21. Criminal justice—policy, practice, and people
This chapter examines three factors that can influence the direction of criminal justice: policies, practices, and people. It first considers criminal justice policies, with a particular focus on penal populism and the concept of ‘adversarial-lite’ justice. Moving onto criminal justice practices, the chapter discusses community service and levels of sentencing, along with payback as retribution and the due process model. Finally, it explores the effects of merging principles and policies on the people (the responders and receivers) who work in the criminal justice system. It highlights the role of criminal justice professionals in the delivery of criminal justice and how the 4Ps process (principles, policies, practices, and people) change the game in criminal justice.