•
International Cooperation – Treaties relevant to criminal justice to
which a nation is a signatory and membership/participation in
conventions, agreements and international organizations.
Standardizing these six components allows for progress to be tracked
over time. Prior to CJSART, the status of a country’s criminal justice
system was often determined through consideration of an ad hoc, often
expedient, assortment of considerations or via the personal expertise of
individual program managers. Because the collection of factors
considered was not consistent, or always reflective of USG assistance
priorities, it was often not possible to affirm definitively when progress
was made within s state’s a criminal justice system. CJSART, therefore,
attempts to advance the field’s ability to reliably and systematically
evaluate criminal justice sector assistance.
Theory and practice within the field of rule of law is deepened by
CJSART’s holistic approach. Criminal justice systems often break down
because of difficulties at the vulnerable intersections of the various
justice sector disciplines. For example, poor police-prosecutor
cooperation in investigations can often result in a justice system unable
to convict its criminals. Or, prisons might be overcrowded because a
country’s legislature has not passed laws allowing for bail, alternative
sentencing, and parole. CJSART includes indicators specifically
designed to encourage assessment of interdisciplinary issues. This,
combined with the structure of a CJSART assessment, which sends
sector experts out as an integrated team, results in a more complete
understanding of what may be weakening or strengthening a state’s rule
of law. The challenges criminal justice systems face are often complex,
crossing many sectors, so it is crucial that the USG have a consistent
tool for designing programs which do the same.
The CJSART ultimately strives to drive program performance by enabling
policy makers to design multi-faceted programs based on defined needs
and vulnerabilities. This framework can lead to further evaluation and
analytical integration with other security sector reform projects. As
performance information continues to be collected and analyzed, policy
makers are able to make informed decisions on the efficacy of
development approaches with international criminal justice systems,
thus strengthening the first line of defense against the encroachments of
both local and international criminal elements and helping to reduce the
likelihood that a country will become an incubator for international
terrorism.
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