The President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice

The President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administra- tion of Justice was established by President Johnson on July 23, 1965.

The Executive Order creating the Commission charged it with in- quiring into the causes of crime and the adequacy of the existing system of law enforcement, criminal justice and corrections. On the basis of these inquiries, the Commission was ordered to report to President Johnson by January, 1967, on how federal, state and local governments can make law enforcement and the administration of justice more effec- tive and fair.

The Chairman of the Commission is Attorney General Nicholas deB. Katzenbach. The other eighteen members are: Miss Genevieve Blatt, Pennsylvania Secretary of Internal Affairs, Harrisburg. Penna.; Justice Charles D. Breitel, New York Supreme Court, New York, N. Y.; Dr. King- man Brewster, President of Yale University, New IIaven, Conn.; Gar- rett H. Byrne, Suffolk County District Attorney, Boston, Mass.; Thomas J. CahiI1, Chief of Police, San Francisco, Calif.; Otis Chmdler, publisher, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, Calif.; Leon Jaworski, Attorney, Hous- ton, Tex.; Thomas C. Lynch, Attorney General of California, Sacra- mento, Calif.; Ross L. Malone, Jr., former ABA Presitleut, Roswell, N. M.; U. S. District Judge James B. Parsons, Chicago, Ill.; Lcwis F. Powell, Jr., former ABA President, Richmond. Va.; William P. R o g q former United States Attorney General, Washington, D. C.; Robert G. Storey, former .4BA President, Dallas. Tex.; Mrs. Robert J. Stuart, President of the League of Women Voters, Spokane, Wash.; Robert F. Wagner, former Mayor of New York, N.Y.; Herbert Wechsler, Professor of Law, Columbia University, New York, N.Y.: Whitney M. Young, Jr., Executive Director, Urban League, New York, N.Y.; and U. S. District judge Luther W. Youngdahl, Washington, D. C.

James Vorenberg is the Executive Director of the Cornmission. Pre- viously, he served as Director of the Office of Criminal Justice in the Department of Justice and is now on leave as professor of law at liar- vard Law School.

The Commission held its first full meeting on September 9th and loth, 1965. A second full meeting was held January 11th and Bth, 1966. The period between the two meetings was devoted to selecting a staff and developing a detailed outline of what the Commission planned to accomplish.

At the present time, there are 32 professional staff members. They include lawyers, police officials, penologists, social scientists, and systems analysts.

48

THE ORGANIZATIOK OF THE COMMISSION

The work of the Commission has been divided into five major areas, each the responsibility of a task force consisting of four or five Commis- sioners and a number of staff members. In addition, each Task Force has formed panels of outside experts to advise them on specific problems. These include public. officials working in various aspects of the criminal field, such as mayors, police chiefs, correctional officials, judges and prosecutors; experts from private life such as defense lawyers, business officials, psychiatrists, and representatives of the media; and professors from a number of disciplines interested in the field. About 300 such experts already have been called upon.

One Task Force has been established to evaluate the impact of crime in American society. A second will seek methods to improve the police. A third Task Force is searching for ways to raise the quality of the courts, including the prosecutors, judges and defense attorneys. A fourth Task Force will recommend how the corrections institutions and probation and parole officers can do a better job. And a fifth Task Force will indicate how wience and technology can bctter serve thc needs of the entire system of criminal justice.

Some prohlems rannot be confined to a single Task Force. They have been made the responsibility of a single staff member and will receive the combincd attention of relevant Task Forces. For example, the problem of organized crime will be worked on by the Assessment Task Force. the police Task Force and the Task Force on the Administration of ( :riminal Justice. Henry Ruth, the Commission's Deputy Director and a former member of the Organized Crime Section in the Justice De- partment, is coordinating this project.

Other special studies will be made of problems such as juvenile delinquency, narcotics, crime prevention techniques, the effect of vice laws on the entire system of criminal justice, and the compensation of criminal victims.

The Commission is thus organized to make a carefully coortlinnted examination of the total sweep of criminal justice; including methods of crime prevention, law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, defense attor- neys, courts, probation officials, correction institutions and parole of- ficers. From this single examination will flow the Commission's rwom- mendations on how to improve the performance of each part of the system and, more importantly perhaps, how each part can be made an effective component in a coordinated counterattack on crime.

What follows is a description of the plan which has been adopted hy the Commission for each of the major Task Forces. This plan

49

Is fluid, and as the work proceeds its scope is sul>jrc.l to change and expansion.

