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Technoeconomic Revolution: Reengineering Criminal Justice Organizations and Workplaces (From Visions for Change: Crime and Justice in the Twenty-First Century, Third Edition, P 322-330, 2002, Roslyn Muraskin and Albert R. Roberts, eds. -- See NCJ-213935)

NCJ Number
213940
Author(s)
Rosemary L. Gido Ph.D.
Date Published
2002
Length
9 pages
Annotation
After examining general workforce issues for the current decade, personnel dilemmas for criminal justice organizations and workplaces in the 21st century, and barriers to criminal justice organizational change, this chapter uses community policing as an example of an emerging model of criminal justice organizational change.
Abstract
The American economy is being reshaped by a technoeconomic revolution. The major forces driving this revolution are rapid technological change, particularly information technology; continued globalization of the U.S. economy; rapid economic growth in populous, export-oriented developing nations, particularly in Asia and Latin America; deregulation and economic liberalization of international trade markets; and the impact of the aging of nearly 83 million U.S. "baby boomers." Workforce issues for the current decade are changes in U.S. workforce composition marked by the increasing participation of women and recent immigrants, as well as advances in information technology that are reframing the structure and content of work environments. Personnel challenges for criminal justice organizations in the 21st century are competition with the private-sector employers that offer higher wages; the recruitment of women, minorities, and immigrants; and training new personnel to work in criminal justice organizations dominated by new information technologies and tasks that require specialized skills and knowledge. A model for how criminal justice organizations can achieve comprehensive change is evident in the widespread implementation of community policing. In their efforts to implement department-wide community policing, agencies are achieving qualitative changes in police recruitment and training, as well as in the implementation of strategies for long-term comprehensive organizational change. These efforts, however, will depend on the broader commitment of governments to allocating the resources to support citizen access to higher education and technical training. 34 references