them through troubled times. Expansion protects agencies from external threats from larger public bureaucracies that have more political power. This tendency toward growth is evident in the yearly budget requests of criminaljustice agencies. Seldom is an equivalent budget requested; instead, funds for additional personnel and supplies and new programs and projects are included in each year’s proposal. This approach to public finance produces growth: the agency becomes larger, its functions are broadened, and greater public dependence is slowly fostered. Over time, these trends firmly establish the organizational function as a public priority, ensuring the power of its officials and the survival of the organization.
References
Kemshall, H. (2003). Understanding Risk in Criminal Justice (Crime and Justice). Taylor & Francis Group; 1 edition.