ASSESSMENT OF THE CRIME PROBLEM

Commission members assigned to the Task For(.,. on the Assess- ment of the Crime Problem are Miss Blatt and Messrs. Urewster, Lynch and Wechsler.

The staff of this Task Force is headed by Lloyd Ohlin. Dr. Ohlin is on leave from his post as Professor of Sociology at Columbia [Tniver- sity and Director of Research of Columbia’s School of Social Work.

Stated simply, the job of the Task Force on Assessment of the Crime Problem is to assess the state of our knowledge itbout the volume, nature and causes of crime.

Because the mandate of the Assessment Task Force is so brood, the staff has divided its problem areas into a number of specific assignments, many of which will be developed by outside experts under contract to the Commission.

Using existing statistics from all the major government agencies, the Task Force will develop a report on the amount and nature of crime in the United States. Trends in crime rates in relation to changes taking place in society will receive special attention. For example, the question of the extent to which migration to the cities has changed the volume, type and rate of crime will be carefully analyzed. This study also should develop new ways of classifying and reporting crime statistics.

Another study will develop a detailed portrait of offenders, victims, offenses and the circumstances of crime in a small number of urban precincts. This study will be based on the more extensive statistics avail- able at the local level as well as special interviews. These precinct profiles also will develop information on public attitudes toward the police, courts and crime; how the policeman on the beat actually operates and the impact of crime on commercial establishments and other organizations.

One of the most important assignments of the Assessment Task Force will be an effort to resolve what is called the “dark figure” prob- lem. It is known that criminal events recorded in official records represent only a portion of the crimes actually committed. But at the present time, there is no reliable way of estimating the proportion of unreported crime to reported crime, nor the relative seriousness of unreported crime. In an effort to gain a better understanding of this problem, the Commission will conduct a national survey of 10,OOO households. In this survey, a representative sample of Americans will be asked whether they have recently been the victim of a serious crime.

50

Those who answer yes will then I)t- aslicd i f ththy relwrtecl the crime, if not, why not, what effect the crime had on their lives and what steps they ttwk to avoid being victimized again?

A major objective of the Task Force on the Assessment of Crime is to promote the further development of the system for collecting nncl recording crime statistics. A study will be made of the advantage and limitations of the existing system and suggestions developed on how it can be improved.

Estimating the cost of crime is extremely difficult. Nevertheless, the Assessment Task Force hopes to develop techniques which will make these estimates more accurate.

In an effort to better understand the crime problem in the United States, the Task Force will conduct a study of crime rates, trends and variations in other countries, This study hopes to develop information on the comparative effectiveness of different types of crime control proce- dures and new ways of assembling and utilizing crime statistics.

Another major job for this Task Force will be to evaluate the state of knowledge about the causes of crime. In the pursuit of this ob- jective, a number of small study groups have been established.

- One such group will explore the rich contributions of psychiatry, psychology and medicine to the understanding of motivation and char- acter development in different types of offenders.

- Another group will seek to explain the variations of reported crimes committed by different sectors of the population.

- A third group will focus on research indicating that in some circumstances society seems to reward careers in delinquency and crime. It is hoped this group will be able to suggest reasons why some young people become criminals while others brought up in the same neighbor- hood pursue conventional careers.

- A fourth group will try to analyze the characteristics of criminal victims and their relation with the offender.

- A fifth group will study the behavior of people who witness crimes in an effort to develop a clearer idea of citizen responsibility in crime control.

The Task Force on the Assessment of Crime also plans special studies on the nature and scope of crime as ir professional activity, white collar crime and corporate criminality, crimes of violence ant1 the effec- tiveness of criminal justice in deterring crime.

POLICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY

Commission members assigned to the Police Public Safety Task Force are Messrs. Cahill, Chandler, Malone, Wagner and Yoiing. The

51

staff of the Task Force is headed by Gene S. Muellleisen. Mr. MuehleiseIi is on leave as the Executive Officer of the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training in the California Department of Justice. €Ie was a member of the San Diego Police Department from 1940 to 1960.

The Police and Public Safety Task Force has organized its work around nine basic problem areas.

The first problem can be summed up by the question: what is the proper role of the policeman today, and 20 years from today? In many jurisdictions, the police are asked to license dogs, drive ambulances, guard school corners and conduct elections as well as fight crime. Some believe the police could do a better job fighting crime if they were not sadrlled with a large number of additional chores. Others suggest that if the police limit their role only to fighting crime, they will become increas- ingly isolated from the community in which they operate.

A sIightly different aspect of this problem is how much discretion can and should the police be given in carrying out their daily functions? This question must he answered in terns of what is actually happening.

The overall problem of the policeman’s role in America-both as to how he approaches the public and the specific jobs he is asked to perform-is critically important because of its effect on the attitude of the public toward the law.

A second major area of concern for the Police Task Force is per- sonnel. The first job will be to analyze present methods of recruiting. selecting and training new police officers.

In connection with this analysis, the Kational Leaguc of Cities antl t11e International Association of Chiefs of Police havc surveyed policr departments throughout the country about their present personnc.1 antl training practices.

On the basis of a knowledge of existing practices, the Police Task Force will recommend methods to improve the quality of police per- sonnel. Such proposals might include specific recommendations to ex- pand pre-recruit training through the increased use of cadet schools and colleges of police science, models for in-service training courses and new criteria for the selection of police officers.

Also to be studied are the present levels of police salaries, how these salaries affect recniiting and the proper role of the federal government in fin;lncing training, salaries and other police expenses.

The third major problem being cxmsidered by the Police Task Force is how, to improve police organizations and management. Here, special reliance will be placed on a number of detailed studies of existing police departments conducted by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Public Administration Service and Special Consultants.

On the basis of these and other studies, the Commission plans to

52

develop mo&ls showing how the policc dcpartments ill various size communities could best be organized.

These models might comment on the advisability of re-designing the organizational structure of police departments; the use of separate units to investigate complaints of police misconduct; the more extensive use of civilians for clerical and desk jobs; the need for attorneys within the police departments.

Another major organizational problem will be to work out tech- niques whereby the police can coordinate their activities with the prosecutor, and other components of the system of criminal justiccn. One possibility: a single law enforcement office combining the functions of both the police and district attorney.

The fourth important project undertaken by the Police Task Force is the development of improved police field procedures to reduce crime. Based upon the assumption that numerous effective and innovative police field procedures are currently in use throughout the nation, the Commis- sion is conducting a survey of more than 2,500 police agencies. Procc- dures which have effectively reduced crime will be evaluated by the Commission and descrihed in a manual for consideration I)y local police throughout the nation.

is that police responsibility often is split between a number of different police agencies with different regulations and operational policies. This study will concentrate on how this frac- tionalization affects such matters as communications, rcwrd keeping, and the use of crime laboratories and detention facilities.

The Task Force also will analyze efforts to handle these problems in actual communities and recommend various possible solutions.

One of the most important single subjects to be considered by the Task Force, and indeed the Commission itself, is the problem of police relations with the people they serve. Though the major emphasis will center on how to improve relations between the police and the minority groups living in the slums of the big cities, other community relations problems also will be considered.

In its broadest sense, good police-community relations can encourage citizens to report crime, win adequate support from legislative bodies, help recruitment, improve respect for law, reduce incidents that can lead to riots, make the police responsive to the public and give the public the knowledge that the police will enforce the law without un- fair discrimination.

The first job before the Task Force will be to describe the present state of Police-Community relations. This will require investigation of both attitudes-the public toward the police and the police toward the

A fifth major problcim

53

public-and actions, how the police actually treat the public a l~d vice versa.

Once an accurate portrait of police-community relations is drawn, it should be possible to develop techniques and procedures which will reduce conflict between the police and the public to an absolute mini- mum. In some cities, these techniques could involve new personnel policies, operating procedures and methods of organization.

A seventh problem area to be considered by the Police Task Force include a number of special projects designed to reduce the opportunities for commiting crime. For example, the auto companies might be persuaded to design ignitions making auto theft difficult, if not impossible. Cities might be encouraged to pass lock-your-car ord- nances. Citizens might be urged to install double-cylinder locks in their homes and businesses persuaded to use more alarm systems.

Another problem before the Task Force is to decide where science and technology can make its greatest contributions to police work. This will be considered jointly by the Police Task Force and the Task Force on Science and Technology.

The final area under consideration is the long-range research needs of the police. Quite obviously, all the research needs of law enforcement cannot be met during the Commission’s life. Therefore, the Police Task Force will study methods by which it can stimulate organizations like colleges and industry to begin considering the needs of the police in the next decade, and the next century.

ADMINISTRATION O F CRIMINAL JUSTICE

The members of the Commission working with the Task Forcc on the Administration of Criminal Justice are blessrs. Byrne, Jaworski, Parsons, Powell and Storey. Its staff is headed by Arthur Rosett, a for- mer federal prosecutor who was an attorney in private practice before coming with the Commission.

The overall job of the Task Force on the Administration of Criminal Justice is to consider the courts, the prosecutive officers and the defense bar and then recommend methods to improve their performance.

As in the other Task Forces, the first step will be to describe the existing system of criminal justice. A special effort will be made to avoid sweeping generalizations and present the public with a concrete description of how the system actually functions. Some of this descriptive work will be done by the Commission’s staff, some by drawing on the findings of other studies, including those of the American Bar Foundation.

54

Thch operation o f the lower criminal courts is a major concern of the Task Force. These cy>urts, which handle the great bulk of criminal offenses, often suffer in especially aggravated form the problems cornm~n to all courts.

For example, the process by which a great majority of cases are disposed of without trial, either through a decision to dismiss or a plea of guilty, demands careful examination. Several questions suggest them- selves. Might the process be improved if plea bargaining-not now a formal part of the system of criminal justice-were made visible and regular? How can judges, prosecutors and lawyers responsible for dis- posing of cases without trial be provided more adequate information about the offense and the offender?

Another problem, especially serious in the lower courts, centers around the belief that criminal treatment may well be an inappropriate and futile way of dealing with some types of offenders. Alternative methods of treating such offenders will be considered.

The Task Force plans to study methods for the control and review of police and prosecutorial conduct. One aspect of this study would in- clude the desirability of encouraging a shift of some of the decision and rule-making functions from the appellate courts to other agencies, and the fostering of better methods of control and supervision within law enforcement agencies. A related inquiry involves the desirability of greater centralization of responsibility over law enforcement agencies within a community or state. Many of the problems now presented to appellate courts might have been avoided if police had early access to legal advice. Thus, the Task Force also will evaluate methods for pro- viding more effective counsel for police.

Inefficient courts are unfair not only to defendants, but to witnesses, jurors and attorneys as well. In many courts, there appears to be exces- sive delay between arraignment and termination' of the case after trial and appeal. The Task Force will assay the feasibility of developing stand- ards-perhaps a timetable-for the handling and disposition of particular kinds of criminal cases.

Another way of improving efficiency of the courts may be the in- creased use of computer and business machine techniques in scheduling and managing the court's business. In conjunction with the Science and Technology Task Force, the Task Force on Criminal Justice will examine these modem tools to see whether they can be adapted to the peculiar needs of the courts. One possible end product might be the recommenda- tion of flexible computer systems suitable for communities of varying sizes and needs, yet which eventually could be integrated for state and national information retrieval.

55

The effectiveness of courts also might be improved by more general adoption of proposals for reform of the organization and' administration of courts and judicial selection and tenure. This aspect of the Task Force's work probably will be limited to inviting careful attention to existing reform proposals. Some independent study is called for of the place of the judiciary in an administrative framework. Procedures for review of the performance of judges in terms of capacity and willinpess to manage the business of the cuurts properly will be examined.

Another matter of interest to the Task Force is the training and qualifications of prosecutors and defense counsel. The career patterns, methods of selection, and compensation of prosecutors will be studied, with particular attention to part-time elected prosecutors. The Task Force also will study the perplexing but cnicial question of how local jurisdictions can provide sufficient numbers of adequate counsel to in- digents during the early stages of criminal proceedings.

Other major problems to be considered by the Task Force on the Administration of Criminal Justice are sentencing, juvenile courts, bail and detention, mental incompetency and methods of improving the fact- finding ability of the courts.

CORRECTIONS

The Commission members assigned to the Task Force on Corrections are Mrs. Stuart and Messrs. Breitel, Rogers and Youngdnhl. The staff of the Task Force is headed by Kim Nelson, a professor of public ad- ministration on leave from the University of Southern California. Mr. Nelson also has served as Deputy Administrator of the California Youth and Adult Corrections Agency and was the first warden of the Haney Correctional Institution in British Columbia.

The ultimate aim of the Task Force is to develop a detailed descrip- tion of the best possible corrections system, a model to serve as a blue- print for the future.

Because so little is known about the resources now available for cor- rections, the Task Force decided its first job should be a national survey of existing facilities, personnel and programs. The survey-the first of its kind in the United States-is being conducted under contract by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency.

In addition to this comprehensive corrections census, the Task Force has launched a number of special studies designed to focus on the major problems of corrections.

The first overall problem will be to develop more specialized and sophisticated methods of treating different types of offenders. In ap- proaching this problem, the Task Force has decided to make a number &f special studies of different types of offenders.

56

- One study will concentrate on the female offender. Because this group poses a much less serious threat to the public thim many other offenders, it is postulated that existing incarceration rates are higher than necessary.

- Another study will examine the problems of the youthful offender, those who are neither juveniles nor adult felons, to develop a rationale for his separate treatment.

- A third study would assess the current methods of dealing with the correctional phase of persons sentenced for committing a mis- demeanor.

- A fourth study would analyze the special problems of diagnosing, treating and controlling the violent offender.

- A fifth study would be aimed at developing better methods of treatment for the alcoholic offender, the mentally defective offender and the mentally ill offender who is dangerous.

- Another study would examine the appropriateness and effective- ness of correctional programs designed to rthbilitate the offender brought up in the urban slums.

- A seventh study would examine what happens when the non- delinquent youngster-a runaway or an abandoned child-is dumped into correction facilities with highly delinquent youngsters.

A different perspective is gained when the corrections system is examined from the point of view of programs, rather than types of offenders.

For example, the Corrections Task Force plans to make a study of what corrections can learn from the way schools handle identified delinquents and the degree of cooperation between the schools and the correctional institutions.

Another example, and perhaps one of the most important aspects of the Commission’s work, will be the examination of what is being done to make sure that when the offender is discharged from prison he is not forced to resume his career in crime because no other career is open to him. Other questions suggest themselves. Can effective manpower training programs be operated inside correction facilities? What types of offenders should be permitted to take day time jobs outside of prison so they can continue to support their families? Should inmates be given more opportunities to strengthen family ties?

Another major part of the Task Force’s time will be devoted to the men and women who run the correctional institutions. Can volun- teer workers be more effectively used to supplement the regular staff and to assure better ties with the surrounding communities? Have the responsihilities of the public corrections agencies grown heavier be-

57

ciiiiw the private we1f;irtl groiips hiwe failctl t o espiind their scmiccA.\ to mect the dc~mancls of the growing population? \\‘hat steps must he taken to assure the training of adequate numbers of professionals? How ahoil t the use of non-professionals, including former offenders?

The Corrections Task Force also will make a thorough study of tliv Federal Corrections System. One of the largest in the world, the fetlcrnl system has been the subject of a number of major reorganization pro- posals. These will be evaluated.

Finally, the Task Force plans a major study of the largely un- charted area of the rights of offenders. Some of the possible questions to hc considered are: Should offenders be given the shield of a prisoner’s hill of rights? What procedures can be developed to protect thc prisoncr against unfair practices? Should the indigent prisoner be entitled to lcgal services? How could such services be provided?

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

The staff work for the Task Force on Sciencc and Tcchnology is supervised by Robert L. Emrich, a systems analyst on leave from thc Hughes Aircraft Corporation. Before coming with the Commission, hlr. Emrich was devcloping a statewide computerized criminiil intelligencc. system. .

The object of this Task Force is to develop an understanding of the ways in which modern science and technology can attack the im- portant problems of the law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, cowts, probation agencies, corrections departments and parole agencies.

Another important object of the study is to establish priorities so that the local police chief, prosecutor, court administrator, and correc- ions official could each better plan how to spend his resources to oh- tain technological improvements for his particular part of the entire system of criminal justice.

Some of the problems that the Task Force may consider: (1) Police patrol and other field procedures, particularly in regard

( 2 ) Locating and returning stolen goods. ( 3 ) Crime prevention techniques like better alarm and surveillance

sys terns. ( 4 ) Exploration of new methods to manage the business of the

courts. including the possible use of advanced techniques of information processing to assist in problems such as attorney scheduling.

( 5 ) More effective techniques of dealing with riots and other civil emergencies.

to field communications.

58

( 6 ) Methods b y which sentencing and corrections officials can ob-

(7) Methods of evaluating and predicting the chances of an offender

It is contemplated that the work of the Task Force would he per- formed by a staff of between 10 and 15 systems analysts working in close cooperation with the other Task Forces.

tain maximum information about offenders.

becoming a repeater.

SOCIETY BUSINESS

“National Police Officers Association of America”

Letters . . . . Mr. Walter C. Reckless, President American Society of Criminology

Dear Mr. Reckless:

We would like to inform the Society and its members that this organization has no connection or affiliation with the American Asso- ciation of Criminology that is headed by Mr. Wayne A. Laitinen.

Several years ago we were willing to allow his membership to use our publication as its communication on a subscription fee basis, however, this was dropped and we instnicted Mr. Laitinen not to use our name or address.

We are making these facts known to you as a matter of interest to your organization as from time to time we have heard that our na- tional address was listed on his letterheads. Most recently we again instructed him not to iist’ our address or name any place on his material.

Sincerely, s/ FRANK J. SCHIRA Executive Director Venice, Florida

59