National Assessment Program Survey of Criminal Justice Agencies in the United States, 1992-1994

The National Assessment Program (NAP) Survey was conducted
 to determine the needs and problems of state and local criminal
 justice agencies. At the local level in each sampled county, survey
 questionnaires were distributed to police chiefs of the largest city,
 sheriffs, jail administrators, prosecutors, public defenders, chief
 trial court judges, trial court administrators (where applicable), and
 probation and parole agency heads. Data were collected at the state
 level through surveys sent to attorneys general, commissioners of
 corrections, prison wardens, state court administrators, and directors
 of probation and parole. For the 1992-1994 survey, 13 separate
 questionnaires were used. Police chiefs and sheriffs received the same
 survey instruments, with a screening procedure employed to identify
 sheriffs who handled law enforcement responsibilities. Of the 411
 counties selected, 264 counties also employed trial court
 administrators. Judges and trial court administrators received
 identical survey instruments. A total of 546 surveys were mailed to
 probation and parole agencies, with the same questions asked of state
 and local officers. Counties that had separate agencies for probation
 and parole were sent two surveys. All survey instruments were divided
 into sections on workload (except that the wardens, jail
 administrators, and corrections commissioners were sent a section on
 jail use and crowding instead), staffing, operations and procedures,
 and background. The staffing section of each survey queried
 respondents on recruitment, retention, training, and number of
 staff. The other sections varied from instrument to instrument, with
 questions tailored to the responsibilities of the particular
 agency. Most of the questionnaires asked about use of automated
 information systems, programs, policies, or aspects of the facility or
 security needing improvement, agency responsibilities and
 jurisdictions, factors contributing to workload increases, budget,
 number of fulltime employees and other staff, and contracted
 services. Questions specific to police chiefs and sheriffs included
 activities aimed at drug problems and whether they anticipated
 increases in authorized strength in officers. Jail administrators,
 corrections commissioners, and wardens were asked about factors
 contributing to jail crowding, alternatives to jail, medical services
 offered, drug testing and drug-related admissions, and inmate
 classification. Topics covered by the surveys for prosecutors, public
 defenders, judges, and state and trial court administrators included
 types of cases handled, case timeliness, diversion and sentencing
 alternatives, and court and jury management. State and local probation
 and parole agency directors were asked about diagnostic tools,
 contracted services, and drug testing. Attorneys general were queried
 about operational issues, statutory authority, and legal services and
support provided to state and local criminal justice agencies.

Tags: case-processing, corrections-management, courts, criminal-justice-system, information-systems, law-enforcement-agencies, needs-assessment, police-recruits, police-training, policies-and-procedures, prisons, sentencing
Organization: Department of Justice