Washtenaw Justice

[syrakusos]

Obviously, I am not a newbie, but I have newly updated my website, Washtenaw Justice.

Just as governments at all levels have cell phones and automobiles, so, too, do they use ideas from the private sector for the protections of persons and property and the settling of disputes. The debates can be subtle or amusing, depending on your perspective.

Take "conflict resolution." That may not be the same thing as "justice" if one of the parties to a dispute is more powerful -- most especially with "social capital" -- then the conflict may be resolved unjustly. We may not want "conflict management." Keeping these people conflicted might provide you with long-term employment, but that is not the goal. Sucessfully "managing" the conflict might be unjust to the parties. The terms are often used interchangeably, but an arbitator is a private judge who listens to the arguments and hands down a decision. A mediator works with both sides, bringing them together to whatever extent is possible toward an agreement they both endorse. A negotiator works for one party, but a negotiator can work for all parties. Sometimes lawyers will find themselves in the middle of two clients whose interests they represented completely independently until this moment -- consider a book publisher and a trucking company. Now, the negotiator can become an arbitrator or a mediator.

Community Oriented Policing is merely the default mode of the private force. If a security guard patroling the infrastructure sees a leaky valve, he solves the problem if he can or gets someone who can. Busting down the janitor's office door and hauling him to a warehouse pen until his department posts bail is not a mode. I have worked with ex-cops who did not understand this. One of them sent an employee home for his ID badge, even though we have a device that prints temporary paper badges. ("Those are for visitors.") Flags on the community policing mast include "broken windows" and "weed and seed." Those refer to keeping the neighborhood looking nice, removing problems, and installing better alternatives -- sometimes removing problem people and replacing them.

Many law enforcement reports on white collar crime bemoan the fact that perpetrators are not "punished." In fact, they usually are -- just not in court... which is a deadweight loss to all concerned.

"In responding to and resolving the criminal behavior of employees, organizations routinely choose options other than criminal prosecution, for example, suspension without pay, transfer, job reassignment, job redesign (eliminating some job duties), civil restitution, and dismissal...

While on the surface, it appears that organizations opt for less severe sanctions than would be imposed by the criminal justice system, in reality, the organizational sanctions may have greater impact... In addition, the private systems of criminal justice are not always subject to principles of exclusionary evidence, fairness, and defendant rights which characterize the public criminal justice systems. The level of position, the amount of power, and socio-economic standing of the employee in the company may greatly influence the formality and type of company sanctions. In general, private justice systems are characterized by informal negotiations and outcomes, and nonuniform standards and procedures among organizations and crime types."

(Hallcrest Report cited in Introduction to Private Security, Hess and Wrobleski, West Publishing, St.Paul, 1982, 1988.)