Valuable Resources
A RESOURCE MODEL:
Higher Education and Criminal Justice Agency Collaborations
The 105th Congress will continue exploring several issues affecting law enforcement programs: community policing, gangs, victims services, violence interdiction, and the sustaining of crime reduction programs. Both Republicans and Democrats are expected to introduce legislation to curb the increase in youth violence and reform the juvenile justice system. Beyond the National Institute of Justice and the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the research component of most federal agencies primarily provides for various formula and discretionary grants. Republicans in congress have called for turning these functions over to the states in the form of block grants. Critics of the federal effort in this area cite burdensome mandates placed upon state and localities, as well as a frustration over the inability to stop the rising tide of youth violence.The modern age has a false sense of security because of the great mass of data at its disposal. But the valid issue is the extent to which man knows how to form and master the material at his command. Goethe, 1832.
Large amounts of money are allocated each year to colleges and universities. Government agencies issue requests for proposals (RFPs) on a regular basis and universities respond by writing proposals and completing projects. Research, however, is not enough to justify the existence of colleges and universities. The public, legislators, and boards of regents, are now questioning the productivity of public universities. Questions are being raised regarding the viability of the curriculum, graduation rates, teaching loads, faculty tenure, and student-teacher ratios. Universities and colleges must seek sources of funding other than pure research.
In this context, the expanded role of higher education in providing technical assistance, training, and staff development programs in support of an increasingly sophisticated criminal justice workforce is evident. Concurrently, criminal justice agencies, by assisting higher education in the educational process, can be infused with a new breed of employees. By working with colleges and universities these agencies will less likely be a target of criticism in their interactions with the public. This process reveals a mutuality in purpose and mission for both public higher education and the criminal justice system.