Assignment:
Criminal Justice Organizations and Outside Factors
As you learned this week, there are a variety of factors that affect the running of a criminal justice agency, and many of these "environmental" factors are outside the agency's control. First, choose a specific criminal justice organization (such as a local police department, a jail, a probation office, etc.); in order to spur as much discussion as possible, try to choose a type of criminal justice organization that has not yet been discussed. Then address the following:
1. Identify at least three specific environmental factors that may affect your chosen agency.
2. Explain how these outside factors can influence the operation of your chosen agency.
3. Suggest some strategies for handling adverse environmental factors.
4. Lastly, consider interactions between the agency you selected and other organizations. Describe how the agency interacts with other organizations, listing the organizations your agency interacts with on a regular basis. (For example, a police department will regularly interact with the county jail.)