Criminal Justice studies are frequently studies in operational effectiveness and as such are often atheoretical and primarily descriptive. The adversarial system creates structural tension between the decision making components: law enforcement, prosecution, courts. But there is an identifiable process which defines the parameters of choice in response to crime: the key factor is the perception of alternative responses. The parameters of choice result from the degree of abstract conceptualization of roles and role performances. Criminal Justice decision making is analyzed using a multi-level (structural, systemic, individual) criminological theory.
